How To Get Rid Of American Cockroaches | Do-It-Yourself Pest Control

Indoor Treatment to Get Rid of American Cockroache

Insecticide Sprays for American Roaches

Apply inside on the baseboards near the entry points (doors, windows, plumbing under sinks).

On the inside, apply around the plumbing under the sinks and washer and dryer connections. You don't have to spray all the interior baseboards, just the corners and baseboards inside the garage and basement areas.

Baits for American Cockroaches

If large cockroaches are entering your home from the attic area, using bait like Invict Express Insect Baits or Intice Perimeter Baits, will help you to get rid of American Cockroaches. This insect bait would also be an excellent choice for crawl spaces and or attics.

Insecticide Dust for American Roaches

Using a hand duster, apply insecticide dust in locations where the American cockroaches are traveling. Such places would be behind baseboards, wall outlets, wall voids, and underneath appliances. The recommended Dust is D-Fense Dust.

Using Residual Sprays to Get Rid of American Cockroaches

You may use these residual sprays when attempting to get rid of American cockroaches inside or outside your home:

• Cyzmic CS

• Cyper WSP

When applying these residual sprays to reduce and eliminate cockroach populations, spray outside doors, windows, pipe openings, and dryer vents.

On the inside of your home, apply the spray on the baseboards near the entry points to get rid of American cockroaches that are trying to enter your home. You don't have to spray all the interior baseboards, just the corners, and baseboards inside the garage and basement areas.

Don’t forget to apply the roach-killing spray around the plumbing, under the sinks, and any washer or dryer connections.

American Roach Identification

American Cockroaches (Periplaneta americana) are also known as a "water bug" “red roach” or "palmetto bug."

The American cockroach is reddish-brown, about 1.5 inches long or longer, winged, but seldom flies. American cockroaches are significantly larger than the smaller German cockroaches.

Young nymphs are gray-brown in color and as the American cockroaches mature, they become more reddish-brown in appearance. They have well-developed wings but don't fly much unless temperatures are above 85 degrees, then they are known as "flying waterbugs." The male American cockroach's wings are longer than the female wings.

American Cockroach Diet

These pests prefer decaying organic matter and small insects, but being scavengers, American cockroaches eat anything. Sweets are attractive to American cockroaches. They also will feed on starchy items like book bindings, and the back of the wallpaper.

American Roach Biology/ Habits

Biology

The female American cockroach produces many egg capsules, having 14-16 eggs hatching in 50-55 days into grayish-brown "nymphs." Female American cockroaches prefer to deposit their eggs in protected and damp areas. Nymphs will molt 9 to 13 times before reaching maturity as adult American cockroaches. The nymphs are 1/4-inch long. The nymphs are gray-brown when they come out of the egg capsule. It's important to note that immature cockroaches resemble adults.

Do American Cockroaches Bite?

While these filthy pests generally avoid active humans, there have been cases where American cockroaches bite humans. This usually occurs when a cockroach is looking for food and they chew on hands, feet, eyelashes, and even fingernails.

These bites may cause minor irritation and swelling, but you should seek medical attention if the bite area becomes infected or if you experience allergic reactions. When looking at cockroaches as a whole, they are dangerous pests, spreading dozens of types of bacteria and even six types of parasitic worms.

Temperature

The comfortable temperature for an American cockroach is about 84 degrees Fahrenheit. As temperatures outside get cool, you may find the American cockroaches moving indoors. They come in thru entry points like air ducts, around utility pipes, small cracks and crevices, sewer connections, and under doors. They can be found near bathtubs, clothes hampers, and plumbing.

Flying Roaches

They will fly short distances at high temperatures. They can move from building to building.

American Roach Inspection

Adults and nymphs can be found in a variety of places. In the northern United States, American cockroaches prefer warm areas like steam heat tunnels or large institutional or commercial buildings. They are often found around accesses to sewers, near garbage, and near sump pumps.

Nymphs may be found in dark basements, crawl spaces, and floor drains. In basements, they may be found in corner areas high on the walls or in floor drains. They more commonly congregate in open spaces instead of small cracks and crevices.

The American cockroach also prefers damp locations and access to water. When indoors, they can be located in dark, moist areas like basements and crawl spaces. Other likely areas indoors would be bathtubs, floor drains, and sewers.

Outside the American cockroach can be found in moist, shady areas like yards, hollow trees, woodpiles, and mulch.

At times they can be found under roof shingles or attics. Usually, they will live outside but will wander inside in search of food and water or during extreme weather conditions.

You may notice what appear to be mouse droppings in cracks and cupboards around the kitchen. If the droppings are more capsule-shaped, these are likely cockroach feces.