Cockroaches

1. Also known as… roaches cucarachas Cockroaches What we’ll cover: What they are What they eat Where they live How to think like a cockroach Prevention and control

2. Cockroaches are Health Hazards Cockroaches and their frass: • Make asthma worse in sensitive people • Cause asthma in preschool-aged children • Cause or aggravate allergies • Contaminate food, dishes, and counters • We must clean the dead roaches, skins & frass!

3. What is a cockroach? • Live where humans provide food and water • Multiple eggs in each egg case means many nymphs (babies) • Active at night -Cockroaches during the day indicate a serious infestation Nymphs look like small versions of the adults

4. Common cockroaches hot cool high & dry most common sewers & basements

5. Oriental cockroach American cockroach • a.k.a. “palmetto bugs*” or “water bugs” • Large (1-1/2''); brown color • Glides in the air • Lives in sewers & basements • Likes it hot • a.k.a. “water bugs” • Large (1''); black color • Lives in sewers, basements, and mulch • Likes it cool

6. Medium size (3/4''), bronze, with “racing stripes” behind the head Found everywhere, but likes warmth, moisture, and darkness German cockroach • Reproduces quickly • Mother carries eggs to term even if she is dead

7. One German cockroach, 1/2 a year…

8. Signs of cockroaches • Live cockroaches • Dead cockroaches and their parts • Frass • Egg cases 11

9. Live cockroaches American Cockroaches German Cockroaches

10. Dead cockroaches Dead German cockroaches on a sticky trap Brown banded cockroachesby a door hinge

11. Behind the wall clock Frass Door Wall clock Under a cabinet shelf

12. Where cockroaches live Prefer spots near water but also need food and warmth In cracks and crevices where their bodies touch surfaces above and below Anywhere in a building

13. What cockroaches eat Crumbs Grease Trash Cardboard glue Just about anything* This knowledge will help us later Under the bag in a trash can

14. Where cockroaches drink • Sinks • Counters • Floors • Pet bowls • Shower stalls • Sweaty pipes • Refrigerator drip pans and gaskets • AC units Sources of water in a kitchen

15. Think like a cockroach We think of a building as rooms, hallways and stairwells

16. Think like a cockroach To a cockroach, a building is the spaces between walls and around and in appliances

17. IPM practice What’s the problem here? Who is responsible? How would you fix it?

18. Insert facility slides

19. Got cockroaches? Now what? Inspect, Monitor, Identify: What kind? How many? Where? Scale the Response Use solutions that provide: Most effective prevention and control Least risk to residents and staff

20. Trash chute Boiler room Inspect • Using a flashlight, look for evidence where cockroaches would find food, water, or a hiding spot: up, down, behind, and under • Think like a cockroach – look in hidden areas

21. Monitor Monitor by placing sticky traps near areas where cockroaches might travel - at corners and near warmth, food, and water

22. Prevention and control:Sanitation • Good, detailed sanitation makes pest control work • Eliminate hiding spots, food, and water available at night: - clean the kitchen- reduce clutter- vacuum dead cockroaches- clean frass & areas where cockroaches are found, using soap and water

23. Cockroach common areas: Appliances • Daily: wipe grease and crumbs from the stove top • Weekly: Detailed cleaning of stove top - remove burners and wash drip pans • Quarterly: • Pull appliances away; clean the floor underneath • Under the stove top • Wash vent filter • Refrigerator & Dishwasher gaskets

24. Thorough stove cleaning

25. Seal or fix cracks, peeled wallpaper, shelf liners, or holes that cockroaches could get through. Use: • silicone caulk • copper mesh • screens • door sweeps— always on boiler rooms and exterior doors Prevention and control:Exclusion

26. Prevention and control:Targeted chemical use by PMP • Ideally, sanitation first • Monitoring and inspection before treatment to determine how much and where to apply • Only licensed individuals should apply pesticides (more later!) OR

27. Prevention and control:Baits • The most effective pesticide option • Cockroaches feed on the bait, take it back to the hiding spots where other cockroaches live • Use in every room where inspection finds evidence Gel Bait Bait Station

28. Prevention and control:Baits • Works best when: • Bait is the only food • Not contaminated with sprays and scented cleaners • Will still work where sanitation is low • More roaches = more bait • Rotate baits PMPs gel bait applied under a drawer

29. Prevention and control:Insecticidal dusts • Boric acid, silica gel, diatomaceous earth • stomach poison or dry the outer coating • Light dusting, keep dry • In walls, under and behind cabinets at turnover or when making majorrepairs… but clean first!

30. Prevention and control:Insect growth regulators (IGRs) • Sprays, aerosols, and impregnated discs • Interfere with cockroach growth and egg hatching • Take a month to work, effective for +/- 90 days • Compatible with other IPM methods; may enhance baits

31. Prohibit use of over-the-counter sprays and foggers • Over-the-counter sprays & foggers are not part of IPM in multifamily housing • They are not compatible with baits • Cockroaches develop resistance

32. Module review or Workplan(What will you do now?) Who does what? Contract/Policy requirements NO routine spraying NO pyrethroid sprays Monitors in all units Use (based on monitor counts): Baits Dusts IGRs Follow-up treatment/schedule every 2-4 weeks Baits rotated monthly • Monitoring • Sanitation/cleaning • Exclusion: Sealing cracks & crevices • Repairing leaks • Apply pesticides

33. Questions?