All About German Cockroaches

The German cockroach is the most common cockroach found in homes within all regions of the United States and is thought to be the hardest species of cockroach to eliminate.  You may also here the German cockroach referred to as a croton bug. These roaches are a medium brown color and typically grow to be between ½” and ¾” in length when fully grown. The nymphs are darker in color and will have a distinguishing stripe down the middle of the back which is lighter in color, while the adults will have two dark brown stripes on the back of their heads. Unlike most species of cockroach the German cockroach does not simply place the egg capsule in a protected location; they will carry the egg capsule with them until the eggs are ready to hatch to ensure survival of the nymphs.

The capsules of German cockroaches contain as many as 30-50 eggs per capsule and only take a mere 28 days from the formation of the capsule to hatch. The nymphs will go through 6 stages of instars before reaching adulthood. The stages of instars typically take between 40-125 days for them to reach maturity and become of reproductive age. Although this species of cockroach can live as long as one year, they tend to die off before reaching this age. The adults and nymphs both tend to hide in small cracks and crevices where they will go unseen during the daylight hours, and then come out in the evening hours to forage for food and water. However, if the population is too large and the supply of food and water is diminished you may see German cockroaches during the daytime hours as well.

The adult German cockroaches can live for up to a month with no food source; however, the nymphs are only able to survive for a period of ten days without food. If there is no source of either food or water, the adults will die off within two weeks and the nymphs can only go a few days without food or water. If a German cockroach is deprived of food and water for more than a couple of days they tend to become stressed and will aggressively search for food and water during both the day and night. 
Although German cockroaches tend to migrate to moist dark areas, when the number of these pests multiplies it is not uncommon to find them in areas of the home such as dresser drawers and cabinets as a result. Although not the preferred source of food German cockroaches can survive on the glue on the drawers of dressers or droppings found on dirty clothing.

German cockroaches can also live outdoors as well and tend to be found in areas where there is an indoor infestation where foraging has become slim. When this occurs they may migrate outdoors to garbage receptacles looking for a source of food and water. Because of the large number of eggs which are deposited per egg capsule as well as the short duration of time which it takes for these egg capsules to hatch the German cockroach can quickly infest a home or business. Because of the high potential of reproduction, the German cockroach is the most prevalent and hard to manage species of cockroach found within the United States.