Cockroaches: Species Common to our Central Virginia Region Part #4 – Wood Roach

I hope you Loyal readers of my “dog-blog”, What’s Buggin’ You? have been enjoying my series on cockroaches native to our geographical region. This is the 5th installment (counting the introduction to roaches blog) of the 6 part series. Next week’s blog will be about the Brown Bandit Roach. Nice name huh? This blog will give you all you need to know about a bug most of you have seen many times during your lifetime but never knew what the heck it is. This little bugger is the Wood Roach.

The wood roach is often thought to be the cousin of the American roach. Wood roaches eat decaying organic matter and are attracted to light, whereas most roaches run from the light. This fact is the reason I know most of you have seen them and do not know what they are. Question? Have you ever come home at night during the spring and early summer months where your entry door is very well lit with a relatively high wattage white light bulb? I’m sure you have spent a few moments unlocking your door while there is a ridiculously large mob scene of insects and bugs of all kinds attracted to the light. You’re familiar with the moths, as well as, the ones that look like very large mosquitoes (it seems like every time you enter the house, one or two of those buggers sneak in and soon hang around your kitchen ceiling light); well, the ones that are a bit larger, brownish in color, beating their wings all to heck, smacking you on your face and head, creeping you out because you think a few have got to be flying down your shirt collar; these little nasty pests are Wood roaches. Now you know!

If a couple of these guys get in your house, they are NOT happy campers. Strangely enough, even though they are roaches; there is nothing in your home they like to eat; unless you have a small amount of firewood left by the fireplace. There they can hang out and eat the organic matter under the bark.

Females deposit their egg capsules outdoors under old logs, stumps, and firewood. There is one generation of Wood cockroaches per year and, in some cases, the life cycle takes two years.

Females deposit their egg capsules outdoors under old logs, stumps, and firewood. There is one generation of Wood cockroaches per year and, in some cases, the life cycle takes two years.

Wood roaches, which are also called the Pennsylvania Wood roach, do NOT survive indoors which is probably the best news you have read so far. They require the consistently moist environment of their natural habitats such as under wood piles or loose bark and in decaying logs. So, unless your housekeeping is way below par, the presence of wood roaches is strictly a temporary annoyance. They usually die within a few days in the house, so a call to a pest control company (Loyal Termite and Pest Control) is probably not required.

If Wood cockroaches are found anywhere inside the home, usually they are solitary. So, it’s not necessary to go looking for the mate. Wood cockroaches do not reproduce or multiply inside. Since they do not establish themselves indoors and their presence is temporary (a few weeks, at most) during the spring, pest control measures are rarely needed.

If Wood cockroaches are found anywhere inside the home, usually they are solitary. So, it’s not necessary to go looking for the mate. Wood cockroaches do not reproduce or multiply inside. Since they do not establish themselves indoors and their presence is temporary (a few weeks, at most) during the spring, pest control measures are rarely needed.

Tune in next week and I’ll catch you up on cockroach number #6 that is native to our region. Until then, “so long” friends. I’ll bark at you again next week.

When it comes to termite and pest control; Hunter says,
“If you got ‘em, we’ll get ‘em!”