Roaches

Roaches of Southern California

AMERICAN ROACH

American cockroach adults grow to an average length of around 4 cm (1.6 in) and about 7 mm (0.28 in) tall. They are reddish brown and have a yellowish margin on the body region behind the head. Immature cockroaches resemble adults except they are wingless.

Habits

The American Cockroach can travel quickly, often darting out of sight when someone enters a room, and can fit into small cracks and under doors despite its fairly large size. It is considered one of the fastest running insects.

Habitat

American cockroaches generally live in moist areas, but can survive in dry areas if they have access to water. They prefer warm temperatures around 85 degrees and do not tolerate cold temperatures very well. American cockroach are commonly found in basements, crawl spaces, cracks and crevices of porches, foundations, and walkways adjacent to buildings. In residential areas outside the tropics these cockroaches live in basements and sewers, and may move outdoors into yards during warm weather

GERMAN ROACH

German cockroaches prefer to live in a moist, warm environment, and as such tend to gravitate towards kitchens and bathrooms. These environments supply plenty of food as well as the preferred temperature and humidity.Despite its name, the German cockroach actually originates in Asia, and could be found throughout Russia long before it made its way to the United States and other countries. This type of cockroach is a common household pest across the U.S. as well as most other countries in the Western world. The German cockroach is the most common pest species in apartments, houses, restaurants, and hotels alike.

The adult German cockroach is relatively small compared to other cockroach species, between 0.5 inches (1.25 cm) and 0.625 inches (1.6 cm). This species is tan or light brown, with distinctive dark-colored parallel line markings which extend from the head to the wings. They cannot fly, despite having a set of fully-developed wings.

While this species prefers to dine on starches, sugar, and meat, they will feed off a wide variety of organic substances, including hair and shed skin cells.