German cockroach (Blattella germanica)

Size:

• Head-body length: 10-15 mm

Look:

• Pronotum: Two distinctive black longitudinal stripes; in certain individuals and juveniles, these stripes are barely pronounced, making confusion with the common wood cockroach likely. Therefore, it is important that the expert also checks suspected wood cockroaches to avoid misidentification.
• Colour: Brown metallic shimmer with two black longitudinal stripes.

Life cycle:

• Reproduction: After 2-7 months, a German cockroach is fully developed and ready to produce offspring.
• Oothecae: Development time: 17 - 40 days
• Oothecae: Gestation period: The ootheca is carried until the nymph hatches.
• Egg laying: 18 - 50 nymphs per ootheca (egg case), 4 - 8 oothecae per cockroach lifetime
• Lifespan: 100 - 200 days

Habitat:

• German cockroaches prefer high temperatures and humidity. These conditions are most often found under kitchen appliances, near heating pipes, and hot water lines. They are a common sight in restaurants, kitchens, hotels, and even hospitals. German cockroaches produce three different pheromones:
• Sex pheromone: In females ready to mate, for reproduction.
• Aggregation pheromone: In the feces of the German cockroach, used to signal shared hiding places.
• Dispersion pheromone: antagonist of the aggregation pheromone, leads to the spread of a population if there are too many individuals.

Nutrition:

• Omnivore: This makes the German cockroach an adaptable pest.

Behave:

• Social: Lives in groups.
• Nocturnal: The German cockroach is nocturnal and spends 75% of the day in hiding. Despite an infestation, sightings of the insect are very rare; a large population could develop without anyone noticing.

Driven:

• Damage: Can contaminate supplies and living spaces through the transport of bacteria, germs, fungi, and viruses.
• Allergy: German cockroaches can be a cause of allergies such as asthma and hay fever in infants, children, and adolescents. Children who grow up in a contaminated environment are more likely to develop asthma or hay fever.

Disease transmission:

• It carries various bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and viruses. Furthermore, the likelihood of children developing allergies increases if they grow up in a contaminated area.

Food:

• Store food and drinks safely and check storage rooms regularly.
• Dispose of food scraps and waste in sealable containers.

Hygiene:

• Do not leave open garbage cans or bags.
• Regular cleaning of surfaces and rooms.

House and garden:

• Set up monitoring.
• Combat moisture.
• Consult a pest control expert for comprehensive advice.

Behave:

• Use traps and baits only in consultation with pest control professionals. Do not handle the animals directly without protective measures.

Garden maintenance:

• Regularly collect fallen fruit in the garden.
• Store compost heaps far away from the building