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AMERICAN COCKROACH |
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PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
The American cockroach is called the Bombay Canary in
England.
This is the largest of the house infesting roaches, and the most common roach on
ships.
This is also the most common roach found in city sewer systems
Reddish brown in color, it may grow to a length of 1 1/2 inches.
Both males and females can fly, though they seldom do. Males have longer wings.
They prefer temperatures above 70 degrees and will die in temperatures below 15
degrees.
They have been found in snow under smoldering refuse.
It is commonly called a palmetto bug, and is found mostly in larger commercial
buildings, in food storage areas and basements.
They are born with a desire for fermenting liquid.
A Los Angeles bar manager relates an interesting account of finding hundreds of
dead roaches crammed in half empty beer bottles that had been discarded in his
cellar.
They can live 2-3 months without food and 1 month without water.
They feed on decaying organic matter, and will eat starch materials.
REPRODUCTIVE ABILITIES
It often glues its egg capsules to walls or other
surfaces.
Egg capsules have been found covered by paint and other workable materials
effectively hiding the capsule from predators, parasites, and pest technicians.
A female may produce from 6 to 14 egg cases.
A full compliment of eggs per case is 16.
The egg takes 38 to 49 days to develop.
The American cockroach molts approximately 13 times before reaching maturity.
HEALTH RISKS
These roaches carry many types of diseases including
salmonella, staph, and strep.
Sailors on infested ships have been known to wear gloves on their hands while
asleep to keep the hordes of roaches from gnawing off their fingernails.
TREATMENT
The regular Pest-A-Way Barrier will control most
infestations of American cockroaches on the exterior, however, if interior
infestations are a problem the technician will treat the interior as well. In
addition, the technician will advise the customer on ways to help eliminate
harborage points that may be contributors to the problem
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