While cockroach infestations occur in a variety of human occupied spaces, they are most often found in kitchen and bathrooms because on the moisture and food source. Families have trusted All American Pest Control for their Cockroach Treatment Orlando Florida since 1999.

Knowledge is important for Cockroach Treatment Orlando Florida

The German cockroach is the most common cockroach species found in Orlando Florida so this is what we will talk about here.

German Cockroaches Identification

Adult German cockroaches are recognized by their light brown to tan coloring with two dark, almost parallel stripes, located on their backs. They are small, 1/2 inch to 5/8 inch in length. Female German cockroaches tend to be darker than males. German cockroach nymphs are dark brown to black in color with the same dark stripes located on their backs. While German cockroaches have wings, they rarely fly. Instead, they prefer to run.

Signs of German Cockroaches

German cockroaches prefer to live in warm, humid places close to food and moisture sources. They are frequently found in residential and commercial kitchen environments, and bathrooms, so these are the two most likely places for an infestation to occur. It is also likely to find German cockroach dropping in areas they frequent. Droppings may appear as small, dark, “pepper-like” material left on countertops or in drawers. There may also be fecal staining, which appears as dark spots or smears in the corners of rooms, along the tops of doors or around small cracks and openings into walls.

German cockroach infestation can occur in any area where people eat and drink. In homes, this includes dining rooms, living rooms, dens and bedrooms. Any crack of crevice located near a source of food and/or water can harbor cockroaches. German cockroaches can fit through an opening as small as 3/8 inch in width. German cockroaches are good hitchhikers and often find their way into new structures by hitching a ride in grocery bags, cardboard boxes, drink cartons and secondhand appliances such as refrigerators, televisions, microwaves, etc. They have been observed to migrate from building to building on warm evenings. Although uncommon, they can survive outdoors during the warm months.

German cockroaches have a wide palate. They will feed on almost anything with nutritional value including all kinds of food, as well as soap, glue and toothpaste residue on a toothbrush.

Activity periods for German cockroaches vary greatly with life state, age and physiological state. For example, reproducing females are quite active, whereas males spend the majority of their time in harborage even at night. When German cockroach populations are present in large numbers, it may be possible to detect a mild, somewhat “musty” odor.

Getting Rid of German Cockroaches

Cockroach Treatment Orlando Florida? The best advice for German cockroach control is to practice good sanitation. To prevent German cockroaches from infesting a home or business, people should maintain a clean kitchen by cleaning up crumbs, wiping spills and vacuuming often. Avoid leaving dishes pile up in the sink. It is also important to seal all entrances to the structure, especially around utility pipes, and ventilate crawl spaces to prevent moisture buildup. Because German Cockroach can be carried in from grocery and box stores, even clean homes can be infested by German Cockroaches. German cockroaches egg capsules can hatch 30-50 more German Roaches and can breed at a rate of up to six generations per year, so a pest control company may recommend a reoccurring service to address this rapid reproductive rate. If there is evidence of a German cockroach infestation, contact All American Pest Control in Orlando Florida to treat the German cockroach problem.

Threats from German Cockroaches

More than just a nuisance, German cockroaches have been implicated in outbreaks of illness and allergic reactions in many people. 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. Medical studies have shown that German cockroach allergens cause allergic reactions and can exacerbate asthma attacks, especially in children. This makes Cockroach Treatment Orlando Florida incredibly vital.

German cockroach biology and habits that can make it one of our more challenging pests in Orlando Florida.

1. German cockroaches have a phenomenal rate of reproduction. One female cockroach and her offspring can theoretically produce hundreds of thousands of cockroaches in just one year! To prevent a population increase, either the service has to be frequent enough to stay ahead of the growth curve, or the controls (baits or sprays, chemical or nonchemical) have to remain effective from one service visit to the next.
2. German cockroaches love heat and humidity. Cockroaches prefer a temperature of 85° to 95° F with a humidity at 90 to 95% (although they do quite well at normal room temperatures and humidities, too). Within a given room, cockroaches will be concentrated where the temperature or humidity is highest, such as above refrigerators and other heat-generating equipment, under the sink, and around water pipes (hot water pipes provide warmth, cold water pipes provide water from condensation).
3. German cockroaches spend most of their lives hidden and protected. For every cockroach in view in daytime, hundreds can be hidden inside wall and ceiling voids, behind cabinets, inside appliances, and the like. A German cockroach’s favorite location is inside a narrow crevice with its antennae extended out. Typical “prime” locations are the cracks between cabinets and walls, the flange under the kitchen sink, and the space between door corners and jambs.
4. German cockroaches aggregate (crowd together). Miss an aggregation site and you may leave your client with a mess of cockroaches. On the other hand, the fact that German cockroaches aggregate can help in their control. The brownish “spotting” left behind by cockroaches marks sites of aggregation, which are also excellent sites for application of residual insecticides or baits. Use spotting as a roadmap to direct your treatment.
5. German cockroaches protect their egg cases. The female German cockroach carries her egg case for as long as a month, dropping it just before it hatches. While she is carrying the egg case, the female German cockroach is less active and tends to stay hidden away in cracks and crevices and protected voids. For this reason, when applying residual insecticides, it is especially important to (1) treat deep inside cracks, crevices, and voids, and (2) schedule follow-up treatments from a few weeks to a month later in problem locations to control newly-emerged nymphs.
6. German cockroach egg capsules are not susceptible to insecticides. Most insecticides do not have the ability to penetrate the egg case, even if directly applied to the case. The unaffected egg cases will hatch days after treatment. German cockroaches egg capsules can hatch 30-50 more German Roaches and can breed at a rate of up to six generations per year. This is another reason to schedule follow-up treatments in heavy infestations.
7. German cockroaches regularly disperse to new areas. Older, larger nymphs are most likely to disperse, followed by adult males and then adult females without egg cases. Small nymphs are least mobile. During an outbreak of German cockroaches, technicians need to expand their search for cockroaches into adjacent rooms above and below, even into sites that are not typically infested with German cockroaches.
8. German cockroaches detect and avoid many insecticides. Most insecticide sprays and dusts are repellent to a greater or lesser degree. If cockroaches are repelled by a treated surface, they are not likely to contact the insecticide long enough to pick up a toxic dose. Be sure to treat deep inside cracks and crevices and voids. If there is no untreated harborage to escape to, cockroaches will be forced to contact insecticide residues even if those residues are repellent.
9. German cockroaches can develop resistance to insecticides. When insects are exposed to an insecticide, the least susceptible may survive to pass on their “resistance” to their offspring. This resistance may be physiological or behavioral, as we learned recently with cockroach aversion to certain baits. Eventually, the insect cannot be controlled with that insecticide, sometimes not even with related insecticides they have never been exposed to before (cross resistance). To prevent control failures periodically change insecticides or use combinations of insecticides.
10. German cockroaches can change their normal behavior. You may find a residence infested with cockroaches in the living room but not the kitchen. Or German cockroaches will be seen moving out in the open in bright light, and not responding to activity in the area.

Cockroach Treatment Orlando Florida You Can Trust! All American Pest Control has taken care of all sorts of German Cockroach infestations since 1999. All American Pest Control, When You Demand Quality!