Roaches

Learn More About Cockroaches and Their Management (PDF)

German

Description: The German roach is the most prominently seen roach in Florida dwellings. Usually 5/8″ or smaller, the adult is brown to dark brown in color with two distinct parallel bands running the length of the thorax.

Attractions: Warmth, moisture, food and water. Kitchens and cluttered rooms are their dens of choice as these rooms tend to provide plenty of hiding spaces and feeding opportunities. The German Roach is omnivorous, eating table scraps, pet food, book bindings, glue from boxes, and food product labels. They breed prolifically in cardboard boxes and brown paper bags. They can be seen in groups or one at a time around food products, garbage cans and cabinets. Kitchens are their ideal nesting ground. If you turn on a light and see small roaches running, they are most certainly the German variety.

Damage: As roaches tend to frequent garbage cans, sewers and other disease-laden locations, germs attach to their body that can transfer to food contact surfaces (counters, utensils, plates, etc.) during the normal course of roach activities. These include disease-causing bacteria: Salmonella, E. coli and Streptococcus. They also emit a powerful allergen that can aggravate allergies and asthma.

American (aka Palmetto Bug)

Description: This flying American Roach is the largest of the Florida roaches at 1 1/2 ” to 2″ in length. It is sometimes referred to as “a roach on steroids” or “The Florida State Bird.” They are distinguished by a yellow margin around the head and around the shield behind the head.

Attractions: Florida Palm Trees are their favorite den. They are also attracted to moisture-rich environments, human food, and pet food. They are most commonly found in restaurants, grocery stores, bakeries, breweries, pet shops and other establishments where food is prepared or stored. American Roaches can be detected by examining the premises after dark with a flashlight. They can be seen around food sources, in dark, damp and warm places such as in sewers, sinks, grease traps, damp basements, etc.

Damage: Their damage is primarily emotional. Due to their size and ability to fly, their presence indoors strikes fear in the hearts of most Floridians and they are the most talked about bug by Florida visitors. They are not physically destructive unless traveling in mass. Because roaches tend to frequent garbage cans, sewers and other disease-laden locations, germs attach to their body that can transfer to food contact surfaces (counters, utensils, plates, etc.) during the normal course of roach activities. These include disease-causing bacteria: Salmonella, E. coli and Streptococcus. They also emit a powerful allergen that can aggravate allergies and asthma.

Smokey Brown

Description: The Smokey Brown Roach is typically 1″- 1 ¼” long. It is dark brown to mahogany in color with a shiny appearance. This pest has the ability to fly.

Attractions: Moist, dark and warm areas with access to plant material for feeding. This pest avoids windy areas and strong air flow currents and will seek protective nests such as holes and areas with heavy debris such as wood piles and gutters. Smoky Brown roaches are prevalent in leaf litter, canopies of palm trees, in and around shrubs, flowers and trees, wood piles, garages, crawl spaces, and attics. They have also been found on roofs and in rain gutters feeding on bird droppings and plant materials. The Smoky Brown will fly toward lights at night.

Damage: Because roaches tend to frequent garbage cans, sewers and other disease-laden locations, germs attach to their body that can transfer to food contact surfaces (counters, utensils, plates, etc.) during the normal course of roach activities. These include disease-causing bacteria: Salmonella, E. coli and Streptococcus. They also emit a powerful allergen that can cause allergies and asthma.

Australian

Description: The Australian Roach closely resembles the American Roach, but can be separated from it by its slightly smaller size of 1 ¼” and a tan to yellow circular band enclosing a large, distinctive black spot.

Attractions: This pest lives outdoors where it seeks humidity, warmth and vegetation. The Australian Roach is usually found around the perimeter of houses. They are prevalent in leaf litter, in and around shrubs, flowers and trees, tree holes, wood piles, garages, crawl spaces, attics, and greenhouses. The Australian Roach will not choose the interior of your home for nesting. If seen indoors, it was most likely transported in through plant material or other infested items.

Damage: If it is transported in, it may eat holes in clothing and feed upon book covers. Because roaches tend to frequent garbage cans, sewers and other disease-laden locations, germs attach to their body that can transfer to food contact surfaces (counters, utensils, plates, etc.) during the normal course of roach activities. These include disease-causing bacteria: Salmonella, E. coli and Streptococcus. They also emit a powerful allergen that can cause allergies and asthma.

Florida Wood

Description: The Florida Wood Roach is chestnut to brown in color and is almost always seen outdoors. They are typically less than ¾” and only the males in this species have the ability to fly.
Attractions: Warm environments with easy access to plant material. The Florida Wood Roach is abundant outdoors and is most frequently found in Palm Trees. They can enter dwellings from beneath the house or be transported in via plant material. This outdoor pest does not do well indoors and will not come into your home unless transported in by an infected source.

Damage: As roaches tend to frequent garbage cans, sewers and other disease-laden locations, germs attach to their body that can transfer to food contact surfaces (counters, utensils, plates, etc.) during the normal course of roach activities. These include disease-causing bacteria: Salmonella, E. coli and Streptococcus. They also emit a powerful allergen that can cause allergies and asthma.

Brown

Description: The Brown Roach is often mistaken for an American Roach. The adult is reddish-brown, but is somewhat darker in color. It is 1¼-1½” long making it slightly smaller than the American Roach.

Attractions: These roaches enjoy moist, dark areas outdoors, shrubs, trees and leaf piles. The Brown cockroach is an outdoor dweller and can be found under the bark of trees and in sewers. They can enter dwellings from cracks, from beneath the house, or can be transported in via plant or other infested source. This outdoor pest does not do well indoors and will not come into your home by choice.

Damage: This pest emits a foul smelling fluid, which can create an allergic reaction in humans and pets. Because roaches tend to frequent garbage cans, sewers and other disease-laden locations, germs attach to their body that can transfer to food contact surfaces (counters, utensils, plates, etc.) during the normal course of roach activities. These include disease-causing bacteria: Salmonella, E. coli and Streptococcus. They also emit a powerful allergen that can cause allergies and asthma.

Brown Banded

Description: This roach is brown, oval-shaped, and about a ½” in length. They get their name from the two lighter bands they have across their dark brown bodies. In addition to the distinctive banding, males have full wings, which reach beyond the tip of their pointed abdomens, but females have underdeveloped wings, much shorter than their broad, rounded abdomens.

Attractions: These roaches tend to prefer warmer, drier, and higher locations than do any of the other urban pest roaches. They are often found in upper cabinets or in rooms other than the kitchens (food preparation areas) or bathrooms.

Damage: Cockroaches have been reported to spread at least 33 kinds of bacteria, six kinds of parasitic worms, and at least seven other kinds of human pathogens. They can pick up germs on the spines of their legs and bodies as they crawl through decaying matter or sewage and then carry these into food or onto food surfaces.

Asian

Description: The Asian roach is almost identical in appearance to the German roach. The differences between the Asian and German cockroaches are the shape of a groove in one segment of the abdomen. The wings of the Asian cockroach are usually longer and narrower than those of the German cockroach. They extend beyond the tip of the abdomen and cover the egg capsule in the females. Asian cockroaches are lighter in color than most German cockroaches. Asian cockroaches are typically 5/8” to 1” in length.

Attractions: Asian cockroaches are great at flying and thrive both in the wild and in homes. They are most active at night and are highly attracted to light. They typically eat plant materials, such as aphid honeydew and flowers but are omnivorous and will eat what is available.

Damage: As roaches tend to frequent garbage cans, sewers and other disease-laden locations, germs attach to their body that can transfer to food contact surfaces, such as kitchen counters, during the normal course of roach activities. These include disease-causing bacteria: Salmonella, E. coli and Streptococcus. They also emit a powerful allergen that can cause allergies and asthma.