Four roaches,
side by side.
German, American, oriental and brown-banded are the cockroaches most often found indoors. Each one hides in different places and needs a different first step, so name it before you treat.
Size, tell,
where, first step.
The tag on each card is the first step of its plan. The full guide has the signs and the whole plan.
German
SmallColour and tell: tan to light brown, two dark stripes on the shield behind the head.
Kitchens and bathrooms, indoors, near warmth and water.
American
LargeColour and tell: reddish brown, a pale band around the shield, long wings.
Drains, sewers and basements. Comes in from outside.
Oriental
MediumColour and tell: shiny dark brown to black, short wings.
Cool, damp cellars, drains and under floors.
Brown-banded
SmallColour and tell: light brown, two pale bands across the wings and body.
Warm, dry rooms, high up: furniture, behind pictures, electronics.
How to tell
them apart
German: two dark stripes
Two parallel dark bands on the shield behind the head. This is the giveaway.
American: a pale band
A yellowish band runs around the edge of the shield behind the head. Much larger than a German cockroach.
Oriental: nearly black
Darker than every other house cockroach. Males have wings shorter than the body; females only have stubs.
Brown-banded: pale bands
Two light bands run across the wings and body. Often found up high, on ceilings and shelves.
Easy to mix up
German or brown-banded
Both are small. Dark stripes behind the head mean German. Pale bands across the wings mean brown-banded.
American or oriental
Both come up from drains. The American is reddish and much longer, with full wings. The oriental is shiny, nearly black, with short wings.
German or American
An American cockroach is much larger and reddish, with a pale band around the shield. A German one is about a fingernail long.
The signs
each one leaves
German
Droppings like ground pepper along shelf edges, hinges and the top of door frames. A musty, oily smell where there are many.
American
Seen near drains in bathrooms, laundry rooms and kitchens, mostly at night. Larger droppings, blunt at the ends.
Oriental
Seen on the ground floor or in the cellar, rarely high up. A strong musty smell in enclosed damp areas.
Brown-banded
Egg cases glued under furniture, shelves and inside drawers. Sightings in many rooms at once.
What every
plan shares
Bait, don't spray. Spray can scatter cockroaches deeper into the walls, and it drives them away from bait. Gel in small dots suits the small ones of kitchens and bathrooms, German and brown-banded. Closed bait stations suit the larger ones near drains and entry points, American and oriental.
Take their food and water away first: grease behind the cooker, crumbs, the bin, the dripping tap. For American and oriental cockroaches, close the way in and fix the damp.
For German and brown-banded cockroaches, a growth regulator stops nymphs from becoming breeding adults.
Track it with monitor traps, checked weekly. Still busy after a month? Call a pro.
Children or pets at home? Bait goes where they cannot reach, and the label decides how much, where and how often.