There are over over 4,000 different species of cockroaches, of which, only about 40 species are considered pests while others are beneficial in their natural environment. In Indonesia, German cockroach (Blatella germanica) and American cockroach (Periplaneta americana) are commonly found.
Cockroaches are more active during the night, preferring to stay hidden in cracks and crevices during the day. They are attracted to food available in your property and will feed on nearly anything from food crumbs to animal droppings / faeces. If you suspect a cockroach infestation, it is essential to take immediate action to ensure a fast solution to the problem and to minimise health risk associated with this pest.
ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE:
- Cockroaches threaten human health because they transmit or aggravate many serious diseases including Salmonella, E. coli, food poisoning, asthma and Hepatitis E, diarrhoea and dysentry
- Cockroaches shed their skins and their droppings contaminate hundreds of thousands of kilograms of stored food every year
- Cockroaches are one of the most difficult to control pests due to their their ability to quickly become resistant to insecticides and their prolific reproductive habits
COCKROACH MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
- Prevention is the key to successful cockroach control. Preventative measures will minimize cockroach invansion of buildings and eliminate or greatly reduce availability of food, water, and shelter
- These insects can be discouraged from entering buildings by sealing any cracks of 0.3 cm or more in foundations and exterior walls. The seal around air conditioners, doors, windows, and other structural openings should be examined to ensure that there are no gaps which permit cockroach entry
- Refuse should be stored in durable, securely covered containers
- Incoming merchandise such as beverage cartons, groceries, dry cleaned items, luggage and used appliances or furniture should be eliminated
- Inside a dwelling, all cockroach hiding areas and food sources should be eliminated
- Leaky water faucets and pipes should be repaired
- Sanitation or cleanup will aid considerably in cockroach control
- Unwashed dishes, kitchen utensils, and exposed food products should not be left overnight. All spilled liquids should be cleaned up
- If pets are fed indoors, leftover food should not be allowed to remain in the feeding dish overnight
- Treat perimeter (outside the property) with an insecticide
- Cockroaches locate and feed on the bait and carry it back to the nesting area. Bait carried back will kill other cockroaches by coprophagy (excreta) and necrophagy (dead carcasses)
- Use baits containing a slow-acting insecticide incorporated to a food source attractive to cockroaches