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Oriental Cockroaches
Oriental Cockroaches
Facts, Identification & Control
Latin Name
Blatta orientalis
Appearance
What do they look like?
Male Adult Oriental Cockroach
Female Adult Oriental Cockroach
The adults of the oriental cockroach are very different in appearance.
Male
- Size: 25 mm long max
- Wings: three-quarter-length wings, leaving the last few abdominal segments exposed
- Color: Shiny black to a dark reddish-brown color
Female
- Size: 32 mm long max
- Wings: None, only large wing pads that cover the first couple of segments of the body
- Color: Shiny black to a dark reddish-brown color
How Did I Get Oriental Cockroaches?
These cockroaches prefer homes with plenty of damp, dark, and sheltered areas to breed and develop. Oriental cockroaches often travel through sewers and may come inside through pipes and drains. Abundant outdoor plants may also provide places for these cockroach populations to flourish and get inside houses in search of food. Also, leaking pipes and other plumbing leaks are very attractive to Oriental cockroaches.
How Serious Are Oriental Cockroaches?
Oriental cockroaches will eat almost anything, including decaying organic matter and trash. They often live in rarely used sink drains, garbage disposals, under cabinets that contain plumbing or in bathroom voids. As they forage for food in homes, the pests may transfer disease-causing bacteria to pantry goods and countertops.
Diseases
Oriental cockroaches can be a source for many food-borne pathogens, including E.coli, Salmonella spp., and other pathogens. Due to their dietary preference for garbage and decaying organic matter, oriental cockroaches can carry these pathogens on their legs and bodies from contaminated areas and then transmit them onto clean surfaces.
In addition, oriental cockroaches secrete odors from their bodies. These odors are very noticeable if the population is large and can taint food by changing its smell or flavor.
How Do You Get Rid of Cockroaches?
Signs of an Oriental Cockroach Infestation
Sightings
During the warmer months, it is not uncommon to find oriental roaches outside around landscaping beds, congregating beneath moist gutters, or even scurrying out from storm drains and sewer grates at night. Mostly active at night, they can be found during the day in areas and rooms that are kept primarily moist, dark and undisturbed.
Egg Capsules
Egg cases, or oothecas, of the oriental cockroach may appear dark brown or reddish in color and almost 8 to 10 mm in length. Each egg case, which can hold approximately 16 eggs, is dropped by the female into protected areas, almost 30 hours after it is produced.
Odor
In areas where large populations of oriental cockroaches are present, a musty odor can be detected. This odor is a result of chemicals that are secreted by the insects that are used to communicate within the population.
Behavior, Diet & Habits
How do they get in the home?
Oriental cockroaches are a pest invader that most frequently gains entry beneath the thresholds of doors, through open doors or gaps beneath siding, even following utility lines, pipes, open drains or sewers into a structure or home.
Where do they live?
Primarily an outdoors species, oriental cockroaches are well adapted for surviving in the natural environment. Most outdoor populations can be found living beneath the mulch in landscape beds, in leaf litter, beneath stones or debris outdoors. If access is available, the insects can thrive in the voids or openings beneath porches, in wall voids and crawlspaces. In more metropolitan areas, oriental roaches can be found in large numbers living in storm drains and sewers. Oriental roaches prefer cool, damp locations, so they can also be found in basements and cellars. Oriental cockroaches crawl around service ducts, toilets, bathtubs, sinks, radiators and pipes.
