Cockroaches, how to Control Them 1

On January 24, 1978, fourUSD A agencies—Agricultural ResearchServices ARS, Cooperative State Research Service CSRS, Exten-sion Service ES, and the National Agricultural Library NAL — Thi

3 Cockroaches

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UNITEDSTATES LEAFLET PREPAREDBY

DEPARTMENT OF NUMBER 430 SCIENCEAND

AGRICULTURE EDUCATION

On January 24, 1978, fourUSD A agencies—Agricultural Research

Services (ARS), Cooperative State Research Service (CSRS),

Exten-sion Service (ES), and the National Agricultural Library (NAL)

—

This publication was prepared by the Science and Education

Ad-ministration's Agricultural Research staff, which was formerly the Agricultural Research Service

RevisedDecember1978

How to Control Them

filth on their legs and bodies and

food They destroy food and

dam-age fabrics and bookbindings

odor that may ruin food Unless

dishes over which the insects run

give off the odor when warmed.

trouble-some in buildings Most of the

others live outdoors They may

enterhouses by coming in on

fire-wood or by flying to lights, but

in-doors They either leave or die.

are fairly easy to control in most

homes

DESCRIPTION

adultsofmost species have wings

The young look like the adults,

day in sheltered, dark places

night If disturbed, they run

rap-idly for shelter and disappear

places

distinguished from each other by

their appearance and by the places where they are found The

table and illustrations will help

you learn to distinguish them

bn-2287

American cockroach (natural size:

some are larger.)

German and brown-banded

food, temperature, and moisture

are unfavorable Conditions are

notusuallyideal for rapid growth

in buildings and homes where

good sanitation is practiced

leatherycapsule, which sheforms

at the end of her body The

capsule about a month, and drops

it just before the eggs hatch;

the capsule The other kinds

two, then glue them to some

ob-ject in a protected place; about

capsule afteranincubation period

PREVENTING ENTRY

containers from other buildings,

cracks passing through floors or

walls, and cracks leading to

spaces behind baseboards and

rooms

Thor-ough cleaning reduces the

you find.

SPRAYS AND DUSTS Infestations can be controlled

and dusts

Oriental cockroach: Above,

BN-2289

female;

Name Description Wherefound American cockroach1

Australian cockroach2

Brown cockroach3

Reddish brown to dark

brown Adults lVz to 2 inches long.

brown Yellowmarkings

on the thorax; yellow streaks at base of wing

covers. Adults 1 inch long.

Reddish brown to dark

brown Adults 1M to

IY2 inches long.

Brown-banded cockroach4

Light brown Mottled, (also called tropical reddish-brown wings on

cockroach) female; lighter wings

on male Adults V2 inch long.

Lightbrown Blackstripes (also called croton bug running lengthwise on

and water bug) back. Adults % inch

long. Most common of the 7 kinds.

Orientalcockroach6

(also calledblackbeetle

and shad roach)

Blackor darkbrown

Traces of wings on females; short wings

on males Femaleadults

1 to \ xk inches long,

male adults a little

shorter. More sluggish

than other species.

Adults \y± to W2. inches long.

Develop in damp

base-ments and sewers, forage mostly on first

Develop in warm, damp

places, in or out of doors; forage mostly on

Develop in warm, humid

environments May occur in all areas of buildings.

Develop and live all over the building.

Develop and live all over the building, particu-larly in kitchens and

bathrooms

Develop in damp

base-ments and sewers; forage mostly on first

Develop in warm, humid

environments May occur in all areas of buildings.

1

Periplaneta fuliginosa 2

Periplaneta australasiae 3

Periplaneta brunnea

*Supellalongipalpa 5

Blatella germanica 6Blatta orientalis 7

Periplaneta fuliginosa.

Female Australian cockroach. (1%

timesnaturalsize.)

Make limited applications; do

not treat entire floors, walls, or

ceilings Treat only along

base-boards, under cupboards, and in

similar places where cockroaches

hide Do not treat surfaces used

not treat storage spaces that

contain food

The following list names the

most commonly used insecticides,

gives the proper strength of each

effectiveness of each Dusts can

so can oil sprays Emulsions can

the directions on the label.

Chlorpyrifos (Dursban) :

0.5-percent oil solution or water

emulsion

Malathion: 2-percent oil

so-lution or water emulsion; or

4-or 5-percent dust

Propoxur (Baygon) :

1-per-sion

Ronnel: 2-percent oil solution

resi-due on the treated surface The

residue does notkeep cockroaches

out, but those that come in

con-tact with it are killed. A single

protection for several weeks

A liquid insecticide is often the

when there is danger of firefrom

oil-based liquids. Both a liquid

diffi-cult to control, or firmly

estab-lished

APPLICATION

baseboards, cracks, and places

Spray

coarse spray to wet the surface

fine, it will float away in the air.

surfaces thoroughly, but not so

much that the liquid begins to

drip or run

Professional pest-control opera-tors may use larger sprayers but

Apply an insecticide dust with

a puff duster of the bulb, plunger,

surfaces where cockroaches run

A light, uniform film is sufficient.

dust to cake

BN-2291

Brown-banded cockroach: Above,

fe-male; below, male (1Y2 times natural

Mention of a proprietary product in this publication does not constitute a

guarantee or warranty of the product

by the U.S Department of Agriculture

and does not imply its approval by the

Department to the exclusion of other products that may also be suitable.

floor around the edges of a room

to go from their hiding places to

PLACES TO TREAT For best results, apply

insecti-cides to places where cockroaches

hide

a dark room quietly, turn on the

lights, and watch where the

They may hide

—

Around the kitchen sink and drainboard

inside them —especially in

Around pipes or conduits,

where they pass along the

Inside the motor compartment

chairs

In radioandtelevision cabinets

On and

German cockroach: A, First stage; B, second stage; C, third stage; D, fourth stage;E, adultfemale; F,female witheggcase; G, adultwithwingsspread.

(1% times natural size.)

When treating cupboards and

pantries, take everything from

shelves and remove drawers so

that food and utensils will not

excess powder Clean shelf

sur-faces, or cover them with paper, before replacing the articles.

thor-oughly, it is not necessary to

under-surfaces

Resistance of Cockroaches

to Insecticides

In areas where the German

control of affected infestations

poor control of cockroach

infes-tations is due to improper use of

insecticides andlack of good

sani-tation practices in infested

envi-ronments

OF CONTROL

these baits and place them in

areas frequented by cockroaches

Do not use them where they can

Fumigation

de-stroysacockroachinfestation,but

expen-sive. Buildings in such areas are

likelytobecome reinfested within

a short time

Since residual

cideshave becomeavailable,

pro-fessional pest-control operator

gen-erally

insecticides against cockroaches

attractive to cockroaches and

as bait The powders or bait

tab-lets may give satisfactory results

when used in places where there

is littlefoodfor cockroaches, such

as in office buildings

PRECAUTIONS

Pesticidesare safeandeffective

when used as directed Used

fol-low all directions and precautions

on the label of the pesticide

The amount and frequency of

pesticideusemay varyindifferent

sections of the country This

pub-lication is intended for

nation-wide distribution Users of this

publication may also wish to

con-sult their State agricultural

Ex-tension Service for information

applicable to their localities, or

obtain the latest recommendation

if this publication is more than 2

Thepesticidesmentioned inthis

publication were federally

regis-tered for the use indicated as of

the issue of this publication

con-tainers under lock and key —out

and

feed

Apply pesticides so that they

live-stock, crops, beneficial insects, fish, and wildlife Do not apply

pesticides when there is danger

ofdrift, when honeybees orother

pollinating insects are visiting

plants, or in ways that may

residues

pesticide sprays or dusts; wear

protective clothingand equipment

if specified on the container

In case a pesticide is swallowed

or gets in the eyes, follow the

first-aid treatment given on the

label, and get prompt medical

attention If a pesticide is spilled

on your skin or clothing, remove

clothing immediately and wash

Do not clean spray equipment, ment for insecticides or

fungi-or dump excess spray material cides that you use for herbicides,

near ponds, streams, or wells Dispose ofempty pesticide

con-„ ,.,.,_, „ tamers promptly.Have them

ied ftt& ganitary land_ fin dump Qr traces of herbicides from equip- crush and bury them in a level,

SCIENCEANDEDUCATION ADMINISTRATION

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Prepared by

Insects Affecting Man and Animals Research Laboratory

Gainesville, Fla 32604