How to Deal with Baby Cockroaches
Pests in your home can be a trouble for many reasons, and baby cockroaches would be no different. The moment you spot signs of a potential roach infestation, consider looking into cockroach bait or cockroach traps; letting the problem develop and get out of hand isn't going to do you any favors! Although they appear to be small and harmless, baby cockroaches are one of the most problematic pests in North America – even if you see one of them, it could be a sign that larger problems are lurking about! As always, if you are experiencing a large Cockroach Infestations, contact one of our listed Exterminators.
In this article, we're going to be taking a look at how you can identify cockroach babies properly, as well as what you can do to fight back. Use this article as a resource of information should you find yourself battling a roach infestation, as we've compiled some of the best tips from pest experts right here.
What Does a Baby Roach Look Like?
As one would probably assume, they look like miniature versions of their adult counterparts. Although they may share a similar appearance to adult cockroaches, when a baby roach first hatches it sports a pale white skin. After a few hours, they will begin to darken and develop into the cockroaches we've grown accustomed to. If it's a flying type of roach, the nymph will slowly develop wings, and some won't have wings entirely. A baby roach has to molt on several occasions before it will reach adulthood, and the color of the roach will depend upon its species.
The most common type of roach that we're used to seeing would be the American Cockroach, which has a grey/brown color to it (and when they reach adulthood a red hue will develop). German Cockroaches are much darker than the American species, even while in the nymph stages; they also have a very definitive tan stripe running down their backs.
The Oriental Cockroach nymph is going to have a red/brown body, with bands that vary in color (light and dark). Brown-Banded baby cockroaches will remain dark brown with a few yellow markings on their abdomen, and as they grow (and progressively molt), both their size and color will begin to resemble that of a “traditional” adult cockroach.
Size Doesn't Matter with Baby Cockroaches!
Cockroach babies may not seem like a big deal at first, as they are not the massive bug that you would see when they're grown. The size of the baby roach will always vary in regards to their species, German and Brown-Banded Cockroach nymphs are approximately 3mm in size, Oriental Cockroach nymphs are 6mm, and American Cockroach nymphs are 1/4 inches (on average). You can never judge a baby roach by their size, as they are always going to be a threat to the sanctity of your home.
German/Brown-Banded Cockroach - 3mm
Oriental Cockroach - 6mm
American Cockroach – 1/4 inches
Even the smallest ones around can contaminate food in your home and pose a threat to your overall health, and it's only a matter of time before they develop into a fully grown roach. German and Brown-Banded Cockroaches will grow up to around 1” in length, and the Oriental baby cockroach can reach up 3”. There's still a clear “winner”, as American Cockroaches are the largest (they can grow up to 3” in length!). The larger they get, the harder it's going to be to get rid of them!
Small Cockroach: Could This Mean a Bigger Issue?
Baby cockroaches are typically going to mean there is some sort of infestation beginning in your home, and even if you spot just one, that merely means it's one of the potentially many invading your sanctum. Rarely will you ever spot a baby cockroach by themselves, and adult roaches can reproduce eggs very quickly – they don't produce eggs one by one, instead they produced a case called “oothecae”. These cases can contain up to 50 eggs each, depending on which species you're looking at. So if you have only found one cockroach, best to get a treatment right away!
Cockroaches have a small lifespan when compared to other organisms, but they're still able to lay at least 6 to 30 oothecae throughout their lifetime; that's a potential of one cockroach laying well over 600 eggs by themselves. That's how an infestation starts, which is precisely why you need to tale any signs of baby roach infestation seriously. Without the right tools, information, and experience at your disposal, dealing with an infestation can prove to be troublesome.
How Do I Prevent a Cockroach Infestation?
There are many things you can do to prevent the risk of infestation, as well as deal with any potential problems that may have already developed. Baby roaches (and cockroaches in general) are always on the lookout for food, water, and shelter; the necessities of life for a bug are much similar to ours as humans! If you're able to eliminate their access to all of these things from your home, you're bound to have success in driving them out.
Keep Your Home Clean
Keeping your home clean is a must, as you're only going to give them more reason to stay by keeping things dirty. Roaches love living in filth, as it lets them hide from the light and live their lives in peace! This is why you need to vacuum constantly and pick up and food sources that may be sitting around, as roaches are bound to feed off of those. Leaving food out overnight is the ideal scenario for essentially feeding baby cockroaches dinner, so try to avoid that! Clutter and spills need to be attended to immediately, as that's a breeding ground for roaches – the clutter will be their shelter, and roaches can even eat cardboard boxes when times are tough.
Store all of your items in a plastic container with a lid, and be on the lookout for any leaky pipes or moisture build-up in your home. If you can replace the water in your pet bowl frequently as well, that's also going to be beneficial. Anything you can do to make the house inhabitable for roaches is a must!
Baby Cockroach Bait & Traps
If you feel like things are getting out of hand, you could always use cockroach bait to lure them in, and then cockroach traps to take them out. While it may sound a bit “over the top” to some of you reading this, baby roaches should never be taken lightly as a few babies can lead to a full blown infestation. They don't care about the state of your home and they're just going to grow in numbers until there's simply too many to handle, but all of that can be avoided! By using baby cockroach bait and traps to handle potential infestations, you can kill the root of your small roach issues with ease.
Many products on the market can help you handle roach problems, all of which can be found at DoMyOwn.
Baby Cockroach Control Kits
Cockroach Control Kits contain everything you need to fight back against any small and large cockroach, as DoMyOwn gives you professional-grade products that give you complete control over your infestation. Whether you're in a home, apartment, or even commercial area doesn't matter – DoMyOwn has several Cockroach Control Kits that will make eliminating these pests a breeze. These will contain the likes of Cockroach Bait, Traps, and even Point Source control devices!
The most popular baby cockroach control kit on DoMyOwn is likely the Commercial Roach Control Kit, which has everything you need to treat roach problems in apartment buildings and plenty of other large spaces.
Baby Cockroach Bait
DoMyOwn also offers professional-grade insecticides that will bait baby cockroaches unlike anything else on the market. Typically applied in gel-form, you can use baby cockroach bait to help control the roach population on your property. You can choose where you want to lure them, and then set up your baby cockroach traps accordingly! They last about 30 days on average and can prove to be one of the most important cockroach control products you'll ever use. They come in several different compound options, some of which include:
Gels
Powders
Liquids
Granular
One of the most popular products from DoMyOwn would be MaxForce Complete Granular Bait. It features hydramethylnon that kills an abundance of insects with haste (including the cockroach!).
Baby Cockroach Traps
Cockroach Traps are usually applied alongside the other products listed, as it never hurts to have as many products working together as possible. A food-grade molasses is used for the sticky component of this trap, so once a baby cockroach gets stuck, it's there for good! You can adjust these traps using the “monitors” (openings), which can be created by tearing your traps at the perforated lines.
These products are quite straightforward and perfect for even the most inexperienced person out there. However, If you're trying to deal with a large roach infestation, you might want to consider contacting a trained Exterminator who has the experience and knowledge in dealing with Cockroach infestations big and small.
