Cockroach, Wood Roach
Common Name: Cockroach, Woods roach
Latin Name: Eurycotis floridana (Walker)
Common Family Name: Blattid cockroaches
Latin Family Name: Blattidae
Other Names: Florida woods cockroach, stinking cockroach
Origin: Native to southern Florida and the West Indies.
This outdoor cockroach is found under debris and vegetation piles around structures. Suitable harborage sites would be lumber or firewood piles, leaf litter, thick mulch, or within tree holes. It is able to reproduce parthenogenetically, meaning without males in the population. When disturbed the roach will exude a foul-smelling, oily liquid.
Identification: Adults are very large, reaching almost 2 inches in length. The color is dark brown to black, and the wings are reduced to short stubs at the front of the abdomen.
Characteristics Important in Control: Removal of potential harborage sites around structures by cleaning up debris will reduce populations. Exterior applications of a residual insecticide can prevent entry to structures, along with applications of granular bait insecticides.
Why the Wood Roaches??
I have been servicing this home for about 4 years for general pest control and never had a wood roach problem. all of a sudden the customer sees one here and one there. I have used Cy-Kick Cs with very little results and cannot find where the source is.
Tony , VA
Several kinds of roaches in the genus Parcoblatta are called Woods Roaches, including the Pennsylvania Woods Roach that is found throughout the eastern half of the U.S. The western states also get occasional invasions, albeit pretty minor, by species in the Parcoblatta, but they are usually just the occasional, single roach that mistakenly entered a structure. These roaches are capable of flight, and in winter may choose structures as their over-wintering site, entering through roofing, attic vents, under siding, or other openings leading to protective voids in the structure. By staying a little warmer within the home they then may be active in the cold weather, and be observed by the customers as they wander about.
These really are outdoor insects, and should be treated as the Occasional or Perimeter Invaders they are, much as you might treat for crickets, pillbugs, boxelder bugs, or any other insect that lives in natural, wooded or grassy habitats, but survives the winter by seeking the protection of structures. They do not become structural pests in the sense that our other pest roaches do, like German or American roaches that infest kitchens and eat our foods. Those few that I myself have found in my California home were dead when I found them, for my garage really is not a conducive habitat for the roaches. They would prefer the comfort of the dampness under a log or rock, but with nasty weather will move to more protected locations.
Depending on your weather to this point the source in this case could still be from the outside, so any habitat modifications you can recommend to this customer in the way of cleanup of debris and hiding places close to the structure will really help. Populations of most kinds of insects go through increases and decreases on a regular basis, so this just could have been an up-year in your area for these guys, for what reason only they know, leading to the greater sightings of them in accounts. I don’t have any experience with baiting for Parcoblatta, but pyrethroids used as “a barrier” treatments should do an excellent job in eliminating them as they wander.
Mr. Pest Control