After 300 million years, roaches still sickening
It has been reported that cities like Los Angeles, New York, Miami, and Atlanta have roach problems. That doesn’t surprise many. Roaches are an age-old problem, and they don’t seem to be going away.
Roaches have survived for more than 300 million years. They have changed very little according to fossil evidence.
Roaches come in more than 3,500 varieties, but you can tell most from other bugs by their flat, long, tinny, oval-shaped brown bodies. The adults typically have wings.
The most common varieties in the United States are the German, Brown Banded, American, Oriental, and Smokey Brown cockroaches. They range from about a half-inch for German cockroaches to two inches for Smokey Brown adults.
You usually find larger populations in cities, due to the number of apartment buildings, and the climate has some effect. Cockroaches need three things to form a population: food, moisture, and shelter. Apartment buildings usually provide all of these. Once a few get established, it doesn’t take long for a huge population to form.
So, how do you keep a population of roaches from taking over your home?
Be clean; even a crumb is a feast for a cockroach. Clean your kitchen every night, and put away all food, including pet food. Roaches like pet food as much as your pet does.
Quickly fix leaks in the kitchen or bath because even small amounts of water will attract roaches.
Some factors out of your control, such as climate, attract roaches, too. Some roaches come in from outdoors, like Smokey Browns, and they like warm climates. Others like German cockroaches live almost exclusively indoors, and the outdoor climate doesn’t matter to them.
To help get rid of roach populations, some new roach baits are now on the market. They are very effective, so you may not need to use as many pesticides as we once did. However, if you already have a large roach population, you will probably have to spray some kind of pesticide.
Remember when you spray that roaches like crevices. They prefer for their backs and legs to touch the surface at the same time.
For more information about controlling roaches, contact the Polk County Extension Office at 770759-2142 or uge2233@ uga.edu.