Parker Pest Control, Inc.


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Wood Cockroaches

Color:Light brown
Legs: Six
Shape: Oval
Size: 1 1/4"
Antennae: Yes
Flight: Yes

Wood roaches are large cockroaches often mistakenly identified as the American cockroach. The wood roach does not live inside structures. Wood roaches prefer to eat decaying organic matter and, unlike most roaches, are attracted to light.

Habits - Like their name suggests, wood roaches live in moist areas, such as under woodpiles, loose bark and decaying logs. Since they require consitently moist areas, they typically can't live in houses. They can sometimes be carried into homes on firewood, but will typically die within a few days.

Habitat - Wood cockroaches are often found in sewers and will enter structures through drains. They find indoor harborage in basements and crawl spaces. They can also be found in leaf piles and firewood outdoors.

Threats - 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. Germs that cockroaches eat from decaying matter or sewage are protected while in their bodies and may remain infective for several weeks longer than if they had been exposed to cleaning agents, rinse water, or just sunlight and air. Recent medical studies have shown that cockroach allergens cause lots of allergic reactions in inner city children. They were even shown to cause asthma in children. These allergens build up in deposits of droppings, secretions, cast skins, and dead bodies of roaches.

Treatment - Unlike all the other species of roaches in our area, wood roaches are phototrophic (highly attracted to light). The males are capable of flying in from long distances away. The important thing to know about wood roaches is that if they do happen to get inside, they will NOT reproduce and in fact, they will die on their own without doing anything within just a few days. Wood roaches are only seasonal; usually April through November. If you will change your white exterior light bulbs to yellow, that will help by about 40%. Also check to be sure they can't enter the house through an exterior door. Keep windows and doors closed in the evenings and close the blinds when you have interior lights on. Control measures consist of lighting, sealing and screening. Simply use a vacuum cleaner to pick up any you find in the house.