Nobody wants cockroaches in their home, especially since these pests can cause and worsen allergies in children, transmit diseases and bacteria, and contaminate foods.
If you find cockroaches in or around your home, do you reach for a do-it-yourself spray product? Well, you might not want to waste your money!
New research shows that some common consumer-grade insecticide sprays don't work to get rid of cockroach infestations. The study focused on products containing pyrethroids, which is a group of pesticides commonly found in many household insecticide products. Examples of...
- Author: Belinda Messenger-Sikes
During the holiday season, the only creatures you want stirring in your home are your family, friends, and pets. But as temperatures drop, and the rain returns, some pests may seek shelter indoors with you. Rats and mice can be problems all year but in the cold weather, they prefer the warmth of your home to being outdoors and you might see more in your home.
Pests invade homes for varying reasons during autumn and winter. Common outdoor species such as Argentine ants, Oriental (or Turkestan) cockroaches, sowbugs and pillbugs, springtails, and earwigs, may simply be escaping harsh conditions such as freezing temperatures or small-scale flooding. Some insects, especially true bugs (Hemiptera); such as boxelder bug, bordered plant...
- Author: Andrew M Sutherland
- Author: Brandon Kitagawa
Multi-unit housing (MUH), such as apartment complexes and single-room occupancy (SRO) buildings, can harbor significant infestations of cockroaches, bed bugs, rodents, and other pests. Structural continuity (shared walls of adjacent units), budgetary constraints, poor maintenance and infrastructure, and cultural and social factors allow pests to infest and thrive in these environments.
Many of these pests threaten public health and wellbeing of the residents. For instance, German cockroaches (Blattella germanica) produce proteins that can be found in their feces and exoskeletons that, when dispersed into the air, can be inhaled, causing asthma in children.
Pest management is often conducted in response to...
Although all cockroaches in California are considered pests, the Turkestan cockroach is of particular concern. This cockroach has become increasingly common in California's residential outdoor areas because it has faster growth and higher reproduction rates compared to other cockroaches that live outdoors. Like other cockroaches, the Turkestan cockroach is considered both a nuisance and a public health issue.
What does the Turkestan cockroach look like?
Adult Turkestan cockroaches are about 1 inch in length. Females are slightly larger than males, dark-colored, flightless, and have distinct pale stripes right below their heads on their wing buds. Males are light brown with fully developed wings....
- Author: Casey Hubble
[Originally published in the Summer 2022 issue of the UC IPM Green Bulletin]
The three-lined cockroach, Luridiblatta trivittata, (Figure 1) is the smallest cockroach species in California, with adults averaging only 5–7 mm in length. This newly introduced cockroach is native to North Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean. It was first detected in California around 2004 in Marin County, but it was not positively identified until 2009. Since then the three-lined cockroachhas slowly expanded its range to include the entire San Francisco Bay Area, south to San Luis Obispo, east to the foothills of...
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