Cockroaches
can pick up disease-causing bacteria, such as
Salmonella, on
their
legs, which can contaminate foods, and cause food infections or
poisoning. House dust containing cockroach feces and body parts can
trigger allergic reactions and asthma in human adults and children.
American
Cockroach
Adult
American cockroaches are about 1.6 inches in length, reddish
brown and
have a yellowish margin on the body region behind the head. Odorous
secretions made by American cockroaches are strong enough to alter the
flavor of food.
American
cockroaches have three developmental stages: egg, nymph, and adult.
Females produce an egg case (ootheca) which protrudes out the back end
of the abdomen (females produce an average of 9-10 purse-shaped egg
cases). After about two days, she places the egg cases on a surface in
a safe location. Immature cockroaches (nymphs) emerge in 6-8 weeks and
require 6-12 months to mature. Adult cockroaches can live up to an
additional year during which females produce and average of 150 young.
^Top
of Page^
Brown-banded
Cockroach
Measuring
about ½ inch in length, the Brown-banded cockroach is
tan to
light
brown, with two light-colored bands across the wings and
abdomen. The
bands may sometimes appear to be broken or irregular but are quite
noticeable. The male (wider than the female) has wings that cover the
abdomen, while the female has wings that do not completely cover the
abdomen.
These
cockroaches prefer 80 degrees or warmer, thus, more often found in
upper cabinets in kitchens or bathrooms, or on the ceilings in dimly
lit rooms. The female produces egg-cases, like other cockroaches, and
more apt to hide the egg-cases in or under furniture.
^Top
of Page^
|
German Cockroach
Only
about ½
inch in length, the German cockroach can be tan to brown
to
almost
black, and has two dark parallel streaks running from
the head
to the
base of the wings.
This
cockroach
species produces faster than any other residential cockroach, going
from egg to a sexually mature adult in approximately 123 days. The
female develops and egg-case (ootheca) on her abdomen and will
noticably curl to the left or the right as it nears final maturation.
Nymphs will begin to hatch while the egg-case is still attached to the
female; however, the majority will emerge within 24 hours after the
egg-case is detached from the female's body.
^Top
of Page^
|
Egg case
extruding out backend
|
Oriental
Cockroach
Glossy
dark brown to black in coloration; females are usually
1¼
inches in
length while males are usually only 1 inch in length. Males have black
wings that cover most of their body and female wings are no more than
tiny lobes, thus, at first glance the female appears to be wingless.
Similar
to other species of cockroaches, the female produces egg cases
(oothecae), distinct egg compartments housing 16-18 eggs each. The egg
cases are formed a day after mating, then deposited in a sheltered
area, or attached to a substrate by oral secretion, 1-7 days after
formation. The egg cases are initially yellow white, turning reddish
brown then blackish brown, with nymphes hatching on their own in about
42 days.
^Top
of Page^
Smokybrown
Cockroach
Body
length ranges from 1¼ - 1½ inches, they are dark brown
to black
in
color, and both the male and female have wings longer than their
abdomens.
The
egg-cases produced by the Smokybrown Cockroach have a blunt point on
one side and are dark-brown to black in color. Females produce about 17
egg-cases, with each egg-case containing up to 24 eggs. The average
life span of a Smokybrown Cockroach is about 250-300 days.
^Top
of Page^
