The five pest species have become scavenging experts and have long association with humans. In fact, some scientists believe that early humans left Africa to colonise the world, cockroaches were not far behind.

life cycle of cockroach

Cockroaches

The introduced species can often be found in sewers and around garbage, from where they can convey contaminated material into dwellings. Additionally, many introduced species carry bacteria such as salmonella in their gut, which they can pass on through their saliva and faeces.

Australian Cockroaches

Australian Cockroaches are also a large species of cockroaches. They are also winged and can be around 3-4cm in length. They are dark brown in colour. Australian Cockroaches are similar to American roaches but can be distinguished by a yellow margin on the thorax and yellow streaks on its sides near the wing base. They normally feed on plants unlike other cockroach species and can also feed on other organic products such as decaying substances.

American Cockroach

They are large roaches, ranging in length up to 4cm. They prefer dark moist warm areas. They are commonly found in basements, steam tunnels, boiler rooms, rubble foundations and similar places. Often they are not noticed until a light is turned on, in which they scurry away rapidly. Adults of both sexes have working wings and at least some flight capability but oddly enough seldom fly

Brown Cockroaches (Periplaneta Brunnea)

The brown cockroach is a large species of cockroach. They are around 3-4cm long and have wings. They are dark, reddish brown in colour. The brown cockroach can be distinguished from American cockroaches by observing the cerci, which has two pointed barbs, or spines near the posterior end of the cockroach. Brown cockroaches have a pair of blunt, short and dark cerci while the American has long and shaper cerci.

German Cockroach (Blattella Germanica)

Adult German Cockroaches average around 1.5cm in length. They have long antennae which they use to detect chemicals, moisture, air currents and sound waves in their environment. They prefer warm, moist areas and are frequently found in bathrooms and kitchens. They are brown in colour with two dark parallel lines from head to the base of the wings. Female cockroaches carry their ootheca with her during the germination rather than depositing it like other species.



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