Oriental Cockroach

Appearance

• The Oriental cockroach is most distictive from the German and American species due to it being dark brown/black in appearance.
• Around 17-30mm in length.
• The female is distictive as she appears to be wingless. Closer inspection shows that there are two very small wings directly below the head, although these wings are useless as the female doesn’t fly.

Biology

• The Ootheca (egg case) will contain up to 16 eggs which once deposited hatches after around 2-3 months.
• The nymphs take around 6-12 months to develop into adults with a life span of anything from 8-18 months depending upon living conditions.

Habitats

• The Oriental will survive at lower temperatures than the German and American cockroach meaning in extreme cases they can survive outdoors if warm enough (compost heaps, rubbish tips etc).
• Orientals are nocturnal and omnivorous feeding on human waste, soap, candles etc.
• One of the most common routes into factories for cockroaches is via off site laundry supplies. This is an important factor to consider whilst carrying out supplier auditing.

Treatment

• Effective control of cockroaches is achieved from a program of monitoring and treatment using combination insecticides.
• As a hardy insect multiple visits are required utilising both short and long term strategies.