About Cockroaches
The Sunshine Coast is no stranger to cockroaches and having an infestation in your home poses a variety of health risks. As cockroaches can occupy any crack or crevice, and be easily transported by cars, planes, or trains, they are known to spread diseases across wide distributions. They can easily gain access to your home in several ways, such as hitching a ride in furniture, moving boxes, and even shopping bags.
Cockroaches carry diseases, cause food poisoning, trigger allergies and asthma attacks. They are responsible for a number of transmissions of diseases, such as intestinal-type diseases, food poisoning, gastroenteritis, dysentery, tuberculosis, hepatitis, typhoid fever and many other human disorders. They can also contaminate food products, utensils, and various areas with droppings, caste skins, empty egg cases, dead cockroaches, and vomit marks on surfaces. In severe infestations, cockroaches can cause an unpleasant odour, due to secretions from the mouth and cuticle. Cockroaches have also been implicated in allergic reactions and a trigger for an asthma attack in asthmatics. Therefore, it is important to engage in a reliable pest control company to treat these unwanted guests and keep your home cockroach free.
At Laguna Pest Control, we believe that to effectively treat cockroaches, you must understand their behaviour, nature, and biology. Cockroaches undergo incomplete metamorphis, which means that nymphs are smaller versions of the adults. Eggs developed in the female are encapsulated in a purse – an egg case shaped called an ootheca. An ootheca can contain between 12 and 40 eggs, depending on the cockroach species and adult age. Females are often seen with the egg case but will either drop or glue it to a surface just prior to or months before hatching. The nymphal stage involves several moults, which may take 2-4 months in smaller species or up to 12 or more months for larger species. The adult lifespan may then vary from a few months to over a year dependant on the species.
Cockroaches eat virtually any human or animal food or beverage, dead animal, or vegetable material. This may include leather, cardboard, fabrics, hair, glue, wallpaper glue, and starchy bindings in books.
Cockroaches are nocturnal creatures which hide during the day and become active during the night, seeking food. Night inspections can often reveal surprising findings, such as larger infestations than initially thought. While cockroaches that are observed during the day is an indication of a severe infestation. Cockroaches are considered semi-social which means adults and nymphs will often congregate and harbour together.
The three most common pest cockroach species on the Sunshine Coast are the American, the Australian, and the German cockroach.
Australian Cockroach (Periplaneta australiasiae)
The Australian cockroach is relatively large. In appearance adults are similar to the American Cockroach however the yellow markings on the pronotum are more clearly defined and the fore margins of the forewings have a distinct yellow marking. Egg cases may contain up to 24eggs but may require 6-12 months for nymphal development. This species has a preference for food of plant origin and may be encountered in greenhouses and under bark or leaf litter in gardens. Normally more frequently encountered in warm subtropical to tropical parts of Australia, however in several cases have been transported south in freight.
German cockroach (Blattella germanica)
This relatively small (12-15mm) cockroach is probably the most widespread and successful pest cockroach. It is the most prolific breeder of all the pest cockroaches. Adults are light amber-brown, with two dark longitudinal dark stripes on the pronutum. Egg cases may contain 30-40eggs and can take as little as 6 weeks to reach adulthood… This cockroach has a preference for warmth, moisture and food and thus infestations are normally are associated with kitchens. Key areas to inspect are refrigerator motors, ground stoves, dishwashers, pantries and the internals of appliances such as microwaves and even radios. Where water is available, adults can survive up to a month without food. This species does not fly however because of its small size, even adults can be transported to new locations in food packaging.
What Can You Do?
The best course of action you can take to prevent a cockroach infestation is:
- Thorough housekeeping
- Reducing available food sources
- Sealing possible harbourage areas, such as loose tiles, stainless steel splashbacks, and other cracks and crevices
- Storing food in airtight containers to prevent contamination
Unfortunately, once you have a cockroach infestation, no amount of housekeeping will get of these cockroaches. Whilst DIY products that you can buy from store outlets can help with the odd cockroach, a more effective measure is to engage in your local pest manager, such as Laguna Pest Control!
What Can We Do?
Given the safe and effective products we have access to and our technician’s experience dealing with cockroaches, getting rid of an infestation is easy for us. Our General Pest Treatment will target those areas that cockroaches frequent, such as the roof and subfloor voids, white goods, internal skirtings, and kitchen cupboards. Gone are the days of having to empty your cupboards so that we can safely treat inside. Today’s gel-based cockroach baits are extremely effective and eliminate the need to empty cupboards. We then create a continuous residual barrier around the outside of your house to prevent more cockroaches coming in.
What to Expect After the Treatment?
To be cockroach free of course, but not straight away! After the treatment, you may see some cockroaches that have been flushed out, but this will steadily slow down to a halt. How long this takes depends on the size of the initial infestation. Even for some time after the treatment, you may see the occasional dead or dying cockroach. This is a good sign, as it means that the treatment is still working.
However, if you’re not happy with the results of the service, we offer a 6-month warranty on our General Pest Treatments. So, we will come back and retreat at no charge!
