Know Your Enemy
Accurate identification of pests is as important as choosing the best preventive pest management available on the market today. Preventive Pest Control has compiled a list of most common pests to help you identify the problem.
Brown-Banded Cockroach
(Supella longipalpa)
Characteristics
The adult brown-banded cockroach is around 3/5 inch long. Its color ranges from light tan to dark brown. Males are slender and can fly while females are broader and unable to fly. The wings of the males are longer and the females are shorter. Nymphs are just the shorter version of the adult since they look the same.
Habitat
This cockroach is an indoor pest and may be seen in houses and buildings. They can live in any place where they can be well hidden. Since they do not need a lot of moisture like the German cockroach, this cockroach can be found behind wall decorations, inside loose wallpaper, electrical appliances, inside cabinets and shelves, and a lot more.
Behavior
These cockroaches are nocturnal insects and may just appear at night. They usually stay in dry and warm conditions, and may infest heated buildings. They can normally be seen in higher parts of the house and mostly away from food areas. However, they can still live beneath upholstered furniture, television sets, and radios if they have the chance.
Food
The brown-banded cockroach prefers to feed on starchy food, but they can also consume non-food materials. They can still eat anything they think is food like the adhesive backing of books and wallpaper paste.
Life Cycle
It only takes a day or a day and a half for a female cockroach to produce and carry her egg capsule. Although the life cycle of the brown-banded cockroach takes a bit of a time. An ootheca usually contains 14 up to around 16 eggs each that will hatch afterwards. Once the eggs are hatched, the nymphs will need from 90 to around 270 days, depending on the availability of food and water before they become adults. After the final molting and they become adults, these cockroaches can live up to 200 days.
Other Information and Tips
This cockroach is a known pest in the United States. Immediate elimination and control should always be done when it comes to the brown-banded cockroach since they can easily multiply that can cause infestations. To get rid of these pests, better apply different preventive techniques that involve non-chemical and chemical control.
Non-chemical control includes:
• Not leaving food on the kitchen sink overnight
• Regularly vacuuming the kitchen floors
• Vacuuming the cracks and crevices of a home
• Repairing any leaky pipes or faucets
• Regularly taking the garbage out of the house
• Using sticky traps or glue boards to monitor the presence and location of the roaches
Chemical method involves the use of insecticides and baits that are only harmful to pests and not to the homeowner and the environment.
Since the brown-banded cockroach is a survivalist, it may not be easy to control them on your own. Large infestation may require knowledge of their harborage and proper identification and control of the cockroaches. In the case of an infestation and you are not able to control them, ask help from a professional pest control that is near your area.
Photo: From Public Health Image Library (PHIL) of the Center of Disease Control, via Wikimedia Commons
