Pest Of The Week: The Asian Cockroach

 

In most of the southeast United States, the Asian cockroach is commonly considered a considerable pest control problem. In highly infested areas of North Carolina, Florida, and Georgia; some 250,000 cockroaches per acre have been discovered. These cockroaches are not as common in urban areas, but can frequently be found in and around suburban and rural properties. They are excellent fliers, and are abundant outdoors.

Many homeowners confuse the Asian cockroach with the German cockroach. It is argued if these two species of cockroach are related, but there are a few many similarities. There are also a few differences between the Asian and German cockroaches. The wings of the Asian cockroach are usually longer and narrower, and they are also lighter in color than most German cockroaches.

No matter the type of cockroach that’s invading your South-Eastern property, you just don’t want any of these pests inside your home. They will eat your food and spread disease. Appropriate roach control measures must be taken to eliminate Asian cockroaches.

5 For Friday: Pest Control Link Round-Up

 

North Carolina Carpenter Ant Prevention

Black Carpenter ants are common ant pests in throughout much of the eastern United States; and in the Charlotte, NC area. These ants can be very destructive if left untreated, but there are a few things you can do to prevent these malevolent pests. More…

Deer Ticks And Lyme Disease In New England

Deer ticks, also referred to as blacklegged ticks, are largely responsible for the spread of Lyme disease. You New Englanders, watch out for this blood-sucking pest this spring. Here are a few preventive tips. More…

Bed Bugs Found in William Paterson University in New Jersey

Bedbugs are becoming more and more common in the dorms of Universities and Colleges across the United States. Looks like William Paterson University in New Jersey was the bedbugs’ most recent victim. More…

Freakish Football Sized Snails Invade Houston

You have to see these African land snails! They’re huge, they’re destructive, and they’re deadly! More…

Top 10 Tips for Landlords to Keep Bed Bugs Away

The bedbug battle rages on and tenants and landlords alike are looking for answers. If you are a landlord who doesn’t want their property infested with these tiny blood-suckers; read these 10 tips. More…

 

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• How to Deal with Cockroach Infestations

Anthony Ball

Live Roach Cam

 

Live video by Animal Planet L!ve

 

Have you ever wondered what pests like scorpions, ants, spiders, and roaches do when we’re not watching them? Well, wonder no more! I bring you the live roach cam. It’s a 24-7-365 live feed of cockroaches living in a miniature apartment, aka a dollhouse.

Watch the roaches eat, mate, crawl around, and just hang out.

It’s like watching an episode of The Jersey Shore, except more exciting and with less disease.

The window in the apartment looks to be a green screen that’s playing something on a loop. Today it happens to be the Ellen DeGeneres Show; yesterday it was cars driving by. Watch closely, and you can see the roaches crawling around on top of the furniture and under the fridge… Much like a roach would do in a standard apartment.

What’s next, a live feed of penguins, sea nettles, or leafcutter ants?

Yup! You guessed it!

You can watch about any critter you want on a live cam nowadays. All of these live feeds of living creatures, including the live roach cam, come to you via Animal Planet, and their new website APL.TV.

If you’re interested in watching something with a few less legs, check out the live kitten or puppy cams… You won’t feel quite as itchy afterward.

There are also live feeds for Beluga whales, calves, osprey, chicks, wild birds, and the Pacific Reef.

Cockroaches

Cockroaches are one of this country’s most hardy pests, and maybe the most disgusting. They come into our homes in search of food and water, spreading disease as they go. Cockroaches will eat almost anything. In fact, cockroaches have been known to eat blood, hair, wood, glue, leather, and fecal matter.

Cockroaches in the home spread diseases like: polio, typhoid fever, leprosy, and bubonic plaque. They have also been shown to cause allergic reactions in humans, and are linked to asthma. Other unpleasant side effects roaches can cause are food poisoning, dysentery, diarrhea, parasitic worms, and urinary track infections. In addition to all of those, cockroaches also carry over 40 different types of bacteria.

Did I mention cockroaches are disgusting insects? Roaches are better left to watch on a live roach cam, and are definitely not something you want in your home. If you do have them in your home, get Bulwark Cockroach Control.

 

Related articles

• What to Know about Roaches
• Can Cockroaches Jump? Meet the Leaproach.
• How to get rid of cockroaches naturally

Anthony Ball

Ah, Valentine’s Day… A day of love… A day of romance.

A day of cockroaches?

This week loving couples across the country are making romantic plans in anticipation for the big day. Reservations are being made at the finest restaurants. Bouquets of beautiful red roses and boxes of expensive chocolates will be at a premium as couples pull out all the stops to show that special someone just how much they are loved.

Getting “Unlucky” On Valentine’s Day

After a romantic Valentine’s Day dinner, you head home with that special someone. Upon arrival, you have Barry White softly playing in the background. You blindfold your date. She is guided upstairs through a trail of rose petals that lead to a candlelit bubble bath. As you remove her blindfold, any chances of getting “lucky” this Valentine’s Day are suddenly vanquished.

See for yourself:

 

 

A Roach Is Not A Love Bug

An ill-timed visit from a cockroach can turn an intimate Valentine’s date into a nightmare, complete with screaming and attempts to flee.  The sight of a roach can induce a primitive reaction of disgust, nausea, and even vomiting with your date; sucking out all the day’s romance and ensuring your previous gestures are overlooked.

Your only chance to save the evening is to play the hero and squash that disgusting cockroach under your shoe, and promise your lovely lady that you will sign up for Bulwark’s Roach Control so this doesn’t happen again next year.

More Evidence Valentine’s Day Roaches Are A Bad Idea

Valentine’s Day cockroaches are a bad idea, especially when handed to a woman in a red heart-shaped box that looks like a it should be filled with chocolates.  It really isn’t a pretty site.

Guy Pranks His Girlfriend With A Box of Cockroaches!

 

 

Guy Gives Girlfriend Box Full of Cockroaches on Valentine’s Day

 

 

Happy Valentine’s Day

All of us bug guys here at Blog Pest Control and Bulwark Exterminating would like to wish you all a Happy Valentine’s Day. May your day be filled with love and romance; and may it be cockroach free!
 

Related articles

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• Snuggle With A Book Blind Date This Valentine’s Day

Anthony Ball

On December 21, this Friday, the Mayan calendar indicates the end of an earth period and the beginning of another. Many around the world have taken this to mean that the world will actually end altogether on Friday, and apparently its suppose to be some big nuclear explosion. Like, maybe all the countries around the world leave their nuclear weapons too close to the fireplace, and Friday happens to the be the day that it all goes wrong.

I’m gonna try and hit a nice steakhouse before Friday morning, and I definitely encourage all of you to find time to got out with a bang (pun intended). Treat yourself to a nice dinner. Go buy that one expensive gift you’ve always been wanting. Or, better yet, just go buy the most expensive car you can afford.

While I, and maybe a few of you, will be checking a few things off our bucket lists, I’ll tell you who doesn’t have a care in the world right now – cockroaches.

That’s right. Those little critters spit in the direction of all nuclear missiles. They laugh in the face of radiation fallout. The meteor on path to earth is their disco ball, and the music is blazing.

Some believe that if there is anyone, or anything, that is capable of surviving a nuclear meltdown, its cockroaches. In fact, in a piece called The Cockroach Papers: A Compendium of History and Lore, journalist Richard Schweid indicates that roaches survived the atomic explosions of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In the years to follow this would lead to the notion that cockroaches may eventually inherit the earth should all of humanity and wildlife become extinct due to nuclear war.

Even modern media perpetuates this thought. In Disney Pixar’s movie WALL-E, the main robot character, WALL-E, is befriended by a cockroach in a post-apocalyptic world. The two are seen numerous times with one another on earth, where there are only garbage and ruins in sight. All other human life has sought refuge in space craft orbiting the earth.

So just how exactly would a cockroach survive a nuclear holocaust? They need some of the same resources us humans do. Food. Water. Shelter. First Aid. Navigation. Cable Television.

Cockroaches will eat anything. Literally. Usually they are confined to less than crumbs to feed from. If the inhabitants of the world perished, let’s just say there would be an abundance of…food…laying around.

Water? Even if acid rain started falling from the sky I’m sure they’d drink it. Anything to add some flavor, right?

Everybody needs a place to live. Those little guys would have entire cities to themselves. If I were a roach I’d go straight to the upscale neighborhoods and get one of the bigger homes for myself. Finders keepers!

It’s our observation that roaches don’t really care for one another. They’d definitely have to look out for their own hides because medical attention will pretty much be non-existent. Every roach for themselves.

Hopefully any nuclear explosions on earth won’t disrupt the GPS satellites that orbit the earth. I’m not sure if there would be enough Garmins for every roach to have their own, so they might have to share.

And since there’s not going to be very many humans on earth, things might get a little boring. They can set up as many flat screens as they want and never have to pay one bill for their subscriptions. That’s the life!

So, who’s SOL on Friday? Humans.

And who’s winning the lottery? Roaches!

As pest control professionals we deal with roach problems almost every day. As we are working to eliminate these pests for our customers, roaches are busy predicting the next president of the United States.

The New Jersey Pest Management Association holds a “presidential cockroach derby” every four years to predict this country’s next president. The derby pairs two Madagascar hissing cockroaches against each other with each cockroach representing a corresponding presidential candidate, Mitt Romney or Barack Obama. Each roach has a tiny cartoon caricature stuck to its back as they race down a three-foot-long track to the finish line. Commentators make political wisecracks like, “Look, the Obama roach is leaning to the left.”

 The Winner…

 

The Mitt Romney roach handily beats the Barack Obama roach thus solidifying Mitt Romney as the 45th President of the United States. Well, not exactly, but the derby has predicted the presidential winner 84 percent of the time. In 2008 it was the Obama cockroach that won the race.

Although there is a history of animals making accurate psychic prophecies, such as Paul the Psychic Octopus of 2010 World Cup fame, there is no scientific proof that roaches can predict anything.

The one thing that we can predict is that our customers will continue to need our services to keep roaches out of their homes.

Source: Huffington Post

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Roaches Eat Toothpaste! Do You Share Your Toothpaste With a Roach? 

 

For a Good Laugh Check Out This Video:

 

Are You Feeling Itchy? Fleas Are Back

Flea control needs to be an integrated program that includes customer cooperation, veterinary treatment of pets and treatment of infested premises by pest management professionals.

Fleas are very vital pests in the ecosystem. They can flourish on pets, especially cats and dogs, and they can be very annoying to humans. Some flea infestations are brutal, to the point that they can cause anemia.

 

Common Pests by Their Season

Whether it’s winter, spring, summer, fall, or year round, pests are a part of our daily lives. For a breakdown of each season’s common pests check out: http://joshuaspestcontrol.com/season-common-pest/

 

A Few Not-So-Fun Wasp Facts

Wasp season is in full swing this summer. Whether you have a full fledged wasp infestation, or they are just ruining your summer barbecues, a pest control professional can help. For a few not so fun wasp facts check out: The Not-Fun Facts about Wasps | Long Island Pest Control Blog

 

Bed Bugs: What You Need To Know

Hotels are still in the news for bed bug infestations, and the public has become more conscious of all the troubles that these tiny blood-suckers can create.  While the term “bed bug” may give the notion that they are sleepy, relaxed little creatures that somehow winds up in the sheets, the reality is way more frightening.

 

Biting Spiders

Watch this video for some great information on biting spiders:

http://davespestcontrol.blogspot.com/2012/08/biting-spiders.html

 

 

Related articles

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While a number of venomous animals paralyze prey as live food for their young, the Emerald Cockroach wasp is slightly different, in that it initially leaves it’s cockroach victim mobile; and modifies it’s victim’s behavior in a very unique way.

As early as the 1940s, female Emerald Cockroach wasps have been used as natural exterminators, against cockroach pests. When it attacks, this natural pest control provider will sting the cockroach two times, delivering a powerful venom. In 2003, a study showed that the wasp is able to sting directly into specific ganglia of the cockroach, paralyzing the front legs. This strike allows for a second venomous sting, which is delivered to a carefully chosen area in the cockroach’s brain; specifically the region that controls the escape reflex. As a result of this second attack, the cockroach will become sluggish, and fail to show normal escape responses.

At this point, the Emerald Cockroach wasp will proceed to chew off half of each of the cockroach’s antennae. It is believed that this is done to replenish fluids, or to regulate the amount of venom released; by the natural pest control provider. The wasp, which is obviously too small to carry the paralyzed cockroach, then leads it’s hapless victim back to the wasp’s burrow, by pulling on one of the roach’s antennae. Much like walking a dog, on a leash. Once the two have reached the burrow, the Emerald Cockroach wasp will lay a single white egg (approx. 2 mm long), on the cockroach’s abdomen. It then leaves the burrow and fills in the entrance with pebbles, more to keep other predators out; than to keep it’s helpless victim in.

With the escape reflex disabled, the helpless cockroach lays in the burrow, while the Emerald Cockroach wasp’s egg hatches; in approximately three days. The hatched larva then lives and feeds for up to 5 days on the cockroach, chewing its way into it’s victim’s abdomen. Over the next eight days, the Emerald Cockroach wasp larva will consume the victim’s internal organs, in an systematic manner which will guarantee that the cockroach remains alive until the larva enters the pupal stage; and forms a cocoon inside the hollowed-out body. Eventually, the fully grown wasp will emerge from the cockroach’s carcass, and begins its adult life as an exterminator of cockroaches; and provider of natural insect control services.

The End.

Related articles

• Revenge of the Zombifying Wasp (blogs.scientificamerican.com)
• Can Cockroaches Jump? Meet the Leaproach. (blogpestcontrol.com)
• Roach Control Services (bulwarkpestcontrol.om)

Yes. The cockroach can jump… well at lest the Leaproach can jump, and up to 50 times it’s own length!

 

But this unique roach is the only 1 of ~4000 known roach species that can jump. While a few roach cousins like the American Cockroach are equipped with wings and do fly, the Leaproach has no wings. The secret to the roach jumpers success lies in it’s knees, modified with rubber-band-like resilin. Other differences from most cockroach species are in the antennae and eyes. The antennae also have an additional fixation point to apparently help with navigation. The eye’s are more rounded, perhaps an aerodynamic feature, and larger, possibly helping in sight for better landing. Oh one more distinction of honor for this particular roach…

Leaproach Awarded Top 10 New Species of 2011

According to the local Phoenix school of Arizona State University, the Jumping Roach made the top 10 New Species list for 2011! Who would of ever thought that cockroach would win a popularity contest? Hats off the this modern bug who is setting a new precedents for roaches everywhere.

And if you need Phoenix Roach Control then try Bulwark Exterminating… Shameless I know.

Make it a great day!

Related articles

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• Leaping cockroach jumps as high as a grasshopper (newscientist.com)
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Transcript from Roach Control-How Roaches get in your sink:

“The roaches come in from out here; they shoot up underneath the J-rail, and start infesting inside the walls.”

“Roaches are thigmatropic, thigmatropic. You can say that however you want to say, thigmatropic, however you want to say it. I believe that’s the correct spelling, if it’s not, you know, who cares. But, this word right here means that they prefer to have pressure on three sides of their body at all times. It’s the way that they feel safe”.

“I’ll give you an example: Mammals, we use our vision to feel safe. If we put a blind fold over Riley’s head. And tell him to walk across, the freeway? He’s going to take that blind fold off before he walks across the freeway. He doesn’t feel safe. Well, most invertebrates like roaches, scorpions, crickets; they don’t feel safe unless they have pressure on three sides of their bodies, it’s how they’ve survived for so long. They stay in cracks and crevices. It’s different with mammals, we rely in vision. I tell you this because it’s not normal for the roaches to come out. They prefer to never come out. They would prefer never to see the homeowner. Just never, ever come out. They always want to stay; they don’t want to walk across that freeway with a blind fold on, okay? I’m trying to explain this.”

“But, it gets so crowded back there and so populous that they start coming out. They start to be forced out. They’re cannibalistic. They’ll eat each other. The weaker ones are going to flee. So, they won’t run out along this pipeline and hang out inside the cabinet, a lot of times, they’ll, they’ll, there’s a backing to the actual cabinetry. It’s not the sheetrock, in most cabinetry, there’s a backing. And it’s maybe just an eighth of an inch between the sheetrock and the backing of the cabinet, and that backing is a great location for roaches to hang out, between the cabinets and the wall itself. So, they’ll hang out in between there, and at night when it’s dark, they might run up around up onto the sink, looking for soap scum, looking for toothpaste, things like that, okay- Hair follicles off the, you know, off of a hair brush.”

“Every now and then, one falls into the sink at night and runs around, but cannot get out because the sides are too slick. Eventually, the sun starts coming up and he says I’ve got to get out of here, so he shoots down the drain and hangs out right by the water; he’s like cool, new place, going to inhabit this place, okay? He can’t get all the way down into the sewer because this is what’s called a P-trap right here, it’s always filled with water, that’s what the green represents. The water prevents gases from the sewer lines and pests like roaches and mice from coming up the drain.”

“These roaches will never come up the drain. And then Betsy comes in, in the morning time, turns on the water, she sees no roaches, right? And she turns on the water; the water comes out of the spicket, out of the spicket, into the drain and starts to flood this guy, so he comes running out and she thinks she thinks roaches are coming out of her drain. But, they’re not. The roaches are infested in her wall. One fell into her drain and was hiding there for her because he couldn’t get back out.

- Bulwark Exterminating Roach Control

Transcript from How Roaches Infest-Roach Control:

Roach Control Professional:

“- storm drain system: Because the fact is, is that the roaches in every metropolitan city in the United States, these roaches, American roaches and oriental cockroaches, called “water bugs”, breed and thrive in the sewer lines. But, the problem that we have here in the desert is that- these sewer lines- we go a long time without rain, and they dry out. In the heat of the summer, the sewer lines will dry out.”

“These water bugs require water, right? They don’t swim in it, but they need to be in a moist environment, a warm, damp, moist environment, preferably dark. So they, at a very warm period of time, in the summer, they start exiting through the storm drains, that’s this right here, or through the actual sewer manhole. And they run because the street is hot, a lot of times exodus is at nighttime, and if you’re out at night, sometimes you can actually see them do this. If you watch and become aware, they exodus, they make this big exodus off the hot pavement, looking for some place to hide, right? They go right into the rock. You know how the rock out here in the yard is, it’s easy to get under it.”

“So they get up underneath the rock where there’s some moisture in the soil up underneath the rock until they find a plant with a water dripper on it. Now, that’s what this little red thing is, its a little water dripper.”

“We’ve talked about how plants need water and how they’re fed, they’re watered every two to three days, and how the moisture underneath the plant is always there.”

“So, now our water bugs left the sewer because of a lack of water and the heat of the summer, came into the yards, and have infested all of the yards in your neighborhood. This is the reason you guys see water bugs when you walk around outside in the evening time, or your evening walks. Because your neighborhood is infested, all of the yards in the neighborhood are infested with water bugs.”

“Now, they breed out here and they do really well and they thrive, but expanding populations always do just that, expand. And in the very dead of the summer, when we’re talking one hundred and ten, one hundred and fifteen degrees, these rocks are in direct sunlight right here, and they get so hot that the roaches start looking for better places to live. It gets actually too hot for them. So, they proceed to look for a shady place, and often find places next to the house shady; this purple stuff you see coming out of the wall here is moist air.”

“We talked about how there’s condensation on the exterior walls of stucco homes and how there’s a J-rail here, and how it’s open, and how moist air escapes so that we don’t get black mold in the wall? Well, this moist air escaping, not visible to the eye but sensible to an insect, draws these roaches, plus the darkness and the shade, up into the J-rail, up into the wall.”

- Bulwark Exterminating Roach Control