Recent reports that cities like Los Angeles, New York, Miami and
Atlanta have roach
problems don’t surprise many. Roaches are an age-old problem,
and they don’t seem to
be going away.
“Roaches have survived for more than 300 million years,” said
Paul Guillebeau, an
entomologist with the University of Georgia Extension
Service. “They have changed
very little, according to fossil evidence.”
A study by Combat Insect Control Systems ranked Atlanta as the
12th most
cockroach-infested city in the nation. Los Angeles topped the
list. The study was based
on 1996 sales of roach control products.
Roaches come in more than 3,500 varieties. But you can tell most
from other bugs by
their flat, long, tinny, oval-shaped, brown bodies. The adults
typically have wings.
“The most common varieties in the United Sates are the German,
brown-banded,
American, Oriental and smokey brown cockroaches,” Guillebeau
said.
They range from about a half-inch for German cockroaches to two
inches for smokey
brown adults.
“You usually find larger populations in cities,” he said, “due
to the number of
apartment buildings. And the climate has some effect.”
Cockroaches need three things to form a population: food,
moisture and shelter.
“Apartment buildings usually provide all of these,” he
said. “Once a few get
established, it doesn’t take long for a huge population to
form.”
So how do you keep a population of roaches from taking over your
home?
“Be scrupulously clean,” Guillebeau said. “Even a crumb is a
feast for a cockroach.”
He recommends cleaning the kitchen every night and putting away
all food, including
pet food. “Roaches like pet food as much as your pet does,” he
said.
He also warns you to quickly fix leaks in the kitchen or bath,
because even small
amounts of water will attract roaches.
Some factors out of your control, such as climate, attract
roaches, too.
“Some roaches come in from outdoors, like smokey browns, and
they like warm
climates,” Guillebeau said. “Others like German cockroaches live
almost exclusively
indoors, and the outdoor climate doesn’t matter to them.”
To help get rid of roach populations, some new roach baits are
now on the market.
“They’re very effective, so you may not need to use as many
pesticides as we once
did,” Guillebeau said. “However, if you already have a large
roach population, you’ll
probably have to spray some kind of pesticide.”
Remember when you spray that roaches like crevices. They prefer
for their backs and
legs to touch the surface at the same time.
