The Common Cockroach Species Infesting Homes in Georgia and How to Control Them

Cockroaches are a common nuisance pest throughout many parts of the United States but they are especially problematic in the southern states like Georgia. The warm humid climate provides ideal conditions for various cockroach species to thrive both indoors and out. If you live in Georgia, it’s very likely you’ll have to deal with roaches invading your home at some point. But how do you know what kind of roaches you’re up against? Identifying the type of cockroach helps determine the best control methods. Here’s an overview of the most common cockroach species found in Georgia homes and businesses.

The Smokybrown Cockroach

The smokybrown cockroach (Periplaneta fuliginosa) is one of the most frequently encountered roaches in Georgia. This large, dark brown insect reaches 1 to 1.5 inches long and has a shiny, mahogany-colored body. It prefers humid wooded areas and is most active outdoors during warmer months. However, smokybrowns often seek shelter indoors when the weather cools. They’re attracted to lights and can fly short distances. Inside, they tend to inhabit attics, crawlspaces, garages, and other dark, damp areas.

To control smokybrowns, seal any cracks around windows, doors, pipes, and the foundation where they can enter Cut back vegetation and leaves touching the home’s exterior An exterminator can treat problem areas both indoors and outdoors seasonally to kill smokybrowns. Their egg capsules are often cemented to surfaces, so scraping them off and discarding them also helps reduce the population.

Frequency of smokybrown cockroaches: Very high

The American Cockroach

The American cockroach (Periplaneta americana) is another highly common species in Georgia. Growing up to 2 inches long, these are some of the largest roaches found in the state. They have a reddish-brown body with yellow bands around the edge of their thorax. American roaches prefer warm, humid environments so they’re often spotted in basements, bathrooms, sewers, steam tunnels, and other moist areas. They may come up through drains. Outdoors, gardens with leaf litter and stacked wood provide habitat.

To control invasive American roaches, fix all plumbing leaks and seal entry points. Limit food, water, and clutter where roaches can hide. An exterminator can treat more stubborn infestations indoors and outdoors around the foundation. Traps and boric acid in wall voids and other inaccessible spots also helps kill them.

Frequency of American cockroaches: Very high

The German Cockroach

German cockroaches (Blattella germanica) are small, light brown roaches reaching 1/2 to 5/8 inch long with two dark stripes on the back. They’re one of the most common roaches found infesting kitchens and bathrooms in Georgia homes, restaurants, grocery stores, and other buildings. German roaches eat sweets, meats, grease, starches, and other human food. They need access to water sources too. They hide in cracks during the day, then come out at night to feed. An infestation can multiply rapidly since a female German roach produces an egg case every month containing up to 40 offspring.

To control German roaches, maintain an extremely clean kitchen by immediately cleaning up spills and crumbs. Store food in sealed containers, and empty the garbage frequently. Fix plumbing leaks. Use sticky traps and boric acid in out of reach spots to kill roaches. Vacuum egg cases and droppings which trigger allergies. Professional pest control treatments are often needed for elimination.

Frequency of German cockroaches: Very high

The Oriental Cockroach

The oriental cockroach (Blatta orientalis) is a large, shiny black roach reaching 1 to 1 1/4 inches long. In Georgia, oriental roaches are strongly attracted to moist areas like trash cans, basements, sewers, and beneath leaf litter outdoors. Orientals sometimes invade homes when the weather turns cold, seeking shelter in basements near warmth and water pipes. Slow-moving and flightless, orientals crawl indoors through drains and tiny foundation cracks. They’re often spotted in bathrooms and crawlspaces.

Sealing all possible entry points shuts oriental roaches out. Fix plumbing leaks and eliminate moisture sources. Professional perimeter treatments around the foundation outdoors combined with interior crack and crevice spraying helps eliminate infestations. Traps can monitor and reduce remaining roaches. Without access to water and food, oriental roach numbers dwindle quickly since they cannot reproduce.

Frequency of oriental cockroaches: High

The Brownbanded Cockroach

Brownbanded cockroaches (Supella longipalpa) have light brown bodies with distinctive faint bands across their wings and abdomen, about 1/2 to 5/8 inch long. They’re very common pests in Georgia homes, apartments, restaurants, stores, offices, and other buildings. Brownbanded roaches eat starchy foods but anything organic will do. They need less water than other roaches. During the day, brownbanded roaches hide out of sight in cracks, furniture gaps, appliances, and high places. At night they come out to feed. Females carry their egg cases with them until the eggs are ready to hatch in about two months.

Professional pest control is often the best way to eliminate brownbanded roaches, using baits and insecticide sprays in infested areas. You can make the environment less hospitable by sealing hiding spots and cracks, caulking appliances to the wall, keeping a very tidy kitchen, and using boric acid powder in out of reach voids. Monitor with sticky traps. Fixing leaks also drives away brownbanded roaches which don’t require much moisture.

Frequency of brownbanded cockroaches: High

The Florida Woods Cockroach

The Florida woods roach (Eurycotis floridana), AKA the Florida stink roach, is a large outdoor species growing over 1 1/2 inches long. They live in forested areas of Georgia and only occasionally find their way indoors. Florida woods roaches are mostly black with yellow bands around the edge of their wings and thorax. The females are flightless but the males can fly to lights at night, sometimes ending up inside homes by mistake. These roaches can give off a strong stink if disturbed or squashed. Outdoors, they live in tree holes, stumps, firewood, and leaf litter, so yard sanitation and sealing entry routes helps prevent indoor invasions. Traps or professionals can remove roaches that slip inside.

Frequency of Florida woods cockroaches: Moderate

The Turkestan Cockroach

The Turkestan cockroach (Shelfordella lateralis) is an outdoor species originally from Asia that has become established in warm southern states like Georgia. Ranging from reddish-brown to black in color and 1 to 1 1/2 inches long, Turkestan roaches are attracted to lights and frequently fly inside homes at night. During the day they hide in moist shady places like hollow trees, plant debris, irrigation control boxes, water meter boxes, and landscape mulch. Sealing any outdoor hiding spots located near your home helps discourage infestations. Fly swatters, traps, or professionals can control the roaches that make it inside.

Frequency of Turkestan cockroaches: Moderate

The Asian Cockroach

Asian cockroaches (Blattella asahinai) resemble German cockroaches in their size and markings, but are darker in color. Adults range from 1/2 to 5/8 inch long with two faint stripes on the back. They prefer shady, humid outdoor habitats with mulch, groundcover, and leaf litter. Asian cockroaches live in hordes, swarming other locations when disturbed. At night, the males often fly to lights and sneak indoors. To prevent entry, make sure windows and doors seal tightly when closed. Shine lights away from the home’s exterior at night, or use yellow bulbs which attract fewer insects. Traps, fly swatters, and pest control professionals can manage Asian roaches that slip inside despite your best efforts.

Frequency of Asian cockroaches: Moderate

Less Common Cockroach Species in Georgia

While the roaches described above are the most widespread species in Georgia, there are many other types occasionally encountered:

• Pale-bordered field roaches are pretty, red and yellow outdoor roaches that sometimes fly to lights at night.

• The banana roach, also called the Cuban roach, is a pale greenish-yellow roach living in tropical gardens.

• Surinam roaches, also known as greenhouse roaches, are dark brown burrowers that invade gardens and potted plants.

• The Pennsylvania woods roach hides in forests and may hitchhike indoors in firewood.

• The western woods roach is an outdoor chaparral species rarely seen inside.

• Tawny cockroaches inhabit European forests and meadows, sometimes flying indoors.

Though less frequently encountered, these and other occasional invaders can still contaminate food, trigger allergies, and become a nuisance once established indoors. So identification and control efforts should not be limited only to the most widespread species.

Preventing Cockroach Infestations in Georgia Homes and Businesses

While cockroaches are difficult to keep out of Georgia completely, you can make your property less hospitable through prevention efforts:

• Install tight-fitting door sweeps and window screens. Seal all cracks in the home’s exterior.

• Keep foliage, woodpiles, and mulch well away from the foundation. Prune back touching branches.

• Fix plumbing and appliance leaks. Eliminate moisture sources indoors.

• Use dehumidifiers and ventilation fans to keep indoor humidity below 50%.

• Store all food in sealed containers. Clean up spills and crumbs immediately.

• Take out the trash every night. Rinse recyclables clean. Use covered outdoor cans.

• Vacuum and mop frequently to remove food particles and roach droppings.

• Inspect packages and grocery bags before bringing them inside to ensure no “hitchhikers”.

• Consider professional pest control treatments, at least around the outside foundation annually.

While it’s impossible to keep roaches out completely in warm southern states, following these tips will help reduce the risk of bringing cockroaches home and minimize infestations. Being able to identify the most common Georgia species also helps you choose effective elimination methods when roaches inevitably find their way inside. With vigilance and persistence controlling roaches, you can deter these nuisance pests from taking over your Georgia home or business.