CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
The
American cockroach, periplaneta americana(Linnaeus), is the largest of
the common peridometic cockroaches measuring on average 4cm in length, it
occurs in buildings throughout Florida especially in commercial buildings. In
the Northern United States, the cockroach is mainly found in steam heat tunnels
or large institutional buildings. The American cockroach is second only to the
German cockroach in abundance.
DISTRIBUTION/ORIGIN
OF AMERICAN COCKROACH (PERIPLANETA AMERICANA)
Forty-seven
species are included in the genus, periplaneta, none of which are
endemic to the US (Bell and Adiyodi 1981). The American cockroach peripaneta
americana was introduced to the United States as early as1625 (Bell and
Adiyodi 1981).
The American cockroach has spread
throughout the world by commerce. The cockroach is often found residing indoors
as well as outdoors. It is found mainly in basements, sewers, steam tunnels,
and drainage systems (Rust et. al. 1991). This cockroach is readily found in
commercial and large buildings such as restaurants, grocery stores, bakeries
and where food is prepared and stored. The American cockroach is rarely found
in houses, however after heavy rain infestations of the cockroach can occur in
homes. The can develop to enormous numbers greater than 5,000 sometimes being
found in individual sewer manholes (Rust et.al.1991).
American cockroaches are found in
moist shady areas outdoors, in yards, hollow trees, wood piles, and mulch. They
are occasionally found under roof shingles and in attics. The cockroaches dwell
outside but will wander indoors for food and water or during extremes in
weather conditions. In Florida, areas such as trees, wood piles, garbage
facilities, and accumulations of organic debris around homes provide adequate
food, water and harborages for peridomestic cockroaches such as the American
cockroach (Hagenbuch et al. 1988). Mass migrations of the American cockroaches
are common (Ebeling 1975). The migrate by crawling or flying into structures
often entering houses and apartments from sewers via the plumbing, by trees and
shrubs located along-side buildings or trees with branches over hanging roofs
facilitate the entry of cockroaches into the home. During the day, the American
cockroach, which responds negatively to light, rests in harborages close to
water pipes, sinks, baths and toilets, for example, where the microclimate is
suitable for survival (Bell and Adiyodi 1981).
CHAPTER TWO
CLASSIFICATION
SCIENTIFIC
CLASSIFICATION, AMERICAN COCKROACH
(Periplaneta americana)
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Blattodea
Family: Blattidae
Genus: Periplaneta
Species: Periplaneta americana
Binomial name
Periplaneta
Americana (Linnaeus 1758).
CHARACTERISTICS/HABITAT
American cockroach adults are 1 and
½ inches long (38mm). They are reddish-brown and have a yellowish margin on the
body region behind the head. Immature cockroaches resemble adults except that
they are wingless.
American cockroaches generally like in
moist areas, but can survive in dry areas if they have access to water. They
prefer warm temperatures around 29 degrees Celsius (84Af) and do not tolerate
cold temperatures. In residential areas, these cockroaches live in basements
and sewers and may move outdoors into yards during warm weather. These
cockroaches are common in basements, crawl spaces, cracks and crevices of
porches, foundations, and walkways adjacent to buildings. They feed on a wide
variety of plant and animal material. The American cockroach is a scavenger
that feeds on decaying organic matter and variety of other foods. It is
particularly fond of fermenting foods.
CHAPTER THREE
DESCRIPTION/REPRODUCTION
Egg: Females of the
American cockroach lay their eggs in a hardened, purse-shaped egg case called
an OOTHECA. About one week after mating, the female produce an ootheca and at
the peak of her reproductive period, she may form about two ootheca per week
(Bell and Adiyodi 1981). The females on average produce an egg case about once
a month for ten months laying 16 eggs per egg case. The female deposits the
ootheca near a source of food by either simply dropping it or gluing it to a
surface with a secretion from her mouth. The deposited ootheca contains water
sufficient for the eggs to develop without receiving additional water from the
substrate (Bell and Adiyodi 1981).
The egg case is brown when
deposited, and turn black in a day or two. A typical egg case contains about
14-16 eggs. It is about 8mm long and 5mm high.
Larva on Nymph: the nymphal stage
begins when the egg hatches and ends with the emergence of the adult. The
number of times an American cockroach molts varies from 6-14(Bell and Adiyodi
1981). The first instars American cockroach is white immediately after hatching
then become greenish-brown. After molting instars of the cockroach nymphs are
white and then become a uniformly reddish-brown with the posterior margins of
the thoracic and abdominal segments being a darker color.
Wings are not present in the nymphal
stages and wig pads become noticeable in the third or fourth instars. Complete
development from egg to adult is about 600days.
The nymphs as well as the adults
actively forage for food and water.
Adult: The adult American cockroach is
reddish-brown in appearance with a pale-brown or yellow band around the edge of
the pronotum.
The males are longer than the females
because their wings extend 4mm to 8mm beyond the tip of the abdomen. Males and females have a pair of slender,
jointed cerci at the tip of the abdomen. The male cockroaches have cerci with
18 to 19 segments. The male American cockroaches have pair styli between the
cerci while the female do not.
LIFE CYCLE
The
American cockroach has three life stages. The egg, a variable number of nymphal
instars and adult. The life cycle from egg to adult averages about 600days
while the adult life span may be another 400days. The immature emerges from the
egg case in about 6-8 weeks and matures in about 6-12 months. Adults can live
up to one year and an adult female will produce an average of 150 young in her
life time. Environmental factors such as temperature and humidity can increase
or decrease the developmental time of the American cockroach. Outdoors the
female shows a preference for moist, concealed oviposition site (Bell and
Adiyodi 1981).
CHAPTER FOUR
MANAGEMENT
Several hymenopteran natural enemies
of the American cockroach have been found (suiter et. al. 1998). These
parasitic wasps deposit their eggs in the cockroach ootheca preventing the
emergence of cockroach nymphs.
Caulking of penetrations through
ground level walls, removal of rotting leaves and limiting the moist areas in
and around a structure can help in reducing areas that are attractive to those
cockroaches.
Other means of management are
insecticides that can be applied to basement walls, wood scraps, and other
infested locations. Residual sprays can be applied inside and around perimeter
of an infested structure. When insecticides and sprays are used to manage
cockroach populations, they may ultimately kill off the parasitic wasps. Loose,
toxic, pellet baits are extremely effective in controlling American cockroach
populations.
Insect management (1): Guide for
cockroaches. Cockroaches are pests throughout the United States. They are
annoying, and when abundant, they are also destructive. Cockroaches, also known
as water bugs, croto bugs, or palmetto bugs, destroy food and damage fabrics,
book-bindings, and other materials. When cockroaches run over food, they leave
filth and may spread disease. They secrete an oily liquid that has an offensive
and sickening odor that may ruin food. This odor may also be imparted to dishes
that apparently clean. Excrement in the form of pellets or ink-like liquid also
contributes to this nauseating odor. Some people are allergic to cockroaches
and become ill.
KINDS OF COCKROACHES
The kinds of cockroaches most
commonly found in and around Florida homes are the Florida wood roach,
American, smoky brown, Brown, Australian, German, and Asia. The smallest
cockroaches, the German, Asian and Brown banded are close to the same size and
the adults are seldom more than 5/8 inches long. The larger cockroaches, the
American, Australian, Brown, and the smoky brown, are 1 1/4inches to 2 inches
long and are often called palmetto bugs.
Though they are generally found
outdoors, they can become an indoor problem when they migrate or are carried
indoors. The largest cockroach, the Florida woods roach, will also enter
dwellings from the outside or from beneath the house. Outdoor cockroaches do
not survive well indoors and many times people over react to the presence of
these outdoor cockroaches from the house is all that is needed for control. The
Asian cockroach looks very much like a German cockroach, except it flies. Asian
cockroaches are attracted to the lights in your home. They will fly to porch
lights and find their way inside. Once inside, however, their survival is poor
like other outdoor cockroaches.
DEVELOPMENT
OF THE COCKROACH
The cockroach
has life stages: the egg, nymph, an adult. Cockroach eggs are deposited in
groups in a leathery case or capsule called an OOTHECA. This capsule is usually
dropped or glued to some surface by the female and soon as it is deposited;
however, the female German cockroach carries the capsule protruding from body
until the eggs are ready to hatch. There may be from 30-48 eggs in the capsule
of German cockroach, but capsules of other cockroaches may have only 10-28 egg.
The newly hatch nymphs have no wings
and shed their skins (molt) several times before becoming winged adults. German
and brown banded cockroaches may have several generations per year, but the
outdoor species may require a year to develop from egg to adult.
CHARTER FIVE
DIET/MODE OF FEEDING
The American cockroaches are an
omnivorous and opportunistic feeder. It consumes decaying organic matter but
since the cockroach is a scavenger, it will eat most anything. It prefers
sweets and has been observed eating paper, boots, hair, bread, fruits,
book-bindings, fish, peanuts, old rice, putrid sack, the soft part on the
inside of animal hides, cloth, and dead insects (Bell and adiyodi 1981).
MEDICAL AND ECONOMIC SIGNIFICANCE
American cockroaches can become public
health problem due to their association with human waste and disease, and their
ability to move from sewers into homes and commercial establishments. In the
United States during the summer, alleyways and yards may be over-run by these
cockroaches. The cockroach is found in caves, mines, privies, latrines,
cesspools, sewers, sewerage treatment plants, and dumps (Bell and adiyodi
1981).
Their presence in these habitats is
of epidemiological significance. At least 22 species of pathogenic human
bacteria, virus, fungi, and protozoans, as well as 5 species of helminthic
worms, have been isolated from field collected American cockroaches (Rust et.
al. 1991). Cockroaches are also aesthetically displeasing because they can soil
items with excrement and regurgitation.
CONCLUSION
German
cockroaches are the most important pest in the indoor environment. Peridomestic
cockroaches live primarily outdoors but often invade structures looking for
food, warmth or moisture. The treatment measures for indoor versus outdoor
cockroaches are very different, so it is extremely important that a problem
cockroach population be correctly identified. Once the cockroach and its
habitat have been determined, the magnitude and the location of the population
need to be evaluated. These can be done by performing a thorough inspection in
and round the structure and monitoring with traps. The population information should then be
used to choose treatment strategies. A combination of treatments is recommended
for a complete approach to cockroach management.
Several least toxic treatment
choices are available for cockroach control, they includes: bait products
(available for indoor and outdoor use) insect growth regulators (IGRs),
inorganic ducts and traps. Oothecal parasitoids occur as a biological control
for peridomestic cockroaches.
However, these wasps are very
sensitive to insecticides and should be protected from outdoor applications,
particularly those involving pyrethroids.
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