The worst thing about a cockroach is not that it makes your skin crawl at just the mere sight; cockroaches spread life threatening diseases picked up by scurrying around in decaying matter. Cockroach faeces can cause allergies and asthma, especially in young children.
There are over 4,500 living species of cockroaches in the world. The 3 main species that are found in South Africa are the American Cockroach, the German Cockroach and the Brown Banded Cockroach.
Finding its main habitat is key to identifying the best methods of treatment to control the infestation.
American Cockroach
The American cockroach is one of the largest of the house-infesting cockroaches. They are red-brown in color with a shiny finish and their size is about 35-40mm long.
Habitat: Dark, humid and undisturbed areas such as subfloors, basements, kitchens, roof voids and bathrooms of homes. They also live outside in drains and sewers and can fly into your home when it gets warmer in summer.
German Cockroach
German Cockroaches are the smallest, up to 15mm long, and reproduce the quickest, hatching up to 48 eggs at a time and seven times in an adult female’s lifespan!
Habitat: Most commonly found indoors, they prefer wet humid conditions. Kitchens and bathrooms in homes and commercial properties.
Brown Banded Cockroach
Brown Banded Cockroaches grow up to 14mm in length and characterised by yellow-brown stripes across their abdomen. They mostly stay on the ground, but may fly in very warm climates.
Habitat: They prefer warmer, drier, and higher locations such as upper cabinets or in rooms other than kitchens or bathrooms. This species often hides its egg cases in or under furniture.
Service Master have various applications to treat your cockroach problem.
The main objective is treating the problem at a nest level as to ensure the whole intrusion of cockroaches are wiped out.
Our gel application will take up to 28 days to take full effect as it works on a bait system. The cockroaches are attracted to the gel as a food source and are poisoned after consuming even a tiny amount. The gel is applied in areas where they hide or have nests. Our technicians are trained to identify the main areas of infestation.The gel lasts for weeks, so will even be effective long after the initial treatment is implemented. The gell also has a secondary poisoning effect as cockroaches are cannibalistic. Live cockroaches will eat dead cockroaches and also be poisoned.
Insecticidal spray is also used as a knock-down treatment and very effective for outside areas such as drains and gutters.
Should you have a sub-floor or crawl space underneath your premises, or a warehouse or archives where the cockroaches are breeding, we can use a thermal fogger to pump a thick white smoke-like chemical into the area. It dissipates into every crack and crevice and is a most effective knock-down treatment.
We also use special canister foggers which achieve the same knock-down effect in ceilings, small rooms, etc. There’s a limited residual value to fogging but it is a very effective cockroach control method.
Contact Service Master today to find out how we can help you target and eradicate your cockroach infestation.
Images from: wikipedia.com
