Here’s hoping this weather holds for the sunshine state! Stepped outside today for what feels like the first time in ages and didn’t sweat! That’s right, winter’s finally here in Florida and it couldn’t have come any sooner. But, we can be grateful for it while it’s here. If you haven’t noticed, you will soon. With cooler temps comes less buzzing, biting, flying pests. But that doesn’t mean that you’re completely pest-free. Some people may even notice more in their homes than before. Because weather that’s nice and cool for us is too much for some of our pests down south. That’s why today we’re going to cover the Florida Winter Roaches.
Few infestations can be as horrible or trying as a cockroach infestation. But, like any other, the best weapon you have is knowledge. So we’re going to cover a few of the species you find down here and make it so that you can identify these little skittering creeps at a glance.
Florida Winter Roaches: Species
We’ll start with some of the biggest and least likely to infest a home first. Our last crawly we cover will be the one you’ll most likely see in your pantry raiding you for a midnight snack.
Florida Winter Roaches – The Palmetto Bug
This roach is actually a simple American Cockroach. They get their fierce reputation from their size and habit of flying around lights. They’re the largest species of common roaches and are larger than two inches in length when they reach adulthood.
Roaches of this species are reddish brown with a pale yellow border, and the males and females both have wings. The male’s wings extend a little beyond their abdomen, but both of them can glide for short distances.
American cockroaches are the most common cockroach species found in city sewer systems. While they prefer to live outside, American cockroaches enter homes to find water or food. They can easily pass under doors if the weather stripping is damaged. Basement windows and garages are also common entryways. When American cockroaches enter homes, they often go to bathrooms, kitchens, laundry rooms, and basements. They will forage for crumbs, scraps, and spilled food, and will sometimes eat pet food that is left out.
And although it’s very rare, these roaches can bite. In fact, all roaches can. They don’t hurt much, but these guys are going to pack the biggest wallop due to their sheer size. If there is no access to food, some species of roach will even resort to trying to eat the dead skin off of you while you sleep! They’ll leave a small mark only, however, similar to a flea bite. And while this is probably the most talked-about of the Florida Winter roaches, it’s probably the least likely to infest your home.
Florida Woods Cockroach
Up next we have the Florida Woods Roach. Also known as the stinking cockroach, this is another guy that you certainly don’t want in your home- and thankfully you won’t too often find him there. In fact, you’ll only ever really see these guys if you live way back in the woods. But if they do get inside, you can probably find them in crawlspaces or around leaky pipes in a dark bathroom.
It gets its name from its defensive abilities. When threatened by predators, this species releases a foul-smelling liquid. It’s black and appears wingless, but does have small wings. They are slow-moving and flightless roaches.
The Florida woods cockroach feeds primarily on decomposing plant matter and is effectively a detritivore. Because of these feeding habits, an infestation of this cockroach species is unlikely, but Florida woods cockroaches can be brought inside on firewood or may enter on their own through open windows and doors.
The German Cockroach
Now, this guy is easily the main event of the evening. The German cockroach is the most common species of roach worldwide. That means this is the one that you’ll see infest most places. Anything from homes, restaurants, nursing homes, and hotels. Despite its name, it’s origin is thought to be around southeast Asia. This guy is a fast reproducer and resilient against most home pest control methods. It’s one of the most stubborn and difficult pests to deal with in the entire insect kingdom.
These guys are much smaller than the American cockroach, so at a glance, it’s less startling. They grow to around an inch in length, are light-brown to tan in color. They have two black stripes on their backs that make identification a little easier, six legs, and a pair of antennae. They scurry quickly from place to place, and although they have wings, they almost never fly.
Unlike some of their counterparts, German cockroaches prefer living indoors. In warm and tropical areas, they will spend more time outdoors. But with an inability to survive harsh and colder environments, expect to find them near or in human structures to live and reproduce.
Of the different cockroach species, the German cockroach is the truest of scavengers, eating almost anything they can get their metaphorical hands on. This includes things such as soap, booking bindings, glue, toothpaste, and pet foods in addition to all foods and crumbs left by people.
You can find these guys indoors, as said above, and can see them flashing around food or water sources. And if you see a corpse, there’s likely a hundred live ones you can’t see! They leave small, brown stool droppings as another infestation clue.
Florida Winter Roaches: What To Do?
Unlike other species of roaches, tidying up won’t really get rid of these guys. Of course, personal cleanliness always helps with a roach infestation, but german cockroaches are just too survivable. You have to contract a pest control specialist. Preferably one that uses natural methods, as chemical pesticides have long been known to be dangerous to human health. And get in contact with a pest control specialist asap, as the sooner you get control of this, the less of a hassle it will be.
