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GERMAN COCKROACH

How to exterminate them

The key to exterminating small roaches like German Cockroaches is to kill the entire roach nest. If you see one roach, you most likely have at least 200 more in your home. If you just spray and kill the individual roaches that you see, you will continue to see roaches scampering around your home looking for food and water, and will most likely begin to see more of them and more frequently as they breed and the nest continues to grow. Combat® products provide the source kill you need and are a guaranteed solution! Use Combat® Source Kill Max Small Roach Baits in common areas where you see roaches and Combat® Source Kill Max Roach Killing Gel in cracks and crevices or places where roaches might enter the home. Click here to learn more about how Combat® works to kill at the source.

Where they live

German Cockroaches are the most common roaches in the United States and worldwide. They live and breed in homes and commercial establishments. They are a persistent problem in apartment buildings.

What they look like

German Cockroaches are small roaches; adults are approximately 1/2 inch long. Their coloring ranges from yellowish-brown to brown, and they have two longitudinal black stripes on the thoracic shield covering their heads.

Where they nest

German Cockroaches are the most common pest cockroaches. They are persistent pests and multiply quickly. Once introduced, if no control measures are taken, they can quickly infest an entire building. They are commonly found in homes, apartments, supermarkets, food processing plants and restaurants. They nest in moist, dark areas including: Cracks and crevices, under kitchen appliances, under sinks, in cabinets, behind baseboards or moldings, in wall voids and pantries. In commercial structures they are often found in cardboard containers, wooden boxes or under pallets.

Steps to prevent an invasion

Eliminating nesting sites by improving sanitation and reducing clutter and the elimination of food and water sources is imperative to eliminate German Cockroach infestations and will help protect you from future infestations. You can also help prevent infestations by sealing any areas where roaches could enter from other units in multi-unit buildings and by checking items such as shipping boxes, school bags and grocery bags for cockroach hitchhikers before bringing them into your home.

Related Content

German Cockroach

Fact Sheet

  • German cockroaches are prevalent in houses, apartments, restaurants & hotels and are known for infestations
  • They’re considered small roaches and range from 1/2 of an inch to 5/8 of an inch long
  • They eat sweets, grease, meat and garbage
  • Their lifespan is about 200 days
  • One female can produce up to 100,000 cockroaches in one year, the fastest of any common pest cockroach species
  • Newborn German cockroaches become adults in as little as 36 days
  • They can fit into a crack as thin as a dime
  • Although German cockroaches have fully developed wings, they do not fly

RELATED PRODUCTS

  • COMBAT MAX® DEFENSE SYSTEM

    BRAND ROACH KILLING BAIT & ROACH KILLING GEL

  • COMBAT® ROACH

    KILLING BAIT STRIPS

  • COMBAT MAX®

    FOR LARGE ROACHES

  • COMBAT MAX®

    ROACH KILLING GEL