They are quick. Some people are capable of flying. If you see one, you'll find more hiding in the nooks and crevices of your home.
If not dealt with properly, roaches can cause a lot of health issues, including allergies, and can cause a lot of problems in the kitchen.
According to Benjamin Hottel, a board-certified entomologist and technical services manager with Orkin, German roaches are the biggest threat in the country.
In restaurants and multi-unit housing, german roaches are a problem.
Hottel said that people could bring in food items from a grocery store. If they work in a restaurant that has their purses or backpacks, they can come in from work. These roaches are easy to spread.
There are ways to protect your home. This is what to know.
Are Christmas lights costing you a lot of money?
Changlu Wang is a professor of entomology at Rutgers University.
You can take oriental roaches. They are more likely to be active in the summer.
The United States has a good heating system, Wang said. The room temperature is in the 70s. That is the best place for roaches to grow.
The American cockroach is one of the larger species. The majority of them are in sewer systems and tunnels.
When it's warm, you tend to get more outdoor insect activity. German and American roaches can still be active in the winter even if they're not inside.
In the south, the smoky brown roaches can be found in mulch, but they can also be found in crawl spaces and attics. The weather cools down and so does the activity of the smoky brown roaches. Warmer seasons make them more common.
According to Hottel, cockroaches can appear in restaurants or apartments.
Maybe there is food or water that is easy to get to for them.
He said that it can be more common in older facilities because they have more structural problems.
He said that they can enter your home through the pipes in your bathroom sink.
There is a looped pipe called a p-trap under the sink. It prevents sewer gas from entering the bathroom.
There can be sewer gas and roaches if the piping dries out.
He said that once they get out and into a bathroom area or an office area, there isn't a lot of food for them.
Many species of roaches don't want to come inside the house. Sometimes they come in because they are attracted to light or were brought in through potted plants.
Hottel said that peridomestic roaches sometimes get inside into areas that they shouldn't be.
They aren't feeding on anything in the kitchen. He said that they were feeding on decaying stuff under the decks and under people's houses.
Some roaches can fly and others can squirt fluid.
There are Asian roaches that can get into peoples' homes.
When a door or unscreened window is left open, Asian roaches are more likely to enter the house.
According to Hottel, they are mostly found under leaf litter in the Southeast United States.
The Florida woods roaches can shoot a liquid out of their back ends.
He said that the secretions can cause irritation to your skin.
According to Hottel from Orkin, roaches can carrybacteria on their bodies and can taint food preparation areas or food itself.
He said that if a food inspector or health inspector saw german roaches in a restaurant, that would be considered a safety concern. They could be eaten. Yeah, that's pretty gross.
They can cause allergic reactions and asthma attacks as well.
He said there were different types of proteins from dead bodies. TheProtein can circulate in house dust. If you have asthma you are more likely to have attacks.
Scientists are able to control remote-controlled roaches that could save your life.
One way to deal with these pests is by baiting them.
He said don't bother with aerosols.
Wang saidFoggers are not very effective. Most roaches have developed resistance to the chemicals used in sprays.
There are no scientific studies that show electronic repellants work.
According to Hottel, from Orkin, cleaning up can help, as well as seal up areas where utility lines enter the walls of your house.
Make sure leaves are raked away from the house.
A lot of leaf debris inside a gutter will cause leaves to start decaying. Cockroaches are able to live in that.
Don't be afraid to get your landlord involved if you don't know what to do or it's too much to handle on your own.
If you're in a multi-unit housing situation your neighbor could have them. If you're good at controlling the situation, you should get the landlords involved in having the pest control companies check the surrounding units.
Hottel said that the region you live in has a big influence on what roaches are called.
People in Maryland call them water bugs because of their association with the sewer system.
In Florida, roaches are called palmetto bugs because of the plants they live in.
Saleen Martin is a reporter. She loves Halloween, witches, Christmas, and food from Virginia. Email her at sdmartin@usatoday.com if you would like to follow her on social media.
The original article was about how to keep roaches out of your house.
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