Living anywhere that there are heat and woody areas, you’re gonna get roaches. But down here in Florida, we have it worse than the rest of the south. In fact, Florida is home to the largest and most numerous species in the entire United States. That’s why today we’re gonna talk about central Florida roaches. We’ll go over the species to look out for, what to do if you have an infestation, and give you a few tips to keep them out of your home.
Central Florida Roaches: What species of roach live in Florida?
In Florida, there are dozens of species of cockroach. In fact, the stark reality is that you’re going to get a roach infestation at least once in your Florida home. It may not be a big one, but down here it’s basically unavoidable. But one of the best things you can do to lessen the impact of this is to be prepared with information. And the best information is going to involve identifying the roach species quickly. So, let’s get into some basic tips on how to tell these roaches apart.
The American Cockroach
Let’s start with the often misidentified American Cockroach. If you hear someone refer to one of these guys as a palmetto bug, you can guess they aren’t from Florida. That doesn’t mean that this bug isn’t an intimidator, though, as this is the largest species of common cockroach. The males grow larger than two inches in length, often time reaching three inches. They’re reddish-brown in coloration or pale brown with a dark yellow on the fringes. Males and females both have wings and can glide short distances. However, these are sloppy fliers. Leaving a window open with the lights on in Florida at night is a one way ticket to having an American Cockroach flying head first into your chest while you’re cooking dinner.
American cockroaches often enter homes to find water and food and are the single most abundant roach species in the country’s sewer systems. They can pass easily into homes if the weather stripping around the door is damaged, and basement windows and garages are other common entryways.
When these bugs enter the home, they often go to the bathrooms, kitchens, laundry rooms, and basements. There they’ll forage for crumbs, scraps, spilled food, and any pet food left open and unattended. And, personally, I think these are the most shocking central Florida roaches to find inside just due to their sheer size.
Florida woods cockroach
Next on our list of roaches is the true palmetto bug. The Florida woods roach is commonly referred to as the stinking bug as well. And that’s because this species releases a foul-smelling liquid. It’s a black and seemingly wingless species. They are slow moving and flightless roaches and look slightly more rounded than most other species.
This pest feeds primarily on decomposing plant matter. Essentially, these roaches aren’t really a home infesting species. They can be brought inside on things like firewood, however, and will be more than plentiful in your mulch beds and gardens.
German cockroach
This is the single most common cockroach found in America. Not only are these guys super common and all over the place, but they’re also one of the worst home infesters out there. In fact, it’s said that a German cockroach population couldn’t exist outside of human centers anymore because they’ve become so co-dependent on us.
Adult German cockroaches are pale to medium brown. This bug also has two almost parallel dark stripes that run down its body starting behind its head. They have long, straight antennae and six legs with spines. And while they have wings, they don’t often fly- unlock the American cockroach.
Females of this species only need to mate once to be able to produce eggs forever. That’s why this species is so prolific at spreading an infestation. And those fertilized females can produce six generations of new roaches a year! That means a single egg-carrying female German cockroach can give birth to more than thirty thousand roaches in a single year!
Typically, German cockroaches enter homes inside of boxes, bags, containers, hand-me-down or second-hand furniture, and used appliances. And once they enter a home, they have no problems moving around inside pipes and wall voids. And if one resident in an attached dwelling such as a townhouse or apartment gets German cockroaches, it can be only a matter of months before the infestation is full-blown and complex wide.
Central Florida Roaches: Prevention tips
Now that we’ve covered a few of the worst offenders, let’s cover some basic tips regarding defending your home from these nasty insects. For starters, cleanliness is going to be your biggest weapon. Cockroaches are opportunistic scavengers. The ones that like to come inside are, anyway. So the second you drop a crumb into the carpet? Vacuum it up. Spilled some soda on the floor? Clean it up! Dirty dishes in the sink? Put them away. It only takes a little bit of food to keep a cockroach going for a month.
And even more important to a roach than food is water. They can only go a short amount of time without drinking, but don’t need much to keep going. So when you shower or bathe, make sure that water doesn’t get left behind in the tub or on the floor where you step out. Also, make sure any pipes under your sinks are tightened as tight as they can go. Otherwise, it only takes a few drips and then you have mold, water, AND roaches all cozy under your sinks.
Central Florida Roaches: What to do when infested?
Unfortunately, if you’re already seeing piles of bodies, sneezing your head off from roach allergies, and noticing live ones in the corners at night, it’s probably already too late. A layman is unfortunately unequipped to handle a cockroach infestation. Instead, give us a call at 1-800-634-1313 or visit us at insectfree.com! Stick with the natural pest control company that’s been serving the area for over 25 years!