Identifying: Wood Roaches

Wood roaches have:

• A flat, oval body with long antenna
• Spiny legs 
• Overall chestnut brown colour
• A male is usually about 25 mm while a female is up to 19 mm 
• Generally the males appear to have a bit of a tan colour because of the colour of their wings
• Adults and large nymphs of the wood roach can be recognized by the pale, creamy white or transparent stripe on the outer edge of the thorax
• The pale edge extends onto the first 1/3 of the front wings on adult roaches

• Wood roaches are common outdoor dwelling insects that are native to North America
• Are found throughout Ontario
• They are most commonly found in moist woodland, ground litter, mulch, firewood, potted plants, shingles and rain gutters

• Wood roaches that have entered a home will act differently than other roach species 
• They are not secretive, they are active day and night and they are less likely to run when approached
• They will also wander around a house, without stay localized to a specific area such as the kitchen
• Wood roaches will not thrive or reproduce indoors, because they require specific habitat to do so
• They need a consistently moist environment such as under wood piles, loose bark and decaying logs into order to reproduce

Male wood roach. Notice the difference in size and colour.

Female wood roach. Noticeable is the the slightly smaller size and difference in colour.

So what can Cottage Country Pest Control do? Well, by practicing IPM (which if you are not familiar with, you can read about here) we can approach the infestation and find the best way to solve the problem using environmentally responsible and people-friendly ways.

Contact Cottage Country Pest Control through email or call us at 705-534-7863 to book and appointment or to find out more information.