Cockroaches

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Cockroaches are well known for spreading disease and are associated with various other health risks. Exposure to this insect could put you at risk of Salmonella, Dysentery & Gastro-enteritis. Increases in eczema and childhood asthma have even been linked to cockroach droppings.

A quick response at the very first signs of an infestation is often essential to control cockroaches in your home and to prevent the spread of this pest to your neighbours.

Their ability to breed rapidly and their resilience means that a professional service is usually the most reliable form of control. Only expert products and solutions are powerful enough to eliminate all stages of their lifecycle.

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Cockroach Droppings

Due to their unsanitary eating habits, cockroaches can pass harmful pathogens through their droppings. When a cockroach feasts on something contaminated, such as a raw piece of chicken or animal feces, the organism will enter, and may lay dormant in their digestive system. The pathogen will then be excreted in cockroach droppings and will contaminate surfaces and food.

If you see cockroach droppings, that’s a signal that cockroaches may be infesting your home or business. Droppings may be found behind your kitchen drawers and under your kitchen counters. You should contact a pest professional if you think you think you are facing a cockroach infestation.

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Cockroach Salvia

Cockroach saliva is also responsible for spreading a range of diseases. Similar to droppings, saliva can harbor pathogens accumulated from eating contaminated items.

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Direct contact

Cockroaches can be found living in sewers, cesspits, drains and garbage bins where they come into contact with a range of organisms, such as bacteria and viruses, which can become attached to cockroaches’ bodies. The legs of a cockroach, for example, have spines that are sensitive to touch and provide a very large surface area to pick up pathogens. Anything a cockroach touches or rubs past may then become contaminated.

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Eating and drinking contaminated food

The most common form of transmission of a disease from a cockroach is from eating or drinking anything it has contaminated. This can either be through consuming food or drink contaminated by cockroaches, or by eating or drinking something that has been made using contaminated cooking utensils, cutlery or crockery, or touched contaminated surfaces.

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Inhaling contaminated air

If the air supply is contaminated with proteins from cockroach feces, vomit or shed skin and this is inhaled by people suffering from asthma, an attack can be triggered.

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Touching contaminated items

Touching items contaminated with a organism deposited by cockroaches is also a route through which transmission can occur. Touching an item which has been contaminated then touching your eyes, nose, mouth or an open wound can result in the pathogen entering the body and infection setting in.

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How to prevent cockroaches spreading diseases

The most effective way to prevent to cockroaches spreading diseases in your home or business is to reduce to possibility of these crawling insects entering your property. This best way to do this is to enlist the necessary cockroach prevention methods. 

Following the correct prevention techniques will reduce the risk of an infection from a disease spread by cockroaches, and drastically reduce the potential for cockroaches to spread diseases through your property.

You can prevent diseases spread by cockroaches by: 

• Through cleaning practices 

• Following proper hand hygiene 

• Sealing cracks and gaps 

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Cleaning

Cleaning is one of the most effective methods for preventing cockroaches. Not only will it make your property less appealing to them in the first place, it will also get rid of any bacteria or virus they’ve spread. 

It’s advised that you clean floors, work surfaces, sinks and drains on a regularly basis and cooking utensils, cutlery and crockery before and after use. Removing any possible food sources, such as dropped food, grease behind ovens and pet feces, is also a good idea. 

For businesses operating within the food industry, complying with the proper food safety regulations in regards to cleaning can help reduce the risk of diseases carried by cockroaches being spread.

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Hand hygiene

Washing your hands on a regular basis can assist in reducing the risk of cockroach-borne diseases. Wash your hands with soap and warm water on a regular basis to help eliminate any bacteria, germs or viruses which can cause the diseases spread by cockroaches. 

It is important that you wash your hands: 

• Before, during and after preparing food.

• After using the washroom. 

• Before and after eating. 

• After handling any material which could transfer germs.

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Seal cracks and gaps

Sealing cracks or gaps in and around your property helps to reduce the number of entry points for cockroaches. This in turn reduces their potential to transmit organisms which cause diseases through your home or businesses. 

It’s a good idea to regularly inspect your property to make sure there are no entry points, and seal them with expanding foam and other materials if necessary. It is also advised that you regularly inspect and repair damaged drains and pipes.

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Know your cockroach

Although there are numerous species of roaches around the planet, the ones that are most common for homeowners are:

• German cockroach - The German cockroach is worldwide in distribution. It is the most prevalent species in and around homes, apartments, supermarkets, food processing plants and restaurants. Many homes and business establishments become infested with German cockroaches when they are introduced in infested cartons, foodstuffs and other materials. The German cockroach is about 5/8 inch/16 mm in length, brown in color, with two dark longitudinal streaks on the pronotum. The male is light brown and somewhat boat-shaped. The female is slightly darker in color with a broader and rounded posterior. German cockroaches breed throughout the year indoors, yet favors a humid environment and an average temperature of about 70 degrees F/21 degrees C. The German cockroach produces more eggs per capsule then other pest cockroach species. In addition their young also complete their growth in a shorter period of time. Female German cockroaches carry their egg capsules until they are ready to hatch. The number of eggs in an egg capsule is generally 30 - 40.

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• American cockroach -The American cockroach is the largest of the house-infesting cockroaches being 1 ½ inches long with fully developed reddish brown wings and light markings on the thorax. The American cockroach is commonly found in sewers and basements, particularly around pipes. The American cockroach is found most commonly in restaurants, grocery stores, bakeries, and where food is prepared and stored. In warm months, especially in the summer, alley ways and yards may become heavily infested. American cockroaches can take flight and have been recorded capable of long flights. The female will not drop her egg capsule as soon as it is formed and will carry it for a few hours or days before depositing it. Egg capsules are often glued to surfaces when deposited. The American cockroach female does not drop her egg capsule indiscriminately, but will usually hide them with great care in crevices, or bury them in softwood or workable material. The number of egg capsules produced by the female is from around six to fourteen, with about 16 eggs in each capsule placed in two parallel rows. Newly emerged nymphs will molt 13 times before reaching maturity.

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• Brown-Banded Cockroach - The brown-banded cockroach commonly hides in cupboards, pantries, closet shelves, behind pictures and picture frames, and other areas throughout the home and prefer high locations. The brown-banded cockroach is similar to the German cockroach in some respects but may be distinguished from it by the following general characteristics:

1. The brown-banded cockroach lacks the two dark stripes on the thorax found on the German cockroach.

2. The wings are twice-banded with brownish yellow stripes.

3. The egg capsules are smaller then the German cockroach, being about 3/16 inches and having about half as many eggs.

Brown-banded cockroaches are active and will fly readily when disturbed. The egg capsule of the brown-banded cockroach is yellowish or reddish brown in color and is 3/16 inches in length. The female carries the egg capsule for 24 to 36 hours and then attaches it to some object. There may be up to 18 eggs in each egg capsule.

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• Oriental cockroach - Like other cockroach species, Oriental cockroaches undergo a gradual metamorphosis with three distinct stages, including egg, nymph and adult. The female Oriental cockroach produces an egg capsule which is blackish-brown in color. About 16 eggs are laid in the egg capsule arranged in two rows of eight eggs each. The average number of eggs hatching is 14. The female may deposit up to 18 egg capsules, with an average of eight egg capsules per female. The female Oriental cockroach has a much lower potential for producing offspring when compared to the female German cockroach or brown-banded cockroach. Generally egg capsules are deposited in places where food is readily available. Eggs hatch in about two months after they have been deposited. Newly emerged nymphs are very light, but later change to a reddish-to blackish-brown color. Male and female Oriental cockroaches have different wing formations. Males have well developed brown-black wings which cover about 75 percent of their abdomen. The shiny black female has rudimentary wing stubs with definite venation. Adult female Oriental cockroaches may live from 34 to 181 days on average. Oriental cockroaches are omnivorous, but they prefer to feed on starchy foods. They are less wary and more sluggish than other cockroaches. The ideal temperature for the Oriental cockroach is about 68 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit. They are typically found in dark, damp basements, crawlspaces, areas between the soil and foundation, underneath sidewalks, in sewer pipes, floor drains and many other cool, moist places.