Common Name: Smoky Brown

Species: Periplaneta fuliginosa

Size: 1 1/2" (38mm)

Colors and Markings: Dark brown to Black - No markings

Time to Maturation: 320 - 388 days

Avg. Number of Eggs: 20

Avg. Egg Gestation: 24 - 70 days

Preferred Habitat: Prefers to live outdoors in woodpiles and debris near houses. Will enter garages and houses to feed. Primarily a southern US problem.

Smoky Brown Cockroach

Common Name: Oriental

Species: Blatta orientalis

Size: 1 1/4" (32mm)

Colors and Markings: Dark red to Black - No markings

Time to Maturation: 300 - 800 days

Avg. Number of Eggs: 14

Preferred Habitat: Found in crawl spaces and basements. Also under refrigerators, and washing machines. Likes sewers, drains, and sinks usually below ground level.

Oriental Cockroach

Common Name: German

Species: Blattella germanica

Size: 9/16" (14mm)

Colors and Markings: Light brown with dark stripes lengthwise

Time to Maturation: 55 - 68 days

Avg. Number of Eggs: 37

Avg. Egg Gestation: >12 days

Preferred Habitat: Found anywhere food is stored or served, and warmth and moisture are present. In homes it prefers kitchens and bathrooms. Nests in tight spaces where their bodies make contact with the surroundings.

Common Name: Brown Banded

Species: Supella longipalpa

Size: 9/16" (14mm)

Colors and Markings: Golden tan with lighter "V" shapes on wings

Time to Maturation: 95 - 276 days

Avg. Number of Eggs: 16

Preferred Habitat: Generally found throughout the home. Prefers high warm places. Nests behind wallpaper, in desks, dressers, boxes, and in trash piles. Occasionally found in and around appliances.

Brown Banded Cockroach

Common Name: American

Species: Periplaneta americana

Size: 1 3/4" (44mm)

Colors and Markings: Reddish-brown. Pale band on head.

Time to Maturation: 285 - 616 days

Avg. Number of Eggs: 14

Avg. Egg Gestation: 8 days

Preferred Habitat: Restaurants, Grocery stores, Warehouses, Office buildings. Warm moist areas near furnaces and heating ducts. Found commonly in basements.

Has wings and flies readily.

Cockroaches, commonly knowns simply as "roaches" have changed very little in the last 400 million years. They live nearly anywhere that has a warm enough environment, and where there is food and water. Scientists believe that roaches have evolved alongside primates, after finding evidence in an ancient orangutan nest. They presently live in caves, mines, animal burrows, ant and termite nests, but worst of all in our homes.