American Cockroach Identification & Prevention

Eliminating cockroaches is no easy task, no matter the type. Most store-bought products that you can purchase on your own are not effective against entire infestations. This is true for a couple of different reasons. First off, all cockroach varieties, including American cockroaches, breed incredibly fast. 

This means your likelihood of being able to eliminate enough adults to keep up with their replacement rate is low — not that eliminating adults is a walk in the park. Cockroaches are also infamously resilient, and they are able to resist many different control products intended to eliminate them.

The only way to truly eliminate whole cockroach infestations is to contact the pros here at Gecko Pest Control. We can help you kick cockroaches to the curb for good.

You will find American cockroaches just about everywhere you would find any other type of cockroach. Cockroaches love to hide in moist, dark places, so you'll find them under appliances, in bathrooms, in crawl spaces, and anywhere else that is humid and out of the way of foot traffic.

The thing about cockroach infestations is you might not ever actually see a live roach. Cockroaches are very good at evading the eyes of people. This means you might need to look for other signs of infestation besides seeing roaches themselves. Signs include:

• A foul or musty odor

• Smear marks through water

• Cockroach exoskeletons

• Cockroach egg capsules

• Dead roach bodies

If you start seeing these signs, even if you're not seeing live roaches, you likely have an infestation.

Cockroach control is incredibly challenging for several reasons, one of which is the difficulty in preventing infestation. Cockroaches can sniff out food with great accuracy, and they can squeeze their bodies into some unbelievably tiny spaces. So even though American cockroaches are much larger than other cockroach species in the United States, they can still easily invade your home.

Most of the time, you wind up with a cockroach problem because you are not properly addressing attractants. For instance, if you don't cover your garbage with tight lids, you could inadvertently attract cockroaches. Moisture problems like condensation and leaks are also major cockroach attractants, as are open food containers.

All types of cockroaches are dangerous, and American cockroaches are no exception. Just like all cockroaches, American cockroaches can spread a wide variety of diseases. Illnesses that you can get from cockroaches include: 

• Salmonellosis

• Gastroenteritis

• Typhoid fever

• Cholera

• Dysentery

• Listeria 

Many of the diseases that you can get from cockroaches are serious, and some can even land you in the hospital. That's why you should never ignore a cockroach problem.

American cockroaches, ironically enough, don't actually hail from America. These large cockroaches are from Africa, and they were introduced to North America many centuries ago. They are now the largest cockroach species in the United States and also one of the most common to infest our homes. 

If you see a large cockroach that is up to two inches long and medium to dark brown with long wings and antennae, this is likely an American cockroach.