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Wood Roach

Summary: Wood roaches are large cockroaches often mistakenly identified as the American cockroach. The wood roach does not live inside structures.

The wood roach is often thought to be its cousin, the American roach. Wood cockroaches, which can grow up to one and one-quarter inches long, prefer to eat decaying organic matter and are attracted to light, whereas most roaches run from light. Females deposit their egg capsules outdoors under old logs, stumps and firewood. There is one generation of Wood cockroaches per year and, in some cases, the life cycle takes two years.

At dusk, Wood cockroach males may begin taking short flights and are drawn to porch or house lights. The Wood cockroach normal habitat is moist woodland areas but it frequently become a

Woods Roach

household nuisance because it wanders into or is carried into the house with firewood.

Wood roaches which are also called the Pennsylvania Woodroach, do not survive indoors which is probably the best news you have read so far. They require the consistently moist environment of their natural habitats such as under wood piles or loose bark and in decaying logs. So, unless your housekeeping is way below par, the presence of wood roaches is strictly a temporary annoyance. They usually die within a few days in the house, so a call to the exterminator is probably not required.

If Wood cockroaches are found anywhere inside the home, usually they are solitary. So, it's not necessary to go looking for the mate. Wood cockroaches do not reproduce or multiply inside. Since wood cockroaches do not establish themselves indoors and their presence is temporary (a few weeks, at most) during the spring, chemical pest control measures are rarely needed.

Comments

Michelle
13 Jul 2009, 16:26

Thank you for putting together such an informative page. I recently moved into an older house on a wooded lot and have seen the occasional wood roach here and there. However, I've seen 5 of these critters in the last week (all males) and that just isn't going to work for me. I'm completely creeped out, constantly looking around when I'm home waiting for one to pop out of nowhere. My house is a one-level bungalow with an attic and crawl space. I've seen these things in the mud room, the kitchen, my bedroom (SCREAM), and my office space. This past weekend, I had my gutters cleaned out and the flashing around them replaced. That seems to have disturbed a colony of them or something because before then I'd seen a total of 2 since April.

I was reading on another bug site that wood roaches will set up shop in your home and live just like any other roach. Please tell me this site has no idea what its talking about and that wood roaches will not take up living in your residence with you. I'm incredibly tempted to sell the house and skip town...these things are HORRIBLE. I understand that they are attracted to light, so I never turn on exterior lights around the house - only the interior lights. Should I invest in blackout shades to keep the roaches from seeing the light from the windows? I don't like sitting around in the dark, so I like to have lamps on in the evenings. And I especially don't like being in the dark now that I have those things around!

I have an exterminator coming on Wed to do whatever he can do to help me out (possibly a waste of money, but I'm desperate). Do you have any suggestions on how I can get rid of the roaches and keep them out for good?

Also, do they respond to the plug-in pest control devices that ward off other insects? If so, I will plug one into EVERY outlet in the house. If that doesn't work, should I get a bunch of cats to act as my own personal exterminators? I open to anything (money is unimportant at this point)!

Please help!

Ask the Exterminator
13 Jul 2009, 16:39

Plug-in devices do not work! Save your money. Instead, you need to focus on what is bringing them into your house. Most often they are brought inside via firewood. These roaches require a lot of moisture. Perhaps your crawl space is holding water. You need to go through a checklist of items to make sure you are not overlooking anything. If your yard slopes toward the foundation of the house it could be causing water to collect around the foundation. Think of gutters, woodpiles, compost piles, broken water lines, downspouts, air conditioning condensation lines, etc.

Michelle
13 Jul 2009, 17:14

Thank you Mr. Exterminator. I do have another question however. I live in central North Carolina and it can get pretty humid. How can I correctly identify whether my problem is wood roaches or (god forbid) the dreaded palmetto bug? If one of these things stands up on its hind legs, spreads its wings and hisses at me the way it did you while hanging out on your kitchen counter...there won't be time for it to fly at my face because I'M OUT!!! It can have the house, the food, the furniture, WHATEVER...I'm gone!

Ask the Exterminator
14 Jul 2009, 10:00

The wood roach and American cockroach (Palmetto bug) look similar. The American cockroach has more red to is color and the shield over its head has some lighter color on the edges. There are plenty of pictures online to compare the two.

By the way. Don't give up your house. These are bugs, not serial killers. A heavy book will defeat every one of them.

jessica
24 Jul 2009, 17:07

hi- i've lived in an nyc apt for 5 yrs- and only these past 6 months- i've started seeing roaches. once a week for the past few months, i'll get home from work or get up in the morning.. and there will be a big dead roach on its back lying in the middle of the floor near the front door. i have never treated the apartment.. so how do they randomly just die there? are they coming in under the front door from a neighbor's house? any insight helpful..

Ask the Exterminator
27 Jul 2009, 12:11

If it's a Wood roach it is dying because of a lack of moisture. They are entering through some crack or crevice, drawn by lights near the doors or interior lights through the windows. They find openings by sensing cool air escaping through cracks.

jessica
28 Jul 2009, 12:11

thank you so much. now- what is the best thing to do? i found another one this morning. i have lived there for 5 yrs and do not know why they are suddenly coming out in full force. i see you mentioned that they come in through tiny cracks- but i cauked all of the crevices i could find in my apartment.. and filled any holes under the sinks. there is a heater in my bedroom- right under the window- this is the first time i've found one there and this is where i found it today. do you hv any suggestions as to what i should do? i always hv a screen in the window. and i even put something under the front door of the apt so they couldnt slip in- but maybe they got in anyway. i NEVER cook. thx for all of your advice

Ask the Exterminator
28 Jul 2009, 14:53

They can get through the smallest cracks. Don't forget vents in the attic. If you are still seeing them you have not found all the cracks. Sorry to be so obvious, but that's what's happening.

Stephanie
10 Aug 2009, 23:15

Thank you for maintaining such a wonderful and informative page. I just moved to Galveston Texas and I am not used to dealing with roaches. Tonight a wood roach flew at my head ( I was sitting under the desk light at my computer ) and without your site I would have been sleeping in a gas mask. It really freaked me out.
My question is this: The house I bought was flood damaged in Hurricane Ike last year. It has been gutted to the studs and mold treated per Texas state regulations for re-mediating a house after flood damage. Do I need to be concerned that the wood roaches have found some vulnerable wood inside the walls of my home? I have been here about 6 weeks and this is the first live one I've seen (found a few dead ones in the detached garage).

Claire
12 Aug 2009, 15:38

I eventually fouind you again, it really is difficult to say as I onl wsaw the thing for sconds and when I gone and got something to get it , it was gone, but this does look like it could be what I saw thanks, the fact it says large at the top bit I would think its likely it waws as I haven't saw anymore since and the thng i saw was certianly pretty big, whioch to be honest worried me, but thanks very much for the info appreciate it, as reasding this makes me not so worried but of course it could have been anything but I think it is likely it was as if it were a proper cockroach I reckon I would have saw more than one in all time, I think it probly has wondered in through my window attracted by the light as it was night time I saw the thing, I was actualy qiute shocked at how big it was, didn't know you could get insects that big..and never saw one that big before.

I have gas heating but I do have a chimney maybe it came from there..I don't know..but hope not to se anting like that again.

shannon
18 Aug 2009, 22:13

we recently purchaced a pop up camper and we where cleaning it out and came across a roach the person we got it from lived in the country we only found one and no more i was wondering if american roaches could live in the camper we brought some thing in the house that was left in there and now im freaking out that they are in are home please give me some advice on what to do thank you so much oh and we did not find any eggs

Stephanie Randall
31 Aug 2009, 22:56

We just moved into an apartment and have seen literally close to 30 of these critters per day. We see tiny ones and ones that are over an inch long (males, I presume.) We kill them whenever we can but are seriously concerned this is a lingering problem. The landlord said that the exterminator is out weekly to address any issues. They sprayed one day before we moved in and are going to spray again this week. We keep a clean and dry house...do you have any suggestions? My 9 year old daughter and I are pretty freaked out at this point! Thanks.

Trish
15 Sep 2009, 04:00

Ok so i keep seeing different roaches i can't tell what kind they are the one i seen today was all one color light brown with no distinguishing marks and only bout half an inch maybe what kind is that? Then my landlord put a diff stove in and i say little ones coming out they were dark brown around the edge of it and had a light brown spot on the middle of its back i have seen these before. I am so terrified that i'm going to get an infestation i am scared of bugs what do i do?

Janera
16 Sep 2009, 21:23

I live in NC, the house I'm renting used to be a wooded area. When we first moved here 2 yrs ago, we saw 1 or 2. Now we see these wood roaches every other day, 2-3 of them. Tonight 1 was on my bed (hell no), I'm terrified. I have my sons in my room with me. Last year someone came out and stated that there is a lot of moisture under the house and when we walk in the kitchen, we can hear the wood floor squeak. Please help us, I have two weeks before we move. I'm scared that they are in some of my boxes I sstarted packing up for the move.

wanda
30 Sep 2009, 09:38

we had 5 big trees cut from our yard,now we see these big roaches every day. would a wood roach bomb set off help. they move so fast that it is hard to kill them. They are in every room sometimes 2 a day.I don't leave food out at night Please help me. Are these the same as water bug? wanda

Dylan
07 Nov 2009, 02:18

I've had problems with roaches in my apartment building and just recently discovered something unusual - they seem to be gravitating towards wood - i found an old cutting board in a closet covered in them, but nowhere else, and recently under my bed on the wooden planks supporting my mattress, but thankfully it does not appear as though they have infested the mattress itself. What kind of roaches might these be - I live in Los Angeles.

Scott
17 Nov 2009, 04:32

Is there a reason they are attracted to wood? Also, I'm going to guess that cardboard boxes are a bad thing to have around them, being paper/wood products. I'm in the process of moving, and I really don't feel like bringing them with me...

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Wood Roach

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