German Roaches
What are German cockroaches?
Blattella germanica, more commonly referred to as the German cockroach, is challenging to control. They are also widely called kitchen roaches or house roaches. It’s thought to be native to Ethiopia or Southeast Asia, then found its way in just like fire ants and many other pests. Still, typically when anyone in Fort Worth, Texas, and many other areas see a roach in a house, it is usually a German roach. They are also found in apartments, restaurants, and hotels. These bugs want water and food, as well as warmth. Bacteria in these excrements can cause allergic and asthma attacks. It’s best to get rid of the German Roaches by injecting good roach bait into their hiding and feeding places.
German cockroaches are small brown insects typically about half an inch in length. They love darkness, such as in your cabinets. They will generally hang around places where humans live and can quickly go from building to building. They stand out because of their appearance with two dark stripes on their backs. During its lifetime, an average German cockroach can reproduce several hundred more roaches. The eggs are positioned in small ootheca cases, approximately one-quarter of an inch long.
Habits and biology of German cockroaches
Females produce at least one egg capsule every three to four weeks. Each capsule produces 25 – 45 more roaches, and now you can see how a German roach problem can get out of control very fast. Female German cockroaches also have a short period when they mature from egg to sexual maturity. Typically within about two months. Young male German roaches can start reproducing as soon as 30 days. Adult female German roaches can live about half of a year. Its adaptation to changing environments changes quickly, and it evolves for survival. The populations grow a lot bigger in the case of German cockroaches than others.
German Cockroach Control
For a healthy Roach to survive, they need three things food, water, and shelter. A clean environment should always be maintained. Baiting for the German Roaches is the next most essential element in IPM (Integrated Pest Management) for that role. Insecticides are used in bathrooms, kitchens, and possibly other heavily infested areas to control the roach population. An IGR (Insect Growth Regulator) is a chemical that disrupts the life of insects using a chemical that stops insects from reaching maturity, therefore preventing reproduction. Pesticides can be dangerous, so whatever pesticide you use, follow the label!
Cockroaches contaminate food and can transmit harmful pathogens.
The ubiquitous German roach is often found in infested food packages, drink containers, or furniture. They can enter through cracks around windows, doors, vents, and utility access points. Additionally, in a complex home, such as apartments, cockroaches travel between different apartments through the shared walls, ceilings, etc. Hence why roaches usually thrive where water is available.
How do I eliminate German Cockroaches?
German roaches can go for about a week without getting water and several weeks without food. So most people’s first thought is to get rid of their food and water source, and they will go away. The thing is, they will find food and water where you might not expect it. They will search and find it somewhere, and when it is too scarce, they will cannibalize each other and get food and water from that. I know that is nasty, but it is their nature.
Prepare your home for treatment.
Vacuuming is vital to remove eggs, larva, feces, and any live or dead roaches. Picking up and sealing any possible food or water source is critical. Many PMPs (Pest Management Professionals) also request that the homeowner mow the area to allow the external application to penetrate the soil easier. When pets are in the house, they should also cover all aquariums and turn off the filter if possible.
You want the roaches to be hungry, thirsty, and desperate, so they will go for the bait easier.
Top German Roach Killers
Baits
German cockroach bait can be a highly efficient German Cockroach Killer even when done alone. In my professional years as a pest management professional that fipronil-based baits work the absolute best. The roaches can not detect the fipronil in the bait’s percentage, so they will typically readily eat the bait. When the bait runs out, more magic happens. That is when we take advantage of the fact that the roaches are cannibals. They will eat the dead ones and get a lethal dose of the fipronil. Gel baits are sold in tubes typically and inject the bait into the German cockroaches hiding space.
A few places where you can put the best German Cockroach bait include kitchen and bathroom drawers, cabinet doors, and under the sink. Just be sure to place it where a curious child or animal will not get a hold of it.
Gel baits applied with a syringe are often the most effective.
Cockroaches eating bait don’t die immediately. The exposure allows exposed individuals to return to harborages and may infect others. Once the roach finds and consumes bait, it usually dies within three days. Before using cockroach bait, it is rarely necessary to empty cabinets or cover the food preparation surface. Other advantages are that they almost do not have any odor and are of minimal hazards to children or pets. In just a couple of weeks, the bait should effectively eliminate the infestation.
Baits are a very effective way to control cockroaches.
Other treatment places for German cockroaches include behind sinks and toilets, behind fridges and stoves, and inside trash containers and cabinets. If you are using bait stations, the edges should be in places that follow the cockroaches’ paths. Use a broom handle to slide the station back into hard-to-reach areas such as behind stoves and refrigerators. Bait stations are suitable for placing around the toaster oven and other electronic devices.
Natural remedies
Natural remedies are not as effective as other methods, as discussed. However, boric acid is one natural remedy used to fight German cockroaches. These are not as toxic to humans or pets and are typically very affordable to eradicate cockroaches. The only problem is they usually do not do the job.
Words About Bombs (Foggers)
One method NOT recommended for cockroaches is total-release foggers. While foggers take little skill and knowledge to work, they rarely are effective against pests. The active ingredients in foggers tend to be repellent and cause insects to scatter and move deeper into wall voids and other difficult-to-reach areas. As a result, only a tiny amount of insecticide even gets into openings where pests can flurry from and around. The other danger of this, aside from getting pesticides everywhere, is when enough German roaches get exposed to small amounts of pesticides, it adapts. The ones that survive develop resistance and breed out that resistance to where they are no longer affected.
What damage do German cockroaches cause?
As roaches roam in and around piles of trash, sewage, mold, and mildew, they spread it all around. They can spread all kinds of bacteria and several other diseases. So they could trigger illness and disease in your house at some point. They also produce proteins that affect people who have allergic reactions. These insects increase asthma symptoms as well. German cockroaches are a severe problem and should be taken care of immediately!
Do German cockroaches bite or fly?
German cockroaches have wings, but they rarely fly. They will typically only eat the skin, fingernails, or hair if there isn’t another food source available.
What causes German cockroaches?
Cockroaches require food and moisture, and these are easily accessible in our homes. Most roaches tend to be attracted to old dishes, crumbs, or an environment with leftover crumbs. A leaking pipe or wet bath mat will provide excellent breeding habitats for cockroaches.
Often, roaches will get into your home in something as simple as a used appliance or piece of furniture. They could even come from the grocery store! They love electronics!
German Roach Control in Restaurants
Many times roaches will infest a restaurant kitchen. You would be surprised how often roaches infest restaurants. One reason is a restaurant might see a couple of roaches and try to take care of it themselves. Typically this is because the restaurant is too embarrassed to have a pest control company pull up to their restaurant. This gives the roaches time to mature and spread. Once the first generation hatches out and breeds, then the next generation of roaches start reproducing it all of a sudden becomes an emergency.
Keep German roaches from coming back.
Once you have eradicated what you believe is all of the roaches…..
How do I identify German Cockroach Infestation?
Cockroaches don’t want a well-lit place. As the population grows, you will start to see them in well-lit areas. That is a massive sign that the problem is significant. Look all around for locations that they might be harboring; you have to get on the floor and search high and low. You can also place sticky pads around to see if you catch any and figure out the infestation level.
Start your inspection in the kitchen.
An excellent place to start is the refrigerator area. If you can slide it out, look behind it. Same for the stove, oven, dishwasher, and microwave. Look underneath dish mats, under dishwashing cabinets and drying racks, and underneath, behind, and inside the trash can. If you think you’re out of places to search, scan the room in sections—up high, down, and below. Write down all of the locations that you see activity. You can even take a little chalk and mark the areas for your pest control operator to know better where to treat and place bait.
Overlooked Sites
The most significant area to check in commercial and residential kitchens is the wall void behind sinks behind the dishwasher unit and behind the oven. Electrical wires within commercial kitchens are housed inside a conduit that goes into outlets and junction boxes. German cockroaches thrive inside such boxes and travel by tunnel from area to region. When looking for roach infestations, one should check false ceilings as well if they are present.
Importance of detection
Undiscovered active German roach infestations can allow the infestation to persist. For restaurant owners, ask employees to show you where he has seen a cockroach when he has last seen it and search all around that area.