Roaches are hands down the worst possible roommates you could ask for. Worse yet, you could be dealing with five species in Georgia that cannot only overstay their welcome but complicate your life in unexpected ways.
Thankfully there are a few ways to protect your home from roach infestations and maximize roach control in your home and, to an even more significant extent, your property. If you wish to learn more, continue reading.
What Cockroaches Live in Georgia?
Five main types of cockroaches live in Georgia, including German, Asian, and smokybrown cockroaches. Let’s chat about which common cockroaches have the most considerable chance of blossoming into full-scale roach infestations and then get into more intricate details.
These details include how to prevent roaches, which triggers allergies, and where these pests are commonly found.
1. German Cockroaches
German cockroaches aren’t native to Germany but are actually from Ethiopia. Despite the long journeys across the ocean to reach your home, they appear to have acclimated well.
Most notably, German cockroaches feature a light brown coloring, with dark brown parallel stripes down the back of their heads. In terms of size, a German cockroach can be anywhere from ½ to ⅝ of an inch long and are most active at night.
These light brown cretins will take up residency anywhere in your home, especially during the colder months, when cockroaches found outside usually can end up migrating indoors with the hope of finding standing water.
As you might expect, German cockroaches function much like any other common species of roach. These insects feed primarily on anything they can get their grubby mitts on, ranging from boxes and leaf litter to pet food. Overall, few things aren’t considered nourishment for them.
German roaches scavenge anything they can from your home. If you have pets, double up on closing any open pet food bags because your fluffy friend can get sick because roaches carry bacteria everywhere.
Read More: How to Get Rid of German Cockroaches Overnight
2. American Cockroach
The American roach takes the prize for being the largest cockroach in Georgia and the most social roach. These bugs will happily coexist with both the oriental cockroach and the smoky brown cockroach.
The American cockroach contains dark brown stripes running on the back of its head. It features semi-oval shapes on its pronotum that are highlighted by a tan marking, which strongly shows against its chestnut-colored body.
The typical lifespan of an American cockroach is about two years. Within that two years, we can expect female American cockroaches to lay 4-5 egg capsules, each containing about 30 to 48 eggs, equating to a whopping 384 if everything goes according to their plans.
Read More: Getting Rid Of An American Roach Infestation
3. Oriental Cockroaches
Oriental cockroaches are the first roach on the list that takes a more dramatic turn from others. Oriental roaches are traditionally darker in color, with a glossy finish on their outer shell. In some cases, this dark color can almost bleed into an almost cherry color. Despite having short wings, this roach is incapable of flying.
Measuring up from 1 inch to 1.2 inches long, oriental cockroaches are relatively larger. They aren’t mainly found indoors, but if conditions are met, they can wander inside, creating problems for humans instead of inhabiting leaf litter outside.
Their diet primarily consists of decaying matter. While you might have some decaying matter in your trash can, it is implausible you will be enticing these roaches with what you have lying around. Still, they will gladly creep alongside your home in high grass, preferring their outdoor habitat over your comfy home.
Read More: I Found an Oriental Cockroach In My House: How to Get Rid of Them
4. Asian Cockroaches
Asian cockroaches are strikingly similar to German roaches, with the most significant distinction being that the Asian cockroach is smaller overall.
Instead of a dark brown color, the Asian cockroach is more tan, but the dark brown stripes remain consistent between them.
The Asian cockroach is an avid outdoorsman, only coming indoors when its habitat is encroached upon or food resources are running low. The roach measures about ½ to ⅝ of an inch in length and is attracted to light.
As if being attracted to light wasn’t enough of a jarring characteristic, Asian cockroaches might be the most disturbing in Georgia because they can fly short distances, so invading your home is a definite possibility, even if it is only by accident.
Read More: Key Tips on How to Get Rid of Asian Cockroaches
5. Smokybrown Cockroaches
Like most cockroaches in Georgia, the smoky brown cockroach is similar to the oriental variety. Still, they appear darker in color, reaching for a dark cherry color scheme, with the glossy texture on their exoskeleton remaining consistent between the two species.
The smokybrown cockroach is about 1.5 inches in length. This length is the same between the males and females of the species.
The females lay about 30 egg cases in their lifetime, each holding approximately 20-30 young in them. This means all the mature hardwood trees around your home could become nests for these bugs.
As with all Georgia cockroaches, the smokybrown loves high-humidity locations. Tree holes are no exception to this rule, as they provide suitable nesting locations and decent protection from predators. What the tree holes don’t offer, the smoky brown roach will happily scavenge to ensure its needs get met.
Roaches in the Neighboring States
The roaches found in Georgia’s neighbors can sometimes make their way over to the Peach State. Luckily, the ones found in Alabama and South Carolina roaches are the same as those found in Georgia.
However, since Florida has most of the conditions for them to thrive, there are quite a few other roach species found there. You might come also come across the Surinam cockroach, Pennsylvania woods roach, and Australian cockroach. So, if you live in the southern part of Georgia, you may also want to keep an eye out for these species.
Are Roaches in Georgia Dangerous?
Yes, roaches in Georgia are dangerous because all cockroach species carry diseases and bacteria, run the risk of contaminating food, and spread harmful bacteria across all the surfaces of your home, making you and your pets sick.
What Do Georgia Cockroaches Eat?
Georgia cockroaches eat just about anything they can touch, with slight differences between them. Some prefer the leafy greens outside your home instead of scraps of food left on any dirty dishes you have lying around.
Still, most roaches are not picky and will eat odd things like paper bags and the bodies of other roaches if times become hard enough.
Natural Ways to Get Rid of Roaches in Georgia
There are some natural ways to get rid of roaches, like spraying peppermint oil around your home or having cedar mulch around the perimeter of your home. Essentially anything with a strong scent can keep these insects at bay.
Sprinkle diatomaceous earth to control roaches. Apply it around cracks in your home as it proves particularly effective during roach season, which is in the summertime.
Conventional Ways to Get Rid of Roaches in Georgia
Some of the most common ways to get rid of roaches in Georgia include keeping a clean home and property, as cockroaches love cluttered houses and will do everything in their power to find a place with high humidity, which is necessary for their survival.
Boric acid traps are great because you can combine the mixture with other baits like peanut butter or sugar and achieve fantastic results, or resort to using bait traps. After all, they are the easier cleanup.
Call Pest Control If All Else Fails
In an absolute worst-case scenario, you can reach out to a professional exterminator to eliminate your problem. You shouldn’t feel bad about doing so, as getting rid of a roach infestation can be daunting and time-consuming.
If you were going to cut corners, the problem could remain unchanged, despite you investing hundreds or even thousands of dollars without them.
However, we hope this article answered some of your questions.
