Common name: American
cockroach
scientific name: Periplaneta
americana (Linnaeus) (Insecta: Blattodea: Blattidae)
The American cockroach,
Periplaneta americana (Linnaeus), is the largest of the
common peridomestic cockroaches measuring on average 4 cm in length.
It occurs in buildings throughout Florida especially in commercial
buildings. In the northern United States the cockroach is mainly
found in steam heat tunnels or large institutional buildings. The
American cockroach is second only to the German cockroach in
abundance.
Forty-seven species are included in
the genus Periplaneta, none of which are endemic to the U.S.
(Bell and Adiyodi 1981). The American cockroach, P.
americana, was introduced to the United States from Africa as
early as 1625 (Bell and Adiyodi 1981). The American cockroach has
spread throughout the world by commerce. The cockroach is often
found residing indoors as well as outdoors. It is found mainly in
basements, sewers, steam tunnels, and drainage systems (Rust et. al.
1991). This cockroach is readily found in commercial and large
buildings such as restaurants, grocery stores, bakeries, and where
food is prepared and stored. The American cockroach is rarely found
in houses, however after heavy rain infestations of the cockroach
can occur in homes. They can develop to enormous numbers, greater
than 5,000 sometimes being found in individual sewer manholes (Rust
et. al. 1991).
American cockroaches are found in moist shady areas outdoors, in
yards, hollow trees, wood piles, and mulch. They are occasionally
found under roof shingles and in attics. The cockroaches dwell
outside but will wander indoors for food and water or during
extremes in weather conditions. In Florida, areas such as trees,
woodpiles, garbage facilities, and accumulations of organic debris
around homes provide adequate food, water, and harborages for
peridomestic cockroaches such as the American cockroach (Hagenbuch
et al. 1988). Mass migrations of the American cockroaches are common
(Ebeling 1975). They migrate by crawling or flying into structures
often entering houses and apartments from sewers via the plumbing,
by trees and shrubs located alongside buildings or trees with
branches overhanging roofs facilitate the entry of cockroaches into
the home. During the day the American cockroach, which responds
negatively to light, rests in harborages close to water pipes,
sinks, baths, and toilets, for example, where the microclimate is
suitable for survival (Bell and Adiyodi 1981).
Egg: Females of the American
cockroach lay their eggs in a hardened, purseshaped egg case called
an ootheca. About one week after mating the female produce an
ootheca and at the peak of her reproductive period, she may form
about two ootheca per week (Bell and Adiyodi 1981). The females on
average produce an egg case about once a month for ten months laying
16 eggs per egg case. The female deposits the ootheca near a source
of food by either simply dropping it or gluing it to a surface with
a secretion from her mouth. The deposited ootheca contains water
sufficient for the eggs to develop without receiving additional
water from the substrate (Bell and Adiyodi 1981). The egg case is
brown when deposited and turns black in a day or two. A typical egg
case contains about 14 to 16 eggs. It is about 8 mm long and 5 mm
high.
 ootheca and early instars
Larva or Nymph: The nymphal stage begins when the egg
hatches and ends with the emergence of the adult. The number of
times an American cockroach molts varies from six to 14 (Bell and
Adiyodi 1981). The first instar American cockroach is white
immediately after hatching then becomes a grayish brown. After
molting instars of the cockroach nymphs are white and then become a
uniformly reddish-brown with the posterior margins of the thoracic
and abdominal segments being a darker color. Wings are not present
in the nymphal stages and wig pads become noticeable in the third or
fourth instar. Complete development from egg to adult is about 600
days. The nymphs as well as the adults actively forage for food and
water.
 late instars
Adult: The adult American cockroach is reddish brown in
appearance with a pale-brown or yellow band around the edge of the
pronotum. The males are longer than the females because their wings
extend 4 to 8 mm beyond the tip of the abdomen. Males and females
have a pair of slender, jointed cerci at the tip of the abdomen. The
male cockroaches have cerci with 18 to 19 segments while the female
has 13 to 14 segments. The male American cockroaches have a pair of
styli between the cerci while the females do not.
 adult male
 adult female
 adult male cerci
The American cockroach has three
life stages: the egg, a variable number of nymphal instars, and
adult. The life cycle from egg to adult averages about 600 days
while the adult life span may be another 400 days. The immatures
emerge from the egg case in about six to eight weeks and mature in
about six to twelve months. Adults can live up to one year and an
adult female will produce an average of 150 young in her lifetime.
Environmental factors such as temperature and humidity can increase
or decrease the developmental time of the American cockroach.
Outdoors the female shows a preference for moist, concealed
ovipositon sites (Bell and Adiyodi 1981).
 newly molted adult
The American cockroach is an
omnivorous and opportunistic feeder. It consumes decaying organic
matter but since the cockroach is a scavenger it will eat most
anything. It prefers sweets and has been observed eating paper,
boots, hair, bread, fruit, book bindings, fish, peanuts, old rice,
putrid sake, the soft part on the inside of animal hides, cloth and
dead insects (Bell and Adiyodi 1981).
American cockroaches can become a
public health problem due to their association with human waste and
disease, and their ability to move from sewers into homes and
commercial establishments. In the United States during the summer,
alleyways and yards maybe overrun by these cockroaches. The
cockroach is found in caves, mines, privies, latrines, cesspools,
sewers, sewerage treatment plants, and dumps (Bell and Adiyodi
1981). Their presence in these habitats is of epidemiological
significance. At least 22 species of pathogenic human bacteria,
virus, fungi, and protozoans, as well as five species of helminthic
worms, have been isolated from field collected American cockroaches
(Rust et. al. 1991). Cockroaches are also aesthetically displeasing
because they can soil items with their excrement and regurgitation.
 fecal smears
Several hymenopteran natural
enemies of the American cockroach have been found (Suiter et.
al. 1998). These parasitic wasps deposit their eggs in the
cockroach ootheca preventing the emergence of cockroach nymphs.
 parasitic wasps
Caulking of penetrations through ground level walls, removal of
rotting leaves, and limiting the moist areas in and around a
structure can help in reducing areas that are attractive to these
cockroaches.
Other means of management are insecticides that can be applied to
basement walls, wood scraps, and other infested locations. Residual
sprays can be applied inside and around the perimeter of an infested
structure. When insecticides and sprays are used to manage cockroach
populations they may ultimately kill off the parasitic wasps. Loose,
toxic, pellet baits are extremely effective in controlling America
cockroach populations.
Insect Management Guide for
Cockroaches
Least
Toxic Methods of Cockroach Control
- Appel AG. 1997. Nonchemical approaches to cockroach control.
Journal of Economic Encomology 14: 271-280.
- Baldwin, RW, Fasulo TR. (2005). Cockroaches. UF/IFAS CD-ROM. SW 184. (23
November 2005).
- Baldwin RW, Koehler PG. 2007. Toxicity of commercially
available household cleaners on cockroaches, Blattella
germanica and Periplaneta americana. Florida
Entomologist 90: 703-709.
- Bell WJ, Adiyodi KG. 1981. The American Cockroach. Chapman and
Hall, London.
- Ebeling W. 1975. Urban Entomology. University of California,
Richmond, CA.
- Fasulo TR, Kern WH, Koehler PG, Short DE. 2005. Pests In and Around the Home. UF/IFAS.
SW-126. (22 November 2005).
- Fasulo TR. (2002). Cockroaches and Pest Ants. Bug Tutorials. University of
Florida/IFAS. CD-ROM. SW 157.
- Hagenbuch BE, Koehler PG, Patterson RS, Brenner RJ. 1988.
Peridomestic cockroaches (Orthoptera: Blattidae) of Florida: their
species composition and suppression. Journal of Medical Entomology
25: 377-380.
- Rust MK, Reierson DA, Hansgen KH. 1991. Control of American
cockroaches (Dictyoptera: Blattidae) in sewers. Journal of Medical
Entomology 28: 210-213.
- Shaheen L. 2000. Environmental protection comes naturally.
Pest Control 68: 53-56.
- Suiter DR. 1997. Biological suppression of synanthropic
cockroaches. Journal of Agricultural Entomology 14: 259-270.
- Suiter DR, Patterson RS, Koehler PG. Seasonal incidence and
biological control potential of Aprostocetus hagenowii
(Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) in treehole microhabitats. Environmental
Entomology 27: 434-442.
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