The cockroach is one of the most despised pests in the world. These creepy crawlers are a dreaded sight in your home, scuttling across the kitchen floor and scaling the bathroom walls. They’re incredibly fast and seemingly invincible - they can survive for up to a week without their heads!
Roaches are not only disturbing to discover in your home, but they can also be dangerous, as they are known to contaminate food and spread infectious diseases. However, not all cockroaches are equally bad. The wood roach is not nearly as invasive and hazardous as some of its cousins, including the American, German, and Oriental cockroach.
While they are much less menacing than other cockroaches, you still don’t want to see wood roaches in your Auburn home. In this guide, we’ll explore how to distinguish wood roaches from other species, how they differ in behavior and risks, and what you can do to prevent and control them.
What Makes Wood Roaches Different?
At first glance, wood roaches may seem similar to other common cockroaches. However, they differ in appearance, behavior, and the risks (or lack thereof) they pose to humans.
Physical Characteristics
Wood roaches are slightly smaller than American cockroaches, typically measuring between ¾ inch and 1 ¼ inch long. They are chestnut brown in color, but the males appear tan because of their wings. Adult male wood roaches can fly, while females are wingless and flightless. Both genders have a characteristic translucent stripe on the outer edge of the body's thorax or middle section.
Wood Roach Behavior
The behavior of the wood roach also sets it apart from other cockroaches. They are known as “accidental invaders,” as they may wander or be carried indoors but prefer to live outside in moist environments. In fact, they can’t survive for long indoors due to the lack of moisture. As the name implies, wood cockroaches are often found in woodpiles, logs, or loose bark. Unlike other species, they are not sensitive to light and won’t scurry away when you suddenly flick on the lights at night.
Wood roaches are not nearly as invasive as American, German, or Oriental cockroaches. When they do infest homes, they are typically found underneath wood siding or shingles. They may also be living in stacked firewood, and people sometimes unwittingly carry them inside with the logs.
Are Wood Roaches Dangerous?
Wood roaches do not pose the same health risks to people as other cockroaches. Other common species can transmit deadly diseases such as salmonellosis, typhoid fever, cholera, dysentery, giardia, and E. coli. The wood roach is completely harmless by comparison, a minor nuisance but in no way dangerous or life-threatening.
Wood Roach Prevention Tips For Auburn Homeowners
While wood roaches are a relatively “good” cockroach, they still aren’t exactly welcome in your home. We’ve put together a list of measures you can take to help keep these accidental invaders away.
Here are some helpful wood roach prevention tips:
- Store firewood outside until you are ready to use it, and inspect the logs before bringing them indoors.
- Stack firewood away from your home and up off the ground.
- Keep windows and doors closed and secure, and install screens on windows.
- Seal any holes, cracks, or gaps on the exterior of your house to keep cockroaches from entering.
- Male wood roaches are attracted to light at night. Turn outdoor lights off in the evenings and/or use yellow or sodium vapor bulbs.
These tips should help keep wood roaches out of your home. However, if you live in a wooded area or have a house with wooden siding or shingles, you may have more serious issues with these pests. If you frequently encounter wood roaches on your property, a professional pest control service can provide you with more permanent solutions.
Total Cockroach Control In Auburn, AL - Prewett Pest Control
Whether you have problems with wood roaches or another species, you undoubtedly want these uninvited guests out of your house. Cockroaches are always an unwelcome sight in your home, even if they aren’t a species that spreads disease. Whatever cockroach you are dealing with, Prewett Pest Control can make them disappear.
Prewett Pest Control proudly serves the Auburn area with modern, convenient, and effective pest control services. We use the latest technology to create a better customer experience, offering online scheduling and purchasing. We also guarantee our services and ensure that your property is pest-free and that you are 100% satisfied with our work.
For total cockroach control in Auburn, contact the professionals at Prewett Pest Control. We will effectively eliminate all cockroaches from your property so that you can sleep better at night. Click or call to schedule your free cockroach inspection today.