Cockroaches

The American cockroach is also called a "water bug" or a "Palmetto bug". 

Adults are about 1 3/8-2  1/8" long.  There color is reddish brown except for a sub marginal pale brown to yellowish band around the edge of pronotal shield.  Both sexes' are fully winged with wings of male extending beyond tip of abdomen whereas, female's do not.  They are poor to moderately good fliers.

Nymphal early instars uniformly grayish brown dorsally.  Antennae uniformly brown.

Ootheca or egg capsule dark to reddish brown to blackish brown; about 3/8" long with length about 1.5 times width.

The female deposits the egg capsule within a few hours or up to 4 days after it is formed.  It is dropped or glued with a mouth secretion to a suitable surface, usually in a crack or crevice of high relative humidity near a food source.  On average the female will produce about 9-10 egg capsules with each containing  14-16 eggs.

American cockroaches are common in commercial buildings, such as restaurants, bakeries, grocery stores, food processing plants, hospitals, etc. where they usually infest food-storage and food-preparation areas, basement, and steam tunnels.  During summer months they can be found outdoors in yards and alleys. 

They can enter structures by being brought in, coming up from sewer systems via drains, or occasional mass migration from other structures, dumps, etc. during warm weather.  Although they feed on many kinds of food, they show a particular fondness for fermenting food.

The Brown cockroach is often mistaken for  the American cockroach which it closely resembles in appearance and habits.

Adults about  1 1/4-1  1/2" long.   They are dark reddish brown except for an irregular and sometimes faint yellowish brown band near edge of pronotal shield.  Wings fully developed with male's barely extending beyond tip of abdomen.  The brown cockroach tends to glide rather then fly.

Nymphal early instars are brown to dark brown.

Egg Capsule is brownish when deposited, then turns black.  Contains 12-14 eggs on each side.

The female deposits the egg capsule within a day after it is formed.  It is secured with a mouth secretion to a suitable surface in the open near the ceiling, usually on plaster or concrete.  The female will often cover the egg capsule with plaster which she has removed from the surrounding area, making the egg capsule blend with its surroundings.  The female will produce up to 32 egg capsules each containing an average of 24 eggs.

The brown cockroach prefers hot and humid areas.  Such places include food-storage areas, basements, crawl spaces, grocery stores, and sewers.  Outdoors they can be found in leaf litter, ground covering, in association with trees and around dumps.

They enter structures by being brought in, through cracks or holes in exterior walls, and through sewers.  The brown cockroach normally feeds on plant material.

The German cockroach is the most common of cockroaches.  In addition to being a nuisance, it has been implicated in outbreaks of illness, the transmission of a variety of pathogenic organisms including at least one parasitic protozoan, and allergic reactions in many people.

Adults are about 1/2-5/8" long.  They are light brown to tan except for 2 dark, almost parallel streaks on pronotal shield.  Females are darker than males, her abdomen is broader.  They rarely glider or "fly".

Nymphal instars are dark brown to black.

Ootheca (egg capsule) is yellowish brown but usually two-toned, paler end attached to female.  About  1/4-3/8" long, with length more then twice width.  It is slightly bowed and contains 15-20 eggs on each side.

The female carries her egg capsule  until it is with in 1-2 days of hatching, and then deposits it in a sheltered area.  On average the females will produce about 5 egg capsules averaging about 30-40 eggs in each.

German cockroaches can be found throughout structures but show a preference for warm and humid places.  They are usually found in kitchens and secondarily in bathrooms, but infestations often occur in rooms where people eat and drink while watching television such as a den, bedroom, living room, etc.  Any crack or crevice located near a source of food and /or water is prime harborage, and they spend about 75% of their time in such harborages.

These cockroaches are most commonly introduced to buildings via paper products or paper packaging such as grocery bags, cardboard boxes, drink cartons,  etc.  They have been observed to migrate from building to building on warm evenings, but this rarely occurs.  Although uncommon they can survive outdoors during the warm months.

They will feed on almost anything with nutritive value including all kinds of food, and such things as soap, glue, and toothpaste.

The Oriental cockroach is also commonly called a 'black beetle" or a "water bug" or a "shad roach".

Adult males are about 1" long.  Females are about  1 1/4 " long.  They are usually shiny black but may vary to dark reddish brown.  Males wings cover about 75% of the abdomen.  Females with much reduced wings which resemble Nymphal wing pads but have veins.  Adults do not fly.

Nymphal early instars are a shinny reddish brown.  Later instars are a dark reddish brown to black.

Ootheca (egg capsule) is reddish brown when deposited, then changing to black.  The egg capsule is about 3/8" long, with length about 1.5 times width.  They usually contain 8 eggs on each side.

The female usually deposits her egg capsule within about 30 hours after it is formed.  It is either dropped or glued to something in a warm protected area near a food source.  On average the female will produce about 8 egg capsule containing 16 eggs each.

In many areas the oriental cockroach survives well outdoors and spends a considerable time there.  It is typically found under debris, stones, and leaf litter, but also in wall and porch voids.  It has been observed to survive outdoors during 13 weeks of almost continuous freezing weather.

They usually enter buildings via door thresholds, under sliding glass doors, along utility pipes and air ducts, through unscreened ventilators, and from floor drains.  Indoors, they are typically found in crawl spaces, cellars, basement, and on the first floor but at times on higher floors, especially around water pipes which they typically climb.

They feed on all kinds of food and decaying organic matter, but prefer to feed on starchy foods.  They are much despised because of their strong "roachy" odor and because they feed on filth.

The Pennsylvania wood cockroach is apparently a native species.

Adults males are about 7/8-1/8" long,  Adult females are about 1/2-3/4" long.  They are chestnut brown in coloring .  Males are fully winged and are a good flier whereas, the female's wings are reduced and are functionless for flight.

Nymph instars are a light reddish brown to reddish brown.

Ootheca (egg capsule) is a yellowish brown; length about 1/2" long and with about 16-18 eggs on each side.

The females deposit the egg capsule under loose bark of dead trees, stumps, fallen logs, and in other protected places.  On the average the female will produce about 30 egg capsules each containing about 32 eggs.

The Pennsylvania wood cockroach is an outdoor species which can rarely survive indoors.  Outdoors they are usually found under the loose bark of dead trees, in tree holes, and in woodpiles.  However, they have been found under  cedar-shake shingles and siding, and in gutters.

They are typically brought in with firewood.  Males are good fliers and are attracted to light, so they often enter at night via cracks and crevices through which light penetrates to the outside.  If not brought in the female must crawl in because they have functionless wings.  This species rarely breeds or survives outdoors.  Inside males are usually inactive during the day unless disturbed.

Pennsylvania wood cockroaches are reported to prefer sweet foods.

(Insect Information excerpted from the NPCA Field Guide to Structural Pests)