MGK's Professional Cockroach Control Protocol: Biology & Behavior
German cockroaches, like all roaches, undergo Gradual metamorphosis, passing through three life stages – egg, nymph, and adult. German cockroaches mature faster than any other residential cockroach species. While it typically takes about 100 days to complete the entire life cycle, they can go from egg to reproductive adult in as little as 50 days under ideal conditions. Nymphs molt 5-6 times before becoming adults. German cockroaches have a very high reproductive capacity. Once they have mated, females produce an egg case, or ootheca, containing between 30-40 eggs. Females produce 5-8 of these ootheca, meaning a single adult female can lay 200-250 eggs. Unlike other cockroach species, German cockroach females carry their ootheca until just before they hatch. This provides a high degree of protection to the eggs and may be one reason they are so reproductively successful. With such a short life cycle and high reproductive output, it’s no wonder roaches can seemingly become a problem overnight. Once a German cockroach egg has hatched it will undergo 5-6 molts before becoming an adult. The newly hatched 1st instar nymphs depend on fecal matter for survival. When they emerge from the egg, they actually eat the feces of the adults within the harborage area. Because of this, nymphs stay close to the harborage areas. If you start finding 1st instar nymphs on glue traps, you know you’re very close to a harborage area. As a roach molts, each instar will venture progressively further from the harborage area in search of food and water. So, what does this have to do with control? In most population studies the adults makeup just 7% of the population. The other 93% of the population of cockroaches that you're looking at in an account are in that nymphal stage. So, by understanding that the majority of roaches are nymphs, and that these nymphs venture from the harborage area progressively further as they mature, you can make use glue traps to determine population size and location/distance of potential harborage sites, which will help guide treatment strategies. Adult cockroaches are light brown with two dark stripes on the pronotum. But how do we identify between male and female cockroaches? It’s the abdomen. The back end, the abdomen, of the make cockroach is narrow and it kind of points when you’re looking at it. The female has a broad abdomen or broad back end. Male cockroaches are used a lot in bait testing and studies, because the male cockroaches tend to gorge themselves on bait. They also travel farther from the harborage areas and are easier to kill. Females don’t do this. They nibble here and there and then go about their business. Females don’t gorge on food, they hang out closer to the harborage area and by doing this she basically starves herself to make sure her eggs survive. MICROLEARNING SERIES Conquering cockroaches can be complicated. MGK makes it easier. In this unique video series, entomologist Tommy Powell walks you through a comprehensive protocol to help PMPs gain and maintain control of cockroaches in commercial and residential accounts. This series includes pest identification, biology and life cycle, hot spots, inspection, treatment and pest control product information. ABOUT MGK Founded in 1902 and based in Minnesota, MGK sells insect control products throughout the world spanning several industries including professional pest control, consumer home and pet products, animal health, and crop protection. An affiliate of Sumitomo Chemical Company, MGK is a worldwide leader in the development and distribution of the botanical insecticide pyrethrum as well as a wide range of conventional insect control technologies. MGK and its subsidiaries employ 250 people at its facilities in North America and Africa. The company’s mission is to make life healthier by creating responsible products that protect people and their environments from the impact of insects. FOLLOW MGK ONLINE Web: https://www.mgk.com/ LinkedIn: / mgk Facebook: / mgkinsect
