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Asian Cockroach
Blattella asahinai Mizukubo
Flying Roaches
| Asian Roach Behavior | Life Cycle | Identification | Roach Elimination |
The Asian Cockroach is well established in Central Florida; it has been reported in Pensacola and other areas of the Florida Panhandle as well as in East Central Georgia. This roach is easily confused with the German Cockroach; most professionals cannot distinguish one from the other unless found alive, while observing the roach behavior and habitat. The Asian roach is a good flyer and is attracted to homes at night, flying towards light. This pest is commonly found in turf grass and is often seen flying indoors and crawling across computer and television monitors. The German Cockroach is not capable of sustained flight and prefers to live indoors. The Asian roach is an accomplished flyer and lives outdoors, wandering into homes by accident where they become a pest.
Asian Roach Behavior
At dusk, the Asian roach becomes very active and adults are attracted to
light reflected off light-colored walls, doorways and windows. This roach
is capable of sustained fly for a distance of 150 feet. They then actively
try to enter the home where they rest on lighted walls. When light are
turned off (as residents of the home leave a room,) the cockroaches will follow
to the next lighted room. Thus, many residents believe that these roaches
are attacking them -- but they are not.
The natural habitat and flying abilities of these pests make them rather
difficult to exterminate. The elimination (or control) of these bugs will
be discussed in greater detail in the Roach
Elimination section of this article.
The life cycle of the Asian roach is very similar to that of the German cockroach. Female Asian cockroaches have a lifetime reproductive potential for producing approximately four egg capsules, each containing 35 to 44 nymphs. Immatures take approximately 67 days to reach adulthood. Females can then live for 104 days and males can live for 49 days. Females can produce their first egg capsule 13 days after reaching adulthood, and can drop another 20 days later. Adults are abundant February through May and again August through September. Nymphs predominate May through August.
Asian cockroaches
are almost identical to German cockroaches in appearance. Chemical
analysis by gas chromatography will confirm the species. However, there are also
slight morphological differences between B. asahinai and B. germanica.
Asian cockroach adults have longer and narrower wings than those of German
cockroaches. In most cases, identification is established by the behavior
and location of the roaches. Specifically, Asian roaches are capable of
sustained flight and normally live in grass and/or leaves; German roaches are
not capable of sustained flight and are found residing in our homes, kitchens.
Asian Cockroach Elimination
Indoors: Residual sprays such as Suspend
SC, Demon EC
will kill roaches that crawl on treated surfaces. However, most of your elimination methods should be
focused on the exterior of the structure. A good alternative to spraying
for Asian Roaches is to use Maxforce Gel Roach Bait.
If Maxforce roach bait is used indoors, do
not spray any rooms where bait is to be applied. Insecticide bug sprays
will repel roaches from your bait, contaminate baits (making them unattractive
to pests) and will also kill the roaches before they can begin the domino effect
of the bait. Each roach feeding on Maxforce Gel Roach Bait can kill up
to 50 more roaches through contact and the cannibalistic characteristics of
roaches. Also, young roaches (nymphs) have no teeth and many times depend
on adult roach droppings for nourishment because they cannot eat solid food
particles.
Outdoors: The same pesticides (mentioned above) should be used to
thoroughly spray all mulch, ground covers, grass and soil around the perimeter
of the building. Although the entire lawn (turf grass) can be sprayed, the
treatment would only be effective if applied in late evening or when the
population of roaches is at its maximum numbers. Many professionals will
spray the exterior of the home, but will also broadcast a granular bait (labeled
for roaches) in the effected turf grass. Niban
G or Maxforce Granular
would be the best baits for this particular application. When treating
larger areas, Niban G is more economical; Maxforce Bait is more stable and holds
up better to moisture, giving you longer outdoor residual pest control.
If there is no
danger of birds, dogs, non-target animals or wildlife ingesting your bait,
molecricket bait sometimes works on these roaches -- if the bait is fresh!
If you are not sure of the molecricket bait's freshness, do not waste your time
or money. Use a professional bait you can depend on. Maxforce
Granular Bait and Niban G
are the best.