Cockroach control
Pestec specialzies in pest control using integrated pest management (IPM). Pestec offers cockroach control services for residential, municipal and commercial buildings. Pestec uses reduced-risk IPM methods for the control of unwanted cockroach infestations, which include sanitation recommendations, habitat modification, structural repairs, and a cockroach solid baiting method that reduces the amount of materials introduced into any given environment for pest control purposes.
Cockroaches are the worlds super recyclers. With an adequate food source they can survive, multiply, and effectively infest a structure. They can take any pitiful resource and make it their bread and butter. Dried skin in a sauna = cockroach rations. Dead cockroaches = more food for cockroaches. Effective cleaning is the best way to control cockroaches. Improving sanitation conditions makes baiting more effective. Eliminating other food sources forces cockroaches to seek food from the only source available...baits.
By sealing the cracks and crevices cockroaches live in the bugs can be excluded from kitchens and removed more easily using non-chemical means such as HEP-vacuums and dry steam. Outdoor cockroaches such as Oriental cockroaches can be kept out of buildings with door sweeps and by sealing the cracks in the foundations they sneak in through.
For more information on how our innovative pest management serices can control cockroaches please contact us.
Pestec is an EcoWise Certified and Green Shield Certified IPM provider.
Management Objectives for the Pest at the Particular Site
What do you want/need to accomplish at the site in regard to the German cockroach? The answer to this question will vary, depending on the site and the customer. Some examples are:
*Reduce cockroach complaints in the building and work with occupants to prevent future complaints
*Keep the number of cockroaches caught in sticky insect monitors at a certain level
*Help client comply with Health Department regulations
German Cockroach Identification
*Adults are pale to medium brown and about 1/2 to 5/8 inches long.
*Adults have 2 dark stripes running parallel to the body on the upper surface of the first segment of the thorax (called the "pronotum").
*The young are smaller and darker than the adults.
*The most prominent marking on a young German cockroach is a single light stripe running down the middle of the back.
*Adults have wings, and young have varying sizes of wing buds.
*Adult females carry their egg capsule (called the "ootheca") protruding from the rear of their abdomen until about a day before it is ready to hatch.
*The egg capsule is about 1/3 inch long and contains between 30 and 48 eggs.
Why the German Cockroach is Considered a Pest
*Cockroaches contaminate food and eating utensils.
*In general, cockroaches are not associated with severe illnesses or disease outbreaks, but cockroaches can transmit organisms that cause gastro-intestinal distress and food poisoning as they wander over food and utensils.
*Cockroaches are a source of allergens that can trigger life-threatening asthma attacks in some people.
*They can destroy fabric and paper products.
*Most people are disgusted by the thought or the actual presence of cockroaches.
Special Regulatory Conditions
California Health and Safety Code Sections that relate to cockroaches and cleanliness in food establishments:
*114010. "All food shall be prepared, stored, displayed, dispensed, placed, transported, sold, and served as to be protected from dirt, vermin, unnecessary handling, droplet contamination, overhead leakage, or other contamination."
*114030. "A food facility shall at all times be so constructed, equipped, maintained, and operated as to prevent the entrance and harborage of animals, birds, and vermin, including, but not limited to, rodents and insects."
*114040. "The premises of each food facility shall be kept clean and free of litter, rubbish, and vermin."
*114050. "All food facilities and all equipment, utensils, and facilities shall be kept clean, fully operative, and in good repair."
Biology and Behavior of the German Cockroach
To be successful, management strategies must take into consideration the biology and behavior of the pest. Understanding the biology of a pest can reveal weaknesses and vulnerabilities that can be exploited when trying to manage the pest.
General Biology
*The German cockroach is native to a warm, moist climate, probably tropical Africa, and is now found in every state in the U.S.
*The German cockroach is unable to survive away from the warm, moist, food-rich habitats provided by humans inside buildings and other structures.
*German cockroaches have 3 distinct life stages: egg, nymph, and adult.
*Adult females carry the egg capsule around with them until about a day before it is ready to hatch. This increases the chances of more of the young surviving.
*The egg capsule hatches into many tiny nymphs that resemble the adults but are smaller, without wings, and cannot reproduce.
*The nymphs molt (shed their skins and grow a small amount) 5 to 7 times, depending on the temperature and availability of food and water, before reaching adulthood.
*The process from egg to adult takes around 100 days, again depending on the temperature and availability of food and water.
*It has a greater number of eggs per egg capsule than other species that infest buildings
*It takes the shortest time to develop from egg to sexually mature adult
*This means that the numbers of German cockroaches in an area can build up rapidly
*Their high reproductive potential allows German cockroaches to become resistant to pesticides more quickly.
*German cockroaches are smaller than other species and therefore can find many more hiding places in the same amount of space.
Feeding Behavior
*The German cockroach avoids light and usually does most of its foraging for food 3 hours before dark and 1 hour before it gets light. However, cockroaches can learn different foraging schedules in order to avoid human activity.
*The German cockroach will eat almost anything, including its fellow cockroaches and their droppings.
*For survival, water is much more critical to the German cockroach than food. If water is present, the adults can live for weeks without food.
*In the absence of both food and water, adults die in less than 2 weeks.
General Behavior
*The German cockroach prefers hiding in tight or narrow spaces especially where it is warm and moist. Kitchens, bathrooms and electrical equipment are favorite places. Clutter vastly increases the amount of harborage available. Attractive harborage includes
*Cracks and crevices in walls, floors, cabinets, furniture and appliances
*Inside the corrugations of cardboard
*Within stacks of newspaper or paper bags
*Younger stages of nymphs and females carrying egg capsules are more likely to stay close to their harborage when looking for food.
*Older nymphs and adults will search more widely for food.
Factors that favor the German Cockroach
*Poor sanitation provides large quantities of food for cockroaches and makes them less likely to feed on poison baits. :*Leaks and other sources of moisture provide cockroaches with abundant water.
*Clutter provides abundant hiding places for cockroaches.
*Poor building maintenance can provide cockroaches with access to structures, harborage, water, and easy pathways from room to room within the structure.
*Little or no inspection of goods coming into the structure can allow cockroaches to hitchhike into the building.
