Tips for controlling German Cockroaches

German cockroaches are more than just nuisance pests – they can be a detriment to human health, given the many pathogens they can carry and allergies they can trigger. To provide your customers peace of mind from these pests, it is important to understand their biology, behaviour and how best to control them.

German cockroaches have incomplete metamorphosis, going through the life stages of egg, nymph and adult. Depending on the temperature and humidity, it takes approximately four to six weeks for these cockroaches to develop from eggs to viable adults. An adult female can live up to 28 weeks and produce up to five oothecae, or egg cases, that have 30-40 eggs each. This means she can be responsible for producing upwards of 200 offspring in her lifetime.

Before beginning a German cockroach treatment, make customers aware of these biological facts as well as German cockroach behaviours and their necessities of life: food, water and harborages. Removing one or more of these can increase the chances of a successful treatment. Stress the following preventative measures to your customers:

• Hygiene is critical and must be dealt with appropriately
• Proper food storage is important to stop any food sources
• Reorganization of cluttered areas and disposal of unnecessary items can help remove potential harborage areas
• Leaks from pipes and appliances should be repaired to remove water sources

Treatment expectations should also be discussed with customers upfront. For example, it is common to have cockroaches for up to two weeks after an initial treatment. It will take time for newly hatched cockroaches to develop and feed on the bait. Customer communication and involvement is essential (IPM - integrated pest management)

Baiting for German cockroaches has become common practice in most pest management plans, but it must be understood before it can be implemented. For the best long-term results, choose a product with a bait matrix that is highly attractive to cockroaches, resulting in increased feeding such as Optigard Cockroach Gel Bait, which has Emamectin Benzoat as the active ingredient.

For an added boost to your German cockroach control program, apply liquid Arilon to areas of reported activity, harborages, cracks and crevices. This creates a non-repellent spray treatment and ensures German cockroaches are not deterred from the gel baits, which is a risk when using traditional SPs. For cockroach treatments, using repellents and non-repellents, is a bad mix. Using Advion Cockroach Gel and Arilon Insecticides together however, is proven to control German cockroach adults and nymphs providing a powerful tool for your pest management strategy.