What do cockroaches / cockroaches look like?

One of the largest household pests, cockroaches can transmit a wide variety of diseases that can negatively affect the health of you and your family. When fighting it, it is important to have sufficient knowledge of the insects, as they cannot be easily removed from your premises. To start with, you need to know what cockroaches look like so you don't confuse them with other crawling animals. Only then can you initiate appropriate measures.

Cockroaches

An essential element in combating Cockroaches is to know whether it is an insect belonging to the cockroach family and specifically which species. Numerous insects, especially beetles, can get lost in your living space and at first glance look like a cockroach, although they are not at all. Only the typical characteristics of the animals provide information about what can also help with the control, since the individual species, despite their similarity, show significant differences in behavior and even in locomotion exhibit. There are a total of five taxa that are considered cultural successors in Central Europe and that settle in human dwellings:

• German cockroach (Blattella germanica)
• Common cockroach or oriental cockroach (Blatta orientalis)
• American cockroach (Periplaneta americana)
• Australian cockroach (Periplaneta australasiae)
• Furniture or brown banded cockroach (Supella longipalpa)

There are numerous other cockroach species that can be found in the home, but these are not those that would intentionally nest in your living space. Taxa like the Lapland wood cockroach (Ectobius lapponicus) or the real wood cockroach (Ectobius sylvestris) prefer to stay in nature and only accidentally get into their premises. This can be recognized particularly well by the fact that these cockroaches usually appear alone and look for an escape route into the open. However, if you come across any of the above species of cockroach, you need to act. You don't want to offer the cockroaches your house as a settlement for the fast-growing colony.

German cockroach: characteristics

The German cockroach is the most common species in Germany and is called differently depending on the region. It is one of the most important pests in the home and is not picky about food. They actually eat anything that gets between their mouthparts. Even carrion or its own conspecifics are a typical source of food, especially when there is overpopulation. Damage to buildings is rather rare, as they hardly get any nutrients from wood, paper or similar materials and are therefore mainly focused on organic, easily consumable substances. The appearance of the German cockroaches as follows:

• Size: 13 to 16 millimeters
• Color: brown
• decorated with dark stripes on the chest
• nocturnal
• can even climb smooth surfaces
• Wings: as long as or longer than the torso
• airworthy: bad
• Omnivores
• preferred temperature: 28 ° C to 30 ° C

It is not necessarily the largest of the cockroaches, but it can multiply rapidly. A female lives between a hundred and two hundred days, depending on the food available and the temperature. During this time, they can produce four to eight packets of eggs (ootheca) with an average of 35 eggs, which corresponds to a total of 140 to 280 new possible cockroaches. An infestation by the insects is usually only noticed when it is too late. As soon as you notice the animals during the day and not at night, the infestation is serious. Compared to the other species, German cockroaches are considered to be dangerous vectors of disease. The other taxa can do this as well, but this is particularly evident in Blattella germanica. The following problems can occur:

• anthrax
• salmonellosis
• tuberculosis
• Roundworms
• worsens asthma
• aggravates allergies
• Molds

However, this is rather rare in Germany and Central Europe, as cooler temperatures limit the activity of cockroaches.

Note: With a maximum length of eleven millimeters, the furniture cockroach is the smallest kitchen cockroach in Central Europe and its appearance is very similar to the German cockroach. If you come across such a smaller cockroach, you must also use the same control measures as it behaves similarly to the German cockroach.

Common cockroach: characteristics

The common or oriental cockroach is particularly robust, can withstand temperatures of around 0 ° C and is the hardest of all types of cockroach to fight. Although they are a little slower than other taxa, they can even withstand chemical control. They carry up to 170 eggs for up to nine months in their life and can lay them even in cool temperatures. The appearance of the oriental cockroach is very reminiscent of large beetles:

• Size: 25 to 30 millimeters
• Color: black, brown
• nocturnal
• bad climbers because of weight
• Wings: rudimentary (females), covering the abdomen (males)
• airworthy: no
• Omnivores
• preferred temperature: 20 ° C to 29 ° C

In contrast to the German cockroaches, the oriental ones transmit fewer diseases, but are a dangerous carrier of mold spores. Due to their size, they are easier to spot, but they are rarely seen during the day.

American cockroach: characteristics

The American cockroach is the most airworthy species that can nest with you. The animals can flutter around your ears, especially in warm temperatures. Compared to the other types of cockroaches, they can be made much flatter and therefore fit into almost any crack that is no narrower than three millimeters. They produce a similar number of eggs as the oriental cockroaches, but stay less in human dwellings than in damp rooms or restaurants. Animal stalls are also often affected. For this reason it is the rarest of the taxa mentioned. In addition, the Central European climate is not good for you, as they cannot withstand temperatures below 15 ° C.

• Size: 28 to 44 millimeters
• Color: red-brown
• nocturnal
• can even climb smooth surfaces
• Wings: longer or as long as the torso
• airworthy: yes
• Omnivores
• preferred temperature: 25 ° C to 30 ° C

The damaging effect on building structures is one of the biggest problems with the American cockroach. They can seriously damage homes and even paralyze electrical appliances, as they like to be in them because it is warm.

tip: If you find a slightly smaller variant of the American cockroach with yellow stripes on the wing edges, it is likely to be the Australian cockroach. This looks very similar to the American one except for a few points and the size and even behaves in a similar way.