In Quebec, the German cockroach is the most common species of cockroach in our homes. It infests our food and cooking utensils, leaving an unpleasant smell and taste. It damages our papers, our books, our fabrics, our leathers and inspires disgust when it is not phobia.
It carries bacteria and viruses that cause us health problems.
An invasion of German cockroaches is therefore harmfulto us. But what does this type of cockroach look like? What differentiates it from other cockroaches such as the American bat ? What is its life cycle? How can you protect yourself from infestation? And if we are already beset by these insects, by what means the professional exterminator on the greater Montreal eliminates them?
Below, you’ll find professional answers to these questions.
| Nom français | Blatte germanique |
| Nom anglais | German Cockroach |
| Nom latin | Blattella germanica |
| Classe | Insectes |
| Ordre | Blattodea, Blattaria / Blaberidae, Blattellidae, Blattidae |
| Famille | Ectobiidés, Cryptocercidae, Polyphagidae, NocticolidaeEctobiidés |
| Nom scientifique | Blattella germanica. German cockroach, coquerelle allemande. |
What does this insect look like?
The German cockroach can be recognized by:
- Its flattened, oval body with two parallel black stripes from the head to the base of the wings,
- His shield-shaped chest, which hides almost entirely his head; a highly mobile head with two also highly mobile and flexible filiform antennas, often as long as its body,
- His two big compound eyes,
- Its shredder-like mouth parts,
- Its robust and very toothy mandibles,
- Its three pairs of legs suitable for running,
- 2 pairs of wings – laid flat on the abdomen – as developed in the male as in the female, but which are not used to fly, rather to hover in a leap,
- Its length varies between 1.3 and 1.6 cm, some specimens being much larger,
- Its golden, brownish or even black color.
- Life cycle of the German cockroach
Germanic cockroaches are hemimettaboles or insects with incomplete metamorphosis. At birth, therefore, the young are similar to adults, but have no wings.
The mating of this cockroach is preceded by a courtship, and lasts about 1 hour.
During this hour, the male and female remain glued to each other by the end of their abdomen, thus receiving the male seed.
The female produces 7 ootheca (protective capsules with rigid walls) during her lifetime. Originally whitish in colour, the ootheca will turn brown. Each ootheca can hold up to 48 eggs grouped in two rows.
The female walks with the ootheca emerging from her abdomen for 3 or 4 weeks, up to 1 or 2 days before hatching.
Most larvae hatch 24 hours after the ootheca is deposited in a moist environment. Young people quickly start looking for food, accompanied by their mothers for a while.
Six to seven moults will be required for male larvae to become adults. The female will need an additional moult.
The body of the German cockroach becomes soft and whitish after each moult. But it only takes a few hours for his skeleton to harden again.
If environmental conditions are appropriate, the German cockroach spends about 23 days in the form of an egg and 27 to 103 days at the larva stage. At a humidity level of 40% and a temperature of 27oC, the German cockroach can complete its life cycle in 60 days.
The German cockroach lives 200 days or more.
How do cockroaches harm us?
The German cockroach infests our homes, our shops, our warehouses, etc. It is omnivorous: fruits, vegetables, cheese, meats, pasta, biscuits, hairs, glues, fabrics, leathers, dead animals, decaying plant matter, etc.; and if necessary, it can be cannibalistic.
This cockroach leaves a large amount of feces as well as a bad smell and unpleasant taste to the food and utensils with which it comes into contact.
It also poisons so-called foods: the cockroach carries viruses and bacteria that cause ailments such as:
- Dysentery,
- Urinary tract infections,
- Food poisoning,
- Infectious hepatitis,
- Etc
But these are not the only damage that an invasion of German cockroaches can cause: they also damage our books, our papers, and many other objects.
Appeler René Gélinas Votre exterminateur local, Expérience et intégrité dans la gestion parasitaire
Tel 514 830 2819
Hantavirus, definition and mode of transmission
Hantavirus is a severe lung syndrome caused by a virus. It is secreted in the urine, feces and saliva of infected animals. Most often these are rodents. When humans come into direct or indirect contact with these secretions, the virus is transmitted to them. Ditto when they are bitten by infected rodents.
However, the virus is not transmitted from human to human, only from animal to human. This type of disease is called zoonoses because they can only be transmitted to humans through an animal. It has been found that domestic animals (apart from the domestic rat) and livestock cannot contract hantavirus so there is every reason to believe that only rodents can carry it.
Symptoms of hantavirus
Being a lung disease, one of the characteristic symptoms of hantavirus is difficulty breathing. At the beginning of the disease, the infected person begins to feel fever, chills, headache and muscle pain.
It is about two weeks after the appearance of the first symptoms that they are usually accompanied by a feeling of shortness of breath. Nevertheless, this last manifestation of the disease can be observed after two days as after six weeks; it depends on the organism of the individual.
Hantavirus can also lead to kidney disease or infection. And although they are rare and very few people are prone to them, there is currently no treatment to combat these ailments. It is therefore better to be careful not to contract them.
13 tips to prevent German cockroaches from invading you
- At the grocery store, check to see if cardboard boxes (soft drink cartons, egg cartons, etc.) and paper bags do not contain cockroaches or their oothecae. Quickly discard these containers; and if possible, prefer plastic bags or glass containers,
- Keep your food and those of your pets in sealed containers,
- Carefully manage waste. Don’t leave any leftover food lying around.
- Clean surfaces, vacuum frequently. Every once in a while, do the cleaning all the time.
- Don’t have time to do the dishes? Put it in a container filled with soapy water,
- Before throwing the bottles and food wrappers in the trash, rinse them,
- Discard organic waste in a composter or garbage can with a lid
- Place fences and mosquitoes on openings and windows,
- Block the entrance to apartment buildings by putting a rubber band under the door,
- Reduce moisture in your home: inspect moisture fireplaces, repair leaks, dry puddles in the bathroom, countertop or other surface in the kitchen,
- Cover the top of the aquarium,
- Don’t overheat the house. Cooler temperatures slow down the proliferation of these insects.
- Educate those around you about how to prevent cockroachinfestation.
Most domestic cockroaches do not like light. They wait in the evening to leave their shelter, in search of food. If you see it in your home, it is a sign of a strong epidemic of cockroaches.
You might think that you just need insecticide to remove them. But cockroaches develop resistance to insecticides. They have a really hard life.
In addition, if misused, these insecticides will harm your health and the environment.
This is why it is better to entrust the destruction of German cockroaches to a professional exterminator, specialist in parasitic management.
Extermination of German cockroaches: the professional’s solutions
The parasitic management specialist, a professional exterminator of cockroaches and other insects, has several ways to get rid of these unwanted insects:
- Insecticide elimination. Many insecticides exist on the market:
- Aerosols and powders based on boric acid. This poison acts on the digestive system of insects. But since it is also toxic to children and professional animals, it is really better to let the professional use them.
- The diatom earth and silica aerogel that dehydrate the German cockroaches, resulting in their death,
- Insecticide baits. Because they are designed to attract cockroaches to specific locations, baits allow less insecticide to be used. It can be found based on hydramethylnone or boric acid.
The professional exterminator will attach them under drawers, furniture, walls or other vertical surfaces or between known shelters and water sources.
But since the German cockroach has developed resistance to several chemical insecticides, the professional exterminator will know which insecticides to choose and how to use them for optimal results.
- Capture by non-toxic sticky traps. Depending on the level of the cockroach epidemic, the professional exterminator will choose traps containing food as bait, or traps containing a substance that attracts cockroaches such as sexual pheromones or aggregation pheromones.
He will place them in the corners of the various rooms and in the potential shelters of German cockroaches: cabinets, drawers, wardrobes, pantry, near leaking pipes, under the stove and refrigerator, etc.
Depending on the number of traps taken, the professional will be able to identify the strongest areas ofinfestation. He will then be able to focus more on them.
Eliminate cockroaches with a specialist.
Identify a professional exterminator:
- His permit from the Quebec Ministry of Sustainable Development with the words CD5: Extermination,
- Its certified technicians certified as professionals in extermination and parasitic management,
- His method of work: first, he quickly arrives at the scene of theinvasion. It identifies the species of cockroaches present, the places where they hide. Then, it measures the importance of their aggression,defines and offers you appropriate treatment.
After the treatment, it informs you about the precautions to be taken to avoid theoutbreak of German cockroachesin the future.
- It uses unidentified vehicles and remains discreet in all interventions.
- He offers you a written guarantee on the effectiveness of his treatment against theinvasion of German cockroaches.
- It knows how to choose insecticides suitable for your infestation and makes it a safe use. Rest assured: if he has a permit from the Quebec Ministry of Sustainable Development, he pays attention to this point.
And you tell us if German cockroaches have ever infested your home? What did you do to get rid of it? Share your experience with us in the comments below
