The American cockroach is well known for being the largest cockroach pest species in the US in terms of body size, as both male and female adults of this species are between 1 ΒΌ and 2 or more inches in length. While the American cockroach is widely considered to be the most undesirable cockroach pest to find indoors due to their unsettlingly large size, several other cockroach species in the world are much larger. For example, the Central American cockroach species, Megaloblatta longipennis, is a monster compared to the American cockroach, as adults of this tropical species can grow to nearly 4 inches in length and nearly 2 inches in width. The American cockroach is also a problematic pest of sewer systems where they are known for occasionally traversing up pipes that lead into homes where they emerge from drains. This is especially common within commercial structures like restaurants where several indoor drains provide sewer-dwelling American cockroaches with multiple travel roots into buildings.
Considering that the German cockroach has evolved to live solely indoors where they rely on humans for the resources they need to survive, it is not surprising that they are the most commonly encountered cockroach pests within structures. In addition to being the most synanthropic cockroach pest species in the US, German cockroaches are also the most difficult roach pests to control due to their resistance to virtually all insecticide formulations, as well as their ability to reproduce at an unusually rapid rate. It is not uncommon for pest management professionals to find several thousand German cockroach specimens within infested homes, and in order to eradicate such infestations, each and every individual cockroach inhabitant, as well as their eggs, must be exterminated. In fact, even if pest control professionals successfully exterminate 98 percent of individuals within an indoor German cockroach population during the first four weeks of an initial control program, the remaining two percent will proliferate, and the infestation will continue.
Have you ever found German cockroaches within your home?