This
is an African species of cockroach only recently established in houses
in Europe but will breed on if the conditions are right.
The brownbanded cockroach is more gregarious and more likely to be found
in homes, hotels or apartments rather than commercial stores, restaurants
or kitchens. These insects feed on starch materials (book sizing and
wallpaper paste) and even non-food materials such as nylon stockings.
They prefer to hide in warm, elevated areas near the ceiling, behind
wall decorations, pictures, loose wallpaper, in shower stalls, underneath
chairs and tables, in closets, beneath or inside upholstered furniture,
and in electrical appliances such as TV sets, stereos, radios and toasters.
They develop and live throughout the building (especially bedrooms),
making control difficult. Cockroaches can foul food, damage wallpaper
and books, eat glue from furniture and produce an unpleasant odour.
Some homeowners are allergic to roaches, and the pests can contaminate
food with certain bacterial diseases that result in food poisoning,
dysentery or diarrhoea. Cockroaches can cause childhood asthma. This
is one of the smaller cockroaches, rarely being more than half an inch
long
Identification:
Most
cockroaches have a flattened oval shape, spiny legs, and grow long,
filamentous antennae. Adult brownbanded cockroaches are light brown
to glossy dark brown, are about 5/8-inch long and have wings. Males
are capable of flight. Nymphs and females are broad when viewed from
above, while the male is slender. The male's wings cover the abdomen,
whereas the female's wings are short, exposing the abdomen. These cockroaches
have two light yellow or cream transverse bands across the base of the
wings and abdomen (twice banded). These bands may appear irregular or
broken, but are usually quite apparent on the nymphs and females. Immature
stages are smaller, have undeveloped wings and resemble adults. Egg
capsules are about 3/16-inch long, crescent or purse-shaped, and yellowish
or reddish-brown.
Life
Cycle:
Brown-banded
cockroach females deposit egg cases in clusters inside furniture, undersides
of tables, draperies, wall decorations, shelving and ceilings. The egg
capsule contains 14 to 18 eggs; a female produces 10 to 20 cases in
her lifetime. Eggs hatch in 50 to 75 days, and nymphs develop in 3 to
9 months, with adults living 5 to 6-1/2 months. Females carry the egg
capsule for 1 to 2 days, and then glues it to some object. These cockroaches
are active at night, and nymphs and adults jump rapidly when disturbed.
Adults are fair flyers. These pests do not require as much moisture
as German roaches and tend to avoid light. The cockroaches are commonly
transported in furniture, luggage and other items into homes and soon
develop into annoying infestations under warm, humid conditions (80°F
temperatures preferred) activity and development slow down considerably
at temperatures below 75°F. Control is difficult since they live
widely dispersed as individuals scattered all over the premises. Treatments
must be extensive or directed at population sources determined by bait
trapping. Traps can determine infestation severity and monitor chemical
controls, especially with brownbanded and German cockroaches. Adults
die within two weeks without food and water.
More
details of this immigrant:-
- This
visitor is 10 - 15 mm long.
- It
is coloured a yellowish brown with brown bands, see picture above.
- Both
sexes have wings, but those in the male are longer.
- The
egg case is deposited after 1 day and cemented down the oothecae being
widely scattered.
- One
female can produce 10 - 20 oothecae in her lifetime.
- We're
not too bad here, there are only about 16 eggs per oothecae.
- The
hatching time is one month, depending on conditions.
- The
nymphal development consists of 6 - 8 moults.
- The
duration of the development can take anything from 2 - 9 months.
Control
Measures:
Integrated
Pest Management (IPM)
Integrated
Pest Management (IPM) is a systems approach that combines preventive
techniques, non-chemical pest control methods and the wise use of pesticides
with preference for products that are least harmful to human health
and the environment. It is not the total elimination of pesticides but
an alternate approach to traditional pest control measures. Complete
reliance, in the past, on pesticides alone for pest control allowed
certain pests to develop resistance, created potential human exposure
to harmful chemicals, produced unsound environmental contamination,
and created a threat to nontarget species and pesticide waste. IPM consists
of routine inspection and monitoring with treatment only when pests
are actually present, thus reducing traditional, routine pesticide application
treatment (calendar date sprays) whether pests were present or not.
By
following a cockroach IPM plan, cockroach activity is monitored using
sticky traps or glue boards. These monitoring stations are placed throughout
a structure where roaches are likely to be found such as in dark places
along cabinets, walls, under appliances, on pipes, etc., in bathrooms
and kitchens. Any tight cracks about 3/8 inch or smaller are good cockroach
habitats. Monitoring indicates whether roaches are present and if control
practices are working. IPM tools include glue boards, baits, vacuum
cleaners, caulking, insect growth regulators (IGRs), etc.
Detection
Brownbanded
cockroaches can be detected by examining the premises after dark with
a flashlight. During the day, probing hiding places with a wire will
expose cockroaches. Look beneath tables, chairs, dressers and chests,
behind pictures, on rough plaster walls and ceilings. One may find tiny
black droppings or cast-off skins where they have fallen from above
onto shelves or ledges. They dislike light and are not normally seen
during the day. Household sprays of pyrethrins applied to hiding places
will flush out cockroaches, sometimes killing them if they contact the
spray.
Prevention
and Sanitation
Since
brownbanded cockroaches commonly hitchhike into the home, it is important
to inspect furniture, clothing, sacks, cartons, boxes, etc., brought
into the home. Destroy any cockroaches present. Sanitation is critical
in roach control. They do not require as much moisture as the German
cockroach, which explains their presence in rooms other than the kitchen
or bathroom. Seal openings with putty or plastic wood.
Insecticides
Apply
chemicals at cockroach hiding places. Enter a dark room quietly, turn
on the light and watch where the cockroaches run. Spot treat these hiding
places and known pathways. Do not treat entire walls or ceilings. Cockroaches
may hide behind picture frames, high on walls and ceilings, in light
switches, inside the motor compartment of refrigerators, and other appliances,
behind window & door frames, in valances above windows, in radio and
TV cabinets, and around closet & bookcase shelves. Surfaces where food
is prepared should not be treated. Buildings with multiple dwellings
usually require the treatment of each unit.
There
are numerous cockroach insecticide formulations. Some are labelled "general
use" for homeowner application, (BUT NOT MANY IN THE U.K. MOST ARE
FOR PROFESSIONAL USE) and others are labelled "restricted use" for
professional pest control or licensed, certified pesticide applicators
only. Before using any insecticide, always READ THE LABEL and
follow directions and safety precautions.
Dusts
such as bendiocarb (Ficam D), boric acid powder, pyrethrins (Drione)
or silica aerogel (Dri-Die) can be applied with a puff duster into hiding
places normally hard to reach with a spray, thought should be given
as to whether the pipe run or whatever will be accessed by other people.
Sprays,
either oil-based or water emulsion, are applied as spot or crack and
crevice treatments. These include propoxur, acephate, chlorpyrifos,
diazinon, permethrin or resmethrin. Only the licensed certified pest
control applicator may apply bendiocarb, propetamphos, trichlorfon,
cyfluthrin, cypermethrin, deltamethrin, esfenvalerate, lambda-cyhalothrin,
tralomethrin and bifenthrin. Insect growth regulators or IGRs include
hydroprene (Gentrol) and pyriproxyfen (Archer, Nylar) which act on immature
growth stages by contact or ingestion, disrupting moulting and development
to fertile adults. (A combination of an IGR followed up by use of a
bait is often effective.) Some still use contact insecticides in mist
or ULV (ultra-low volume) machines to treat the entire indoor area.
Open all drawers and closet doors so roach hiding places can best be
treated. However, the trend is toward less sprays and aerosols and more
IGRs and baits.
Baits
Certain
segments of the public may prefer baits to sprays such as schools, hospitals,
office buildings, etc. Baits include pastes, gels, particle baits and
bait stations. There are a lot of pre-prepared specialised baits which
can be ordered from suppliers such as Killgerm
Bait
advantages: low hazard (toxicity) to people; suited for sensitive accounts;
IPM oriented; offer effective control. Disadvantages: high bait cost;
precise placement required; not cost effective in heavy roach infestations.
Sticky
traps have openings at both ends with the inside surface covered with
a very sticky adhesive and slow-release food attractant. Properly placed
traps, to and from roach hiding and feeding areas, can catch numerous
adults and nymphs daily, especially brownbanded and German cockroaches.
Traps are best used along with preventive and insecticidal applications
to monitor populations. Trapping can determine harbourage areas and
infestation severity, monitor effectiveness of pesticide applications,
and detect any roach population increases that may require additional
pesticide treatments.
Fumigation
is seldom used but will clean out a cockroach infestation. It must be
applied only by a licensed, certified pesticide applicator.
If
a severe cockroach infestation develops or if you are in doubt as to
the control measures to use, contact a reputable, licensed pest control
firm who has the chemicals, training and experience to do a thorough
job.
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