Anywhere you go in the Sunshine State you’ll likely run into cockroaches. Sad, I know. But it’s a part of life. Roaches enjoy the year-round warm, sunny temps just as much as we do. And because of this, and the fact that they also adore the swamps and humidity, they’re an ever-present pest in Florida. And the further into the interior of the state you go, the more true that becomes. Tampa, Lakeland, Dover, Plant City, and the surrounding areas are some of the most cockroach-infested places in the country. That’s why today we’ll be talking about Dover cockroach control.
We’ll cover some identification tips, a rundown of the species you can expect to see, and what to do to keep them from crawling around in your home.
Dover Cockroach Control: Overview
To begin, let’s go over the basics of roach control. I always have been fond of the expression, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. So we’ll start with what actually attracts these roaches into your home, to begin with. And number one is pretty obvious.
If you said food, you guessed it. Cockroaches are omnivorous insects, meaning they can survive off of anything. But some of their favorite meals are starchy, sweet, greasy, or meaty. Pretty much anything leftover on that dirty plate in your sink you didn’t wash and put away a roach can subsist on. Pet food left out or open on the floor is another big attractor. Obviously, leaky pipes or sources of standing water are big upsides for a prospective roach infestation as well.
Another big reason roaches enter the home is the search for shelter. They can live behind picture frames, chew holes in your wood, or live in damp areas such as beneath sinks or behind toilets. Dark, quiet areas such as attics and basements are some more favorites of these survival specialists. And honestly? Some places are just bound to attract roaches. It’s the nature of living in Florida.
Dover Roach Control: The Suspects
Alright, now it’s time to get down to the nitty-gritty. We’ll cover three species of roach you’ll tend to see infesting a Florida home. And to start, we’ll cover the most prolific of the three.
German Cockroaches
This is the species you’ll likely see if you have a roach infestation. The adults are easy to recognize, with their light brown coloration and stripes that run behind their heads. The younger roaches are dark, almost black, with stripes behind their heads as well. The males of this species grow to about 16 mm in length and have wings. Though they rarely fly and prefer to skitter across the ground.
And remember how I said that cockroaches can survive off of just about anything? Well, this species exemplifies why you’ll likely need some professional Dover cockroach control. Some of their favorite foods include book bindings, crumbs, soap used to clean dishes, and toothpaste tubes left open on a bathroom counter.
The only thing they may be more notorious for than their voracious appetite for food is their appetite for reproduction. Females need to only mate once in their life for the purpose of reproduction, and from that action can produce an average of four to six cases of eggs over their roughly two hundred day lifespan.
Each one of those egg cases I mentioned above, by the way? They contain approximately thirty to forty eggs. The female carries these until one to two days before their supposed to hatch. So a handful of these infesting pests can quickly become a full-on infestation in only a single year.
Asian Cockroaches
Up next we have another species that should have you calling for specialist Dover cockroach control. And this one is another invasive species. They’ve only been around the U.S. since about the mid-1980s. But, in no time at all, they’ve quickly come to rival the German cockroach in infestation numbers. In fact, for a long time, it was assumed that they were simply German cockroaches because of how similar they looked. The differences between the two species aren’t something most people will typically see, as it’s all in the little details and I don’t think you want to be close enough to one of these to check.
The first cockroaches discovered from this species in the U.S. were actually right here in Lakeland, Florida. But by the time they were found and properly identified, it was already too late. These days they range across the entire Southeastern U.S. and even into Texas. But in Tampa alone, they live in incredibly dense groups and have populations that can reach up to two hundred and fifty thousand an acre.
And while they have a lot of similarities, the Asian cockroach isn’t quite the ruthless invader that the German cockroach is. They are attracted to lights however and can fly in through open windows and doors to land on lights and tv screens inside. But once they’re indoors, they can multiply rapidly and become a serious infestation threat, by accident or not.
The Palmetto Bug
And finally, the biggest boogeyman of the bug world down south. If this won’t have you calling for some Dover cockroach control, nothing will! …Or is that even the case? Well, not really! Palmetto bugs are a name given to two distinct species of cockroach down in Florida, though neither of them is particularly interested in a home invasion. One is the Florida Woods cockroach, which lives in the trees that its nickname originated from. The other, more commonly mistaken bug, is the American Cockroach.
And don’t get me wrong, this is an intimidating species of roach. They’re large, winged, and dark-colored. In fact, some of them can reach over two inches in length. However, neither of these insects is particularly interested in coming indoors. Now don’t get me wrong, they will if they stumble in or are attracted by food and filth. But, you’re much more likely to be infested by one of the first two roaches mentioned above rather than the dread palmetto bug of Florida legend!
