How To Keep American Roaches In Manchester Outside Where They Belong

What Do American Cockroaches In Manchester Look Like?

These are big roaches. An American cockroach is as long as 2 ⅛ inches long. It is easy to distinguish these roaches from other roaches simply by considering how big they are compared to the others. If you need more to go on, here are a few visual characteristics to help you with cockroach identification:

• American cockroaches have shiny wings on their backs and two long antennae.
• The most noteworthy visual characteristic of an American cockroach is the yellow coloration and two dark brown spots on the back. At certain angles, the yellow and brown marking may look like a figure-eight.
• American cockroach nymphs don't have yellow coloration and two brown dots. They're also wingless.
• All American cockroaches have a chestnut coloration except newly hatched nymphs. When nymphs hatch from their eggs, they are more of a yellowish-orange color.
• American cockroach nymphs are pill-shaped. As these roaches develop, they become more of an almond shape.

Now that you have the clues you need to help you identify these pest cockroaches in Manchester, we have some bad news to share with you. You're not likely to see these roaches unless you uncover them in a hiding place. Seeing an American cockroach out in the open is a warning sign of a significant infestation. So, it is much better to look for other signs of a cockroach infestation. While other signs won't let you know for sure that you have this particular roach species, it doesn't really matter. It is not good to have any species of cockroaches in your house. Here are the signs to look for in dark, humid hiding spaces within your home.

• Black fecal spotting, streaks, or specks. Roaches leave their feces all over the place. But the places they leave them are often hidden from view, such as behind your oven, under your refrigerator, and behind your boiler. You'll find feces on floors, walls, surfaces, and even ceilings. When you find them, clean the droppings up and check back later to see if more droppings have appeared. Be sure to wear a mask and gloves when cleaning cockroach droppings.
• Cockroaches shed their skins many times as they develop. You'll find these skins in very tight spaces. Use a flashlight and a probing tool.
• American cockroaches create brown ootheca (egg pouches) about ⅓ of an inch long. You'll find these in dark, humid locations. A good place to check first is in the cabinets underneath your kitchen and bathroom sinks.
• Use your nose to check for American cockroaches. They produce pheromones that have an oily, musty, and sickly sweet odor.    

If you find a cockroach in your Manchester house or find warning signs of an infestation, the next step is to evaluate your pest problem. While these are not the worst roaches to find in your home, they're also not the best.

Why Are American Cockroaches Dangerous?

These insects are attracted to unsanitary conditions and can transmit pathogenic bacteria. Studies reveal that cockroaches spread at least 33 kinds of bacteria, including two we're sure you've heard of—salmonella and E. coli. If this were the only reason to apply the most effective cockroach control methods in Manchester to get rid of these roaches, it would be enough, but American cockroaches can impact your health and damage your property in many ways.

• Cockroaches pick up parasitic worms, such as hookworms, Ascaris lumbricoides, and Toxocara spp.
• Cockroach infestations increase hospitalizations for asthma symptoms.
• Cockroaches cause rashes when they crawl across the skin and can cause pink eye when they crawl on the face of a sleeping person.
• While not prone to bite people, roaches can accidentally bite when they feed on dead skin cells in the eyelashes, eyebrows, and around the mouths of sleeping people.
• Cockroaches feed on materials that contain cellulose, and they damage household items in the same way carpet beetles, clothing moths, and silverfish do.

The risks associated with cockroaches increase in unsanitary conditions. You can reduce the threat cockroaches present by keeping indoor and outdoor spaces as clean as possible. Pay close attention to bathrooms, kitchen trash, exterior trash, and pet waste clean-up.

Why Is It So Hard To Get Rid Of American Roaches In Homes?

Cockroaches are adaptive insects. They alter themselves genetically to guard against dangerous materials in the environments they explore. Over the last century alone, we've exposed them to many control materials and have inadvertently made them stronger. The roaches in your home may already have some tolerance to certain over-the-counter products, which is why you can give them a generous dose and watch them crawl away as though unphased.

Cockroaches also have been equipped with an adaptive ability when it comes to food selection. They don't just learn what foods are safe to consume and what foods are not. There are some German cockroach populations that have experienced a genetic alteration of their taste receptors so they no longer find certain baits appetizing. As of this writing, we're not sure if this is the case with any American cockroach populations, but it is possible. What we know for sure is that the misapplication of cockroach bait can cause American cockroaches to become bait averse, making them harder to control.

We're not done yet. Along with a surprising tolerance to conventional treatment products, studies show that cockroaches have different personalities, and only a few are what researchers refer to as "bold" cockroaches. What is a "bold" roach? It is the cockroach you see when you flick the lights on. All the other roaches stay in hiding and wait to see if the bold roach finds food that the collective can eat. So, control products often fail when these bold roaches are eliminated too quickly.

The last issue we'd like to point out is that there are many treatments that don't work because they are misapplied. Here are a few examples:

• Treatments that are detectable to roaches are simply avoided. When a roach detects a treated surface, it simply goes around it. 
• Treatments that apply a powder to surfaces are avoided. Cockroaches don't like to climb over powdered surfaces because it makes it hard for them to get a grip.
• When a cockroach dies, it releases the death stench, which warns other cockroaches to stay away.

There are many challenges to cockroach control and prevention. We don't recommend using products. If you want to correct your infestation, you'll have more success with natural methods.