As PMPs have noted in recent years, German cockroaches are back. It’s time for industry professionals to review some of the critical aspects of German cockroach biology and habits that can make it one of our more challenging pests.
Editor’s Note: This article was reprinted with permission from Techletter, a biweekly training letter for professional pest control technicians from Pinto & Associates.
The German cockroach was once the No. 1 pest in residential and commercial buildings. That changed with the introduction of cockroach baits, which resulted in one of the great success stories in insecticide development. Cockroaches became almost a second tier pest, and remained so for more than a decade. But have you noticed? They’re back! It’s time for pest management service technicians to review some of the critical aspects of German cockroach biology and habits that can make it one of our more challenging pests.
1. German cockroaches have a phenomenal rate of reproduction. One female cockroach and her offspring can theoretically produce hundreds of thousands of cockroaches in just one year! To prevent a population increase, either the service has to be frequent enough to stay ahead of the growth curve, or the controls (baits or sprays, chemical or nonchemical) have to remain effective from one service visit to the next.
2. German cockroaches love heat and humidity. Cockroaches prefer a temperature of 85° to 95° F with a humidity at 90 to 95% (although they do quite well at normal room temperatures and humidities, too). Within a given room, cockroaches will be concentrated where the temperature or humidity is highest, such as above refrigerators and other heat-generating equipment, under the sink, and around water pipes (hot water pipes provide warmth, cold water pipes provide water from condensation).
3. German cockroaches spend most of their lives hidden and protected. For every cockroach in view in daytime, hundreds can be hidden inside wall and ceiling voids, behind cabinets, inside appliances, and the like. A German cockroach’s favorite location is inside a narrow crevice with its antennae extended out. Typical “prime” locations are the cracks between cabinets and walls, the flange under the kitchen sink, and the space between door corners and jambs.
4. German cockroaches aggregate (crowd together). Miss an aggregation site and you may leave your client with a mess of cockroaches. On the other hand, the fact that German cockroaches aggregate can help in their control. The brownish “spotting” left behind by cockroaches marks sites of aggregation, which are also excellent sites for application of residual insecticides or baits. Use spotting as a roadmap to direct your treatment.
5. German cockroaches protect their egg cases.The female German cockroach carries her egg case for as long as a month, dropping it just before it hatches. While she is carrying the egg case, the female German cockroach is less active and tends to stay hidden away in cracks and crevices and protected voids. For this reason, when applying residual insecticides, it is especially important to (1) treat deep inside cracks, crevices, and voids, and (2) schedule follow-up treatments from a few weeks to a month later in problem locations to control newly-emerged nymphs.
6. German cockroach egg capsules are not susceptible to insecticides. Most insecticides do not have the ability to penetrate the egg case, even if directly applied to the case. The unaffected egg cases will hatch days after treatment. This is another reason to schedule follow-up treatments in heavy infestations.
7. German cockroaches regularly disperse to new areas. Older, larger nymphs are most likely to disperse, followed by adult males and then adult females without egg cases. Small nymphs are least mobile. During an outbreak of German cockroaches, technicians need to expand their search for cockroaches into adjacent rooms above and below, even into sites that are not typically infested with German cockroaches.
8. German cockroaches detect and avoid many insecticides. Most insecticide sprays and dusts are repellent to a greater or lesser degree. If cockroaches are repelled by a treated surface, they are not likely to contact the insecticide long enough to pick up a toxic dose. Be sure to treat deep inside cracks and crevices and voids. If there is no untreated harborage to escape to, cockroaches will be forced to contact insecticide residues even if those residues are repellent.
9. German cockroaches can develop resistance to insecticides. When insects are exposed to an insecticide, the least susceptible may survive to pass on their “resistance” to their offspring. This resistance may be physiological or behavioral, as we learned recently with cockroach aversion to certain baits. Eventually, the insect cannot be controlled with that insecticide, sometimes not even with related insecticides they have never been exposed to before (cross resistance). To prevent control failures periodically change insecticides or use combinations of insecticides.
10. German cockroaches can change their normal behavior. You may find a residence infested with cockroaches in the living room but not the kitchen. Or German cockroaches will be seen moving out in the open in bright light, and not responding to activity in the area. Or you may find high populations outdoors in the lawn and shrubbery. Stay on your toes!
If your service fails to control German cockroaches in an apartment building it is probably because of one or more of the following mistakes:
The authors are well-known industry consultants and co-owners of Pinto & Associates.
PCT caught up with North Carolina State University’s Dr. Coby Schal, one of the foremost cockroach authorities. In the following Q&A, Schal discusses why he enjoys working with cockroaches and provides a glimpse at some of the research the N.C. State team is performing.
Editor’s note: PCT caught up with North Carolina State University’s Dr. Coby Schal, one of the foremost cockroach authorities. Schal authored the Cockroach chapter in the 10th edition of the Mallis Handbook of Pest Control (order at http://bit.ly/29chPdF). In the following Q&A, Schal discusses why he enjoys working with cockroaches and provides a glimpse at some of the research the N.C. State team is performing.
COBY SCHAL: Researchers often seek “model systems” that best address specific questions, but are also convenient to maintain in a lab. This is why the mouse and fruit fly are workhorses of biomedical and genetics research, respectively. The cockroach has been a workhorse of insect physiology — the study of structure and function of whole organisms and of specific organ systems. Size matters since each insect organ is tiny! The larger cockroach species (Periplaneta americana and some of the blaberid species; refer to the Mallis chapter to learn about these species!) have been indispensable for research in insecticide discovery, toxicology, endocrinology (this is where some of the juvenile hormone analogs came from), molting and cuticle formation, and many other areas. These big roaches are used in biobot research because they are long-lived, hardy, can carry large payloads and serve as inspiration for biologically-based robots. To evolutionary biologists, roaches represent a very old lineage from which we can learn a lot about the evolution of hemimetabolous development (learn more about this in the Mallis chapter) and the emergence of sociality in cockroaches and termites. And, of course, if we want to eradicate pest roaches, we need to identify weak links in their biology as targets for pest control; this requires research.
PCT: Does the pest management industry do a good job of educating the public about the public health impact of cockroaches, particularly as it relates to cockroach allergens? Why or why not?
CS: An emerging link between an environmental factor and human health, however tenuous, is rapidly picked up by the media, and covered in the news, self-help guides and doctors’ offices. By contrast, the medical importance of cockroaches is astonishingly poorly recognized by the public as well as the medical and regulatory communities. Cockroaches have been recognized for half a century as major triggers of respiratory disease, including allergies and asthma. We also have known for decades that they can transmit pathogenic microbes, including multi-drug resistant bacteria. Yet the public is largely unaware of this link. The pest management industry has done an excellent job educating the public about the potential economic losses from termites, carpenter ants and wood-boring beetles. But we have not done as well communicating the potential health impacts of cockroach infestations. When it comes to indoor pests that can cause disease, such as cockroaches and bed bugs, I’d like to see greater emphasis on public education and more efforts toward pest eradication. We have an excellent toolbox for eliminating cockroaches and the allergens they produce, but many consumers still rely on much less effective do-it-yourself products.
PCT: What is the most important finding for PMPs from the recent cockroach glucose aversion research your laboratory at North Carolina State University conducted?
CS: This research, in collaboration with Dr. Jules Silverman and Dr. Ayako Wada-Ktsumata, is groundbreaking because for the first time it uncovered the physiological basis for the rapid evolution of a new highly adaptive behavior in cockroaches in response to insecticide baits. We have known for decades that cockroach populations can rapidly develop resistance to insecticides through various genetic modifications in biochemical processes (mainly metabolic detoxification of the insecticide). But here, we found that a change in the sensory system (taste) can drive behavioral resistance to the bait. These findings inform us that roaches have a plethora of new, previously unknown mechanisms in their toolbox that they can recruit in their arms race with us. These findings will also guide the development of new baits that will circumvent these adaptations in the cockroach. Bait manufacturers rapidly responded to glucose aversion by innovating and reformulating cockroach baits. But recently we found fructose-avoiding cockroaches, and we suspect that roaches quickly evolve to impede our pest management efforts. There are three main things the PMP can do in the short-term: (1) conduct “taste tests” with cockroach infestations — offer them several baits and let the roaches guide which bait should be used; (2) rotate among baits with different modes of action to delay the emergence of resistance to the active ingredients; and (3) alert us when you encounter major control failures with properly deployed baits. We are very interested to discover how cockroaches innovate in response to our pest control advances.
PCT: What did industry icon Blanton Whitmire mean to you and the pest management industry?
CS: Blanton revolutionized the pest management industry in several ways. First, he so well understood the power of biology and behavioral observations as a gateway to innovations. He argued, as we all still do, that a central tenet of pest management is to properly target each pest based on its behavior — the “crack & crevice” treatment is an excellent example, and now an industry standard. Second, Blanton invested in a long-term collaborative relationship with Dr. Charles Wright at N.C. State, and this expedited industry innovations, academic training and research. Third, Blanton valued the importance of PMP education and promoted the vision that the No. 1 industry challenge is education. He developed and vehemently supported the Whitmire Scientific Symposium. He maintained that innovation, education, and efficacious products are the best investments in the company’s future. Fourth, Blanton’s philanthropy and generosity were evident as president and CEO of Whitmire Research Laboratories, but even more so in retirement; he and his wife Peg endowed four professorships at three universities, a major addition to the Missouri Botanical Gardens and they generously supported their St. Louis community. Blanton and Peg’s gifts to our Urban Entomology program at N.C. State University have enabled us to cultivate an integrated research and extension team, higher-risk research endeavors and training of the next generation of urban entomologists. There is a short write-up about the Whitmires at http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/entomology/schal_lab/BlantonJWhitmireEndowment.
PCT: What do you see as future research needs of the industry as it relates to cockroaches?
CS: There are so many unknowns! We are well on our way to sequencing the full genome of the German cockroach. This community resource will reveal genes, biochemical pathways, and neurogenetic networks that are unique to the cockroach and therefore potential targets for novel and specific pesticides. It will likely reveal mutualistic associations with microbes that may be targets for disruption. I think baits will continue to dominate as the most efficacious formulation against cockroaches. Therefore, we will need to determine the frequency of glucose aversion in the U.S. and globally; investigate the relationship between glucose aversion and the evolution of metabolic resistance to insecticides; screen cockroach populations for aversion to other sugars and other nutrients; determine whether cockroaches learn and remember aversive stimuli (that is, glucose-containing baits) better or worse than rewarding stimuli; and finally, delineate the molecular genetic mechanisms of glucose aversion. Biological control of cockroaches has been relatively ineffective — why? Do cockroaches have a fantastically effective immune system? We discovered a highly species-specific virus that is pathogenic but very slow. Perhaps slight genetic modifications can make it more virulent as a pest control agent. We also need to investigate the impact of effective cockroach control on the allergens they leave behind and on associated health-related outcomes, especially in children. At the broader ecological level, international travel and commerce can lead to the emergence of new invasive pests. There are some cockroach species that associate with the built environment in Southeast Asia and Africa and we need to keep an eye on their global spread, as the Asian cockroach is marching west through Texas and into Mexico and north into North Carolina. Finally, an important question with the German cockroach (and bed bugs) is what adaptations facilitate their tight association with us. The German cockroach does not occur anywhere else in nature, whereas its close relative the Asian cockroach lives strictly outside. Why, and what biological traits and adaptations enable these ecological associations?
Having the right attitude, honing inspection skills and prescribing the correct treatment options can create a sustainable solution for German cockroaches.
German cockroaches in restaurants create a significant challenge for the pest management professional (PMP). Twenty years ago, when cockroach gel baits were first made available, cockroach elimination was fairly easy. Now, however, this resilient creature for several reasons is not susceptible to simple inspection and treatment techniques. Additionally, the restaurant environment contains a litany of variables that aid in cockroach harborage and distribution. Restaurant workers, incoming products, voids, cracks and crevices, heat, moisture, organic matter, clutter and a lack of third-party enforcement all can contribute to a lack of control. In turn, these infestations now require more intensive inspection techniques and treatment options to identify and eliminate ALL of the possible harborage sites. Having the right attitude, honing our inspection skills and prescribing the correct treatment options can create a sustainable solution for German cockroaches.
Perhaps the most significant contributor to German cockroach control failure is PMP attitude. When we approach an account for the first time we have a choice. We can choose to put the onus upon ourselves and solve the problem no matter what, or we can choose to limit our true capabilities with some common excuses.
Sanitation and Structural Hang Ups. In the majority of cases, German cockroach infestations can be solved without the customer addressing sanitation and structural correction. We have all probably encountered accounts with hoarders and severe clutter, or instances where the origin of the infestation could not be accessed, but these are exceptions. With the variety of effective products that are available, a little bit of elbow grease and the desire to solve the problem, we can eliminate the infestation. Addressing sanitation and structural corrections — in addition to treatment — can help eliminate the infestation more efficiently. Additionally, we can address some of the structural and sanitation corrections ourselves. However, placing the blame on the customer for the infestation due to poor sanitation and structural issues may alienate the customer, sabotage control efforts and possibly result in a cancelled account.
Operator Resistance. It appears that whenever an incident of true behavioral German cockroach resistance has been observed or documented, false diagnoses of resistance spread like wildfire. In many cases, having another pair of eyes assess the infestation may prove other factors may be contributing to the infestation. These need to be addressed before we “throw in the mental towel” and limit ourselves from solving the problem.
Where were we 20 years ago prior to the advent of cockroach baits? A typical PMP focused on treating the cockroach directly to get the best results (much like the approach we currently take with conventional bed bug treatments). We would take motor units apart, move equipment, lift boxes and bags, unlock doors, get into ceiling and wall voids and flush the roaches out if they were inaccessible. When baits became available, they were still applied with direct treatment in mind and sustainable control came fast and furious. Later, we noticed we didn’t have to apply bait directly to harborage sites and we still obtained great results. Complacency set in and many of us relied on baits to work in place of intensive inspection efforts.
Then a funny thing happened — the roaches “wised up.” In many cases, control efforts were not being realized as quickly as before, and in some cases control failures were beginning to rise. By reverting back to the inspections our colleagues conducted 20 years ago, control failures will be less likely.
In addition, rotate your gel baits. You may be surprised to see that some baits are more effective than others. Also, include other formulations in your mix such as dusts, granular baits and liquids.
If we were to depend only on a daily visual inspection we may think an area had no problem when in fact there was a light infestation of cockroaches. Since cockroaches are active mostly at night, insect monitors are critical inspection tools.
In addition to determining cockroach presence early, insect monitors pinpoint harborage points, determine the age of infestation, allow for targeted application (reducing non-essential pesticide use) and help determine the success (or failure) of your program. Placement is critical for insect monitors to do their job. Place them against walls, near corners of shelves, drawers and floors. Avoid placing monitors in the open; place them in static, protected sites where cockroaches are likely to be active in the evening. Samples of conducive areas include:
It is difficult to control cockroaches quickly when sanitation is so poor that food is readily available. Additionally, structural deficiencies such as uncaulked cracks and crevices, and openings around pipes and utility lines, provide additional harborage sites that can potentially make our control efforts work slower. If we are showing the customer that we are willing to get down and remove some of the organic matter while sealing cracks and crevices, we are demonstrating that we are not asking them to do something that we would not do ourselves.
Clean It. Most PMPs use beneficial bacteria with the sole intention of reducing fruit flies and other small flies. However, that notion is far too limiting. Beneficial bacteria is designed to help eliminate the organic matter that may harbor, attract or feed numerous pests whether they are flies, cockroaches, ants, or rodents. Additionally, when the customer sees the bacteria in action, they may indeed want to purchase the product and use it in their master cleaning program.
Seal It. As with the sanitation corrections, one of our goals is to make the environment as hostile as possible to the German cockroaches, without inflicting harm to the environment, people or pets. By sealing small cracks and holes, we are actively forcing the cockroaches into more open areas. Additionally, be certain to apply material into void areas before sealing around conduits and isolating the void from the open area. Every little bit of sealing helps.
One of the more difficult challenges we run into is spending the appropriate amount of time at the account to solve the problem. A few thoughts on time management:
Divide and Conquer. Large industrial kitchens and banquet halls are perfect examples of very large conducive accounts that are susceptible to German cockroach control failure due to poor time management. To best handle these accounts, divide the areas into zones.
Identify Critical Areas. Find those spots that provide moisture, shelter, warmth and food. On the first scheduled service, perform the application to the conducive areas in half of the account. Then visually inspect the other half of the account. On the second scheduled service, rotate your inspection and application to the previous conducive areas. By dividing the large account into zones and rotating the application and inspection, the PMP may avoid missing some critical areas.
Early Morning. As mentioned, German roaches are most active at night. Most of the activity we see usually occurs as soon as the client turns on the lights for the first time in the morning, and we see a few nymphs scurry. Additionally, it is difficult and unsafe to put ourselves under active ovens and fryers in the middle of the day. By periodically scheduling ourselves first thing in the morning, we have easier access to the cook line before it is “fired up,” and we are also more likely to see active harborage sites at this time, especially if there has been an ongoing infestation.
Solving German cockroach infestations has become a little more difficult over the years; however, we can make it easier by focusing on a couple of aspects. By approaching each and every account with a “can do” attitude, we are increasing our odds of solving the infestation, and making the customer happy. We must dig deep in order to pinpoint the harborage points and treat these areas directly. Use monitors wisely to identify infestations early. Make it a point to address sanitation and structural corrections (assuming the customer will not be addressing these). Lastly, allocate the appropriate time and service frequency to conduct an effective program and charge accordingly.
The author is training director of Anderson Pest Solutions, Elmhurst, Ill., and can be contacted at tdobrinska@giemedia.com.
For most PMPs, baiting has become the “go-to” treatment protocol for cockroach control. But even the finest tools used improperly will fail. To help ensure your technicians are applying baits in the most professional way possible, following are critical do's and don'ts of baiting from cockroach experts.
As industry product suppliers have continued to innovate, baiting has become the “go-to” treatment protocol for cockroach control. But even the finest tools used improperly will fail. To help ensure your technicians are applying baits in the most professional way possible, following are critical do's and don'ts of baiting from cockroach experts, including University of Florida (UF) Department of Entomology and Nematology Professor Phil Koehler, UF Lab Student Sam Pass, Rose Pest Solutions Vice President Technical Services Mark Sheperdigian, and, McCloud Service Technical Director Patricia Hottel. Do: 1. Place bait close to or in cockroach harborages. Cockroaches are lazy and will eat the first thing they find. To help direct placements, use visual inspections, client sightings, and glue trap monitors to help direct placements. Additionally, inspections and inspection tools can help build the “demographic” profile of where the bait-consuming cockroaches will be located.
2. Apply bait to cracks and crevices, putting out enough to kill the cockroaches that are present. Not only are these the areas where the cockroaches are most likely to encounter the bait, but the narrow crack will also help protect the bait from moisture loss, keeping it more palatable.
3. Inspect bait placements to see if cockroaches are eating it. If they are not, consider switching products – the industry has seen bait aversion to the sugars in the bait food lures as well as to active ingredients. Rotation from one active class to another is advised as part of resistance management.
4. Clean up food residues and ensure food storage containers are sealed – this improves bait performance by leaving the cockroach with fewer alternative food sources.
5. Remove old bait with a putty knife or other blade. Old bait is no longer attractive to cockroaches and it can make the place look dirty.
6. Carry a towel or rag to wipe up bait drips and spills.
7. Always read and follow the label – if it states crack and crevice only, don’t put bait out in the open. As with any pesticide, the label is the law. With cockroach baits, there can be a wide variety in the label language of various manufacturers in defining application rates and bait placement sizes.
8. Store baits at temperatures to facilitate proper application. Too hot or cold a storage temperature may impact application ease. Don't: 1. Don't make just a few large bait placements; placing many smaller ones is more effective. But … Don't make placements too small or they will dry out too quickly. 2. Don't place bait where pesticide has been sprayed, or to surfaces where they will be washed away or mopped up. 3. Don't apply bait to food surfaces. 4. Don't place bait beyond the areas where cockroach activity has been detected. 5. Don't apply bait to hot surfaces, where it may melt or run. 6. Don't expect that gel baits are the only option for all cockroach control. Insect growth regulators in combination with baits can increase feeding by adult female German cockroaches, and granular baits may be best for American, Asian, and Oriental cockroaches depending on location. Know the cockroach and be open to modifying your strategy based on species and situation.
To protect the perimeter of a home or business and prevent cockroaches from gaining access, the optimal management program should include exclusion and structural modifications, along with exterior insecticide treatment. Here’s a look at tips for implementing a complete exterior cockroach management program from inspection to elimination.
To protect the perimeter of a home or business and prevent cockroaches from gaining access, the optimal management program should include exclusion and structural modifications, along with exterior insecticide treatment. Such treatment would include application of a liquid residual as a perimeter barrier band and entry points, and/or a granular bait as a perimeter band, and dusting inside the cracks and crevices and voids of the building, said Rentokil Entomologist and Northeast Market Technical Director Chad Gore.
However, the PMP needs to be sure he or she is not simply relying on insecticides to do the job. As Copesan Technical Director Bennett Jordan explained, "Barrier treatments and application of insecticides to structural voids have been shown to reduce the number of cockroaches invading from the exterior, but they don’t typically have a long residual and may require a generous application. While barrier applications may be a part of keeping cockroaches out, they shouldn’t be considered a standalone option."
Following are tips for implementing a complete exterior cockroach management program from inspection to elimination. Identify and Inspect • Know the cockroach. Understanding the cockroaches in your area, and the seasons during which they tend to emerge in substantial numbers, can give you a head-start on performing barrier treatments and approaching your customers to collaborate to reduce their home’s attractiveness. Thus, to determine the best treatment options, you need to make a species-level determination and use the biology, behavior, and tendencies of that species to formulate a defense strategy, Jordan said.
• Know the site. Along with pest identification comes a thorough inspection of structural deficiencies and assessment of any other factors that may be contributing to the cockroach problem, Jordan added. "It really takes a summation of all contributing factors to decide on the proper course of action." A few inspection tips for often-overlooked areas, as provided by Gore, include: - Look for potential harborage spots near the building (stacks of wood, building debris, etc); these should be treated with an insecticide as appropriate. - Don't forget about lights on a building that may attract cockroaches. Some are good fliers and will be attracted to lights; a liquid residual treatment around those lights (if accessible) will help minimize a customer's encounter with cockroaches indoors. - Sewer systems and storm drains. If there are access points to a sewer system (manhole covers) or storm drains, where you can possibly have American or Oriental cockroaches, a treatment plan should be created for addressing those. Involve the Customer • Before conducting any treatment, the PMP should discuss the situation and planned program with the customer, as this conversation may shift the treatment approach, Gore said. For example, the customer may want greener options, there may be a vegetable garden nearby that could be impacted by drift, etc. • Discuss the inspection findings on the structural integrity of the building or home. While exterior cockroaches may pose no problem, structural issues enable them to get inside where they are a problem. "Therefore, it can't be stressed enough that maintaining a well-sealed building (i.e., sealing cracks/crevices, pipe penetrations, etc.) is critical to keeping them out where they belong," Gore said. • "Educate your customer on the cockroaches likely to be encountered in the area and get their buy-in on the management program so that they own a stake in program," he added. "If they don't know or haven't been told what part they play and how they can help, then the control program may be a doomed effort." Apply Insecticide Treatment • "The best treatment options are those that get the material to where the cockroaches are, or are expected to be, in order to intercept them before they find their way into the structure," Gore said. This often will include a lower perimeter treatment band on the exterior, with a residual material that has a proven extended life is appropriate.
• Base your treatment on the behavior of the species. For example: - With burrowing roaches (such as the Surinam cockroach), you would be best served by raking mulch into the ground so that it doesn't just sit on the surface. - Liquid residuals can be best for Asian cockroaches as they are often found further out in grassy areas of the property. - Granular baits are ideal for outdoor use for American, Oriental, or smokybrown cockroaches, and can make the most sense for these cockroaches that are likely resident or transient on the immediate perimeter. - Granular baits also can provide diversity in a German cockroach program, offering. different bait matrix compared to gels.
• Additionally, always following all label directions: - Using a long-lasting, heat/UV light-resistant insecticide with high weatherability is ideal for quarterly perimeter treatments. - Mold- and moisture-resistant bait should be used in damp areas. - On a quarterly or bi-monthly basis, apply a quality residual or a proven green solution to the foundation, the eaves and in a narrow band around window and door frames and other potential entry points. - Then apply a two- to three-foot band to the ground around the perimeter, outside of where the liquid foundation overspray may have landed. - Treat any non-perimeter areas attractive to insects such as woodpiles and remote landscape beds Make (or Recommend) Structural and Environmental Modifications
• Building out peridomestic cockroaches is your best bet for long-term control, Bennett said. You may not have any control over the level of cockroach pressure from your surroundings so it’s imperative to address access points like missing, defective, or improperly installed door sweeps, astragal seals, and weather-stripping, and seal any gaps around electrical and plumbing conduits. Other tips include:
- Reduce lighting or use indirect lighting to minimize attraction of those that will fly to lights. - Keep garbage containers as far away from the building as practically possible. - Seal everything you can.
• The PMP also should make recommendations for minimizing or eliminating anything that may be attractive to the cockroach and provide for its basic survival needs of food, water or shelter. These could include: - Exterior harborage (e.g., a pile of wood too close to the building or dense vegetation, leaf litter, and mulch around the perimeter of the home). - Moisture and drainage issues (such as leaky faucet or hose, overwatered plants, standing water). - Cockroach food (e.g., fruit fallen from trees that may need cleaned up frequently, garbage containers without properly sealed lids, debris, etc.). - Overhanging vegetation or limbs that touch the structure and enable entry. - Fluorescent or mercury-vapor lights that can attract flying cockroaches (recommend a switch to sodium-vapor or halogen bulbs). Finally, Jordan said, "once the IPM program is set; don’t neglect monitoring with glue boards to assess how successful you’ve been and to help narrow down trouble spots."