Which Pest? Oriental Cockroaches

Oriental cockroach

Oriental cockroaches can be an alarming sight in your home or business. Cockroaches are exceptionally resilient and have existed on earth for 280 million years for this reason.

It only takes a few oriental cockroaches to spread bacteria all over your home or premises. Cockroaches feed on rubbish and decaying food. They are a common cause of transmitting germs that cause food poisoning.

Faecal matter and shed skin left behind by oriental cockroaches can lead to an allergic reaction, rashes, watery eyes, nasal congestion, and trigger asthma attacks.

The oriental cockroach is a large insect, growing to around an inch in length. They are dark brown or black in colour. Oriental cockroaches have wings but cannot fly. The male has longer wings than the female.

Oriental cockroaches can be found outdoors, but they easily enter properties through pipes and gaps in walls, window frames, brickwork, and vents. Once inside, they often emerge in bathrooms or kitchens as they prefer humid conditions. Oriental cockroaches can’t climb smooth, steep surfaces, so you might find them trapped in a bathtub or deep sink.

When a cockroach infestation becomes a problem

One or two oriental cockroaches scurrying around are unpleasant enough, but an infestation is a big concern. There is a high probability that there are likely many more hidden elsewhere in the property for every single cockroach you spot.

Because cockroaches tend to be nocturnal, we often don’t notice that we have an infestation until it becomes a problem that householders or business owners can’t contain by themselves. Cockroaches quite happily harbour and breed in the dark, hidden corners and hard-to-reach areas. They’re also more than capable of sustaining themselves and multiplying quickly in clean properties just as successfully as they are in those that are less so.

The signs of a cockroach infestation include:

• Sighting the insects themselves
• Spotting and identifying droppings (unfortunately, they actually closely resemble specks of debris or crumbs)
• Finding egg casings (oriental cockroaches deposit their 8 – 10 mm egg cases in favourable places for hatching).
• Detecting the unusual smell of an oriental cockroach infestation (a peculiar strong, oily odour – the oriental cockroach has the worst odour of all ‘roaches, though it can take a bit familiarisation to detect what it is straightaway).

How we deal with oriental cockroach infestations

Because cockroaches are small enough to pretty much go anywhere, you can do little to prevent them from accessing a property and then making their way all around it.

Oriental cockroaches are generally dealt with by laying a gel bait in key areas. This kills cockroaches quickly and disrupts females’ ability to carry eggs, which rapidly limits population growth.