Learn More About Brown-Banded Cockroaches
The brown-banded cockroach is commonly found in the northeastern, southern, and midwest regions of the United States. They can often be found in homes and apartments, but are less common in restaurants. You may need a cockroach extermination service to drive the brown-banded cockroach out of your home. They tend not to be found in the daytime since they avoid light. The brown-banded cockroach eats a wide variety of items, almost anything organic, including decaying matter.
Pest Identification
1/2 in.
Males are brown and females are brown-black; both sexes have a light-colored band running across their wings.
Narrow, oval-shaped body with antennae and banded wings.
Females carry an egg capsule, holding up to 18 eggs, for 2-3 days and then deposit the capsule under a protective surface near food. Eggs can hatch anywhere from 30-100 days after being laid. Nymphs take anywhere from 3 to 9 months to develop into adults. The typical lifespan of a brown-banded cockroach is approximately 1 year. Also, unlike some other species, brown-banded roaches are capable of flight.
Brown-banded roaches are omnivorous scavengers and will eat anything from plant to animal material. They are largely nocturnal and prefer warm, dry locations as opposed to moist habitats. Brown-banded roaches often are found lurking around furniture, in cabinets or in closets. In fact, furnishings are a favorite place for females to deposit egg capsules.
Sealing cracks and crevices where roaches can enter your home is a good first step to preventing infestation. Seeing a single brown-banded cockroach may indicate that there is a larger infestation in your home. Do-it-yourself treatments, such as store-bought boric acid roach treatments or foggers, if applied incorrectly may be ineffective and/or pose a health risk to your household. If you suspect a cockroach infestation, it is important to contact a pest control professional who can identify the roach species and treat it accordingly. Find out more about roach elimination services.
