When a person finds a cockroach in his room the last thing he’s worried about is the origin of the bug, he just wants it gone ASAP. That’s not the right approach, though as not all cockroaches in your house mean infestation.
Wood Roach is the most commonly used name of the insect that is also knows as Florida wood roach due to its origin place which is southern part of Florida.
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Wood Roach Identification
Those who are acquainted with American roaches would find that wood roaches are very similar to them in their looks. They feature oval flat bodies with spiny legs and long antennae. Adult bugs are pretty large, bigger than a standard America or German roach: they reach up to 2 inches.
The insects come in standard dark brown, black or reddish colors. Male bugs may appear tan due to their wings’ color. The pests feature reduced wings with a distinct pale stripe on their edges.
Wood roaches are very similar to American cockroaches.
Wood Roach: Characteristics and Peculiarities
About 70 various species of wood roaches reside in North America and more of them are spread all over the world, including Europe and Asia.
To a great relief of many, this type of bugs doesn’t live in people’s homes: they are primarily met in nature. The habitual places for them are vegetation piles and debris, leaf litter, rotten logs and so on.
If you pull away a layer of old leaves in the wood most probably you’ll find wood roaches there.
Wood cockroaches live in the woods and not move to the people in the house.
Interesting facts come out when you start puzzling about reproduction process of the insects. They can reproduce without any males in their population.
Adult females lay about 950 eggs each year. They are hatched in summer and get mature only the next spring. Life cycle constitutes up to 2 years.
How Wood Roaches are Different from Other Cockroaches
Despite the bugs are quite often mistake for other cockroaches, German and American species, they have a row of pretty clear distinctions, both in looks and behavior characteristics.
There’s one significant feature which makes these insects different from other cockroaches: they are not afraid of light- on the contrary, they are attracted by it. In moist wooden areas, their preferable environment, people often can see the bugs in the headlights of cars.
Wood cockroaches are not afraid of the light.
There are other distinctions as well. The major one is that wood cockroaches don’t come and live inside and they never breed in people’s houses. If you find a wood bug in your kitchen, don’t panic- the insect got there by mistake and there’s no need to suspect infestation.
How to Get Rid of Wood Roaches
It’s worth mentioning that the insecticides successfully used for killing other roach species feature quite limited benefits when it comes to wood cockroaches. In this case you should consider exclusion techniques as an efficient option for preventing the insects to entry your home.
- Try to seal all the cracks and openings leading inside;
- Opt for tight windows and doors as well as fitting screens;
- Remove the potential sites of their harborage around your place– this will help to reduce bugs’ population;
- Opt for residual insecticide that should be applied outside: that would prevent the insects from entering;
- To prevent cockroaches getting inside, do not bring too much firewood– bring only the amount enough for several days;
- Do not use lights at nights without special necessity – it attracts males during their mating season. If your yard or porch is light lit at night numerous females will come there and attract tons of male cockroaches;
- If you find one or two insects in your rooms, use vacuum cleaner or just remove them with a broom;
- All the walls on the ground level should be thoroughly examined for holes and caulked;
- Remove all the rotting leaves from your roof, window wells and in your garden;
- Do not place garbage cans next to moist habitats.
