Antworks pest control is a cockroach exterminator serving the greater Portland-Vancouver area for over 20 years. Having a cockroach infestation is a big problem, these pests will not only contaminate your food and surfaces, but they are also highly resilient. This is why it’s important to contact your local cockroach exterminator, like Antworks. We’ll eliminate your cockroach infestation quickly, effectively, and for good! Also, when you choose us, you don’t have to worry about any contracts!
Cockroaches thrive in areas that are warm and moist, and they’ll do whatever it takes to survive. Finding a cockroach doesn’t always mean your house is untidy. Even if you regularly clean, a cockroach can easily make its way into your home in search of food and water.
While you may be tempted to use store-bought pest products, you may only cause the cockroach infestation to spread. Fortunately, Antworks is here for you. We’ll perform a thorough inspection of your property to allow us to find typical signs of cockroaches and identify any potential shelter sites. We’ll then quickly treat your property and clean it afterward, leaving you with a safe and clean environment.
In the Pacific Northwest (PNW), we see several types of cockroaches, including:
American cockroaches are the largest cockroach species in the Pacific Northwest, with adults growing up to 1½”. Their color ranges from red to brown, and they have a distinctive light-brown band around the head.
The American roach will regularly use its wings to fly. Adult American cockroaches may live up to around 15 months.
American cockroaches are found in large numbers in restaurants, multifamily housing, residential homes, and hospitals. American cockroaches are often found in restaurants and other commercial structures where food is prepared or stored, but they also attempt to gain access to multifamily or residential structures (often through sewer systems and piping).
Brown-banded cockroaches usually measure roughly ½” in size, and in color range from dark brown to dark red.
Both male and female brown-banded roaches have wings, but only males can fly.
Both genders have a light brown band running across the bases of the wings. Brown-banded cockroach nymphs will take three to six months to develop.
Unlike other cockroaches that prefer to infest kitchen and bathroom areas, brown-banded roaches will infest any room inside a house, making them harder to control.
German cockroaches are the most common cockroach species in the Pacific Northwest.
Brown in color, German cockroaches are typically up to about ½” long when fully developed.
One distinct characteristic is that adults will usually possess two dark brown stripes behind their heads. Adult German cockroaches have wings but rarely use them to fly. The German cockroach’s lifespan is typically around 1 year. German cockroaches reproduce more quickly than most cockroach species in the area, and they carry their eggs (40+) in an ootheca until they hatch. This makes them extremely prolific breeders and especially troublesome from a control standpoint.
The oriental cockroach is the darkest in color of the four Pacific Northwest species, often appearing quite glossy and dark brown or black.
Both males and females can typically grow to over an inch in length and possess large wings (although neither uses them to fly).
Oriental cockroach nymphs will take much longer than other species to develop (up to a year), but will remain the same color through to adulthood.
Cockroaches are not only unsettling, but they’re a health threat. They are known to carry over 30 diseases, including Salmonella and E. Coli. The pests find will gain access into your home a variety of ways, whether it’s under your door or through your plumbing. And if they get into your home, they can live in your walls — without you knowing for months.
While it may be disturbing to hear, know that if you have one cockroach in your home, you likely have more. A single cockroach can not only multiply on its own for years without the help of a male, but cockroaches also reproduce at an alarming rate. This is why it’s important to find a company that is well-versed in cockroach control.
While cockroaches do thrive in places where food is readily available, they most likely did not just appear there overnight.
Cockroaches are very adept at hitching a ride in the least expected places. They are frequently carried into homes via grocery bags or in sacks of vegetables.
They can also find their way into luggage in hotel rooms, or into shopping bags or totes.
So, if you see a cockroach, it does not mean that you are a poor housekeeper. It just means that a new visitor has arrived.
Unfortunately, as the saying goes, for every cockroach you see, there are many that you don’t see. These invasive insects multiply and lay eggs quickly and can become a much larger problem if they aren’t stopped as soon as they’re spotted.
While roaches are often carried into homes and businesses via grocery sacks, tote bags, luggage, and other packages, sometimes they manage to find their way in through cracks under doors, windows, or other structural weaknesses in buildings.
Sealing these entrances with caulk or other sealants may help prevent new cockroaches from entering, but it does nothing to kill the ones already present.
The best way to fully rid your home or business of cockroaches is to hire a professional exterminator who is trained to remove different types of cockroaches.
While even the cleanest homes can get cockroaches, it is true that roaches love dirt and crumbs. They especially like to gather in areas with cardboard and paper on the floor. Therefore, keeping materials such as this picked up and put away will go a long way toward discouraging cockroaches.
Keeping floors swept, vacuumed, and mopped will also help. Cockroaches are always on the lookout for food and water, so keeping food crumbs swept up and spills is just as important.
Cockroach control is achievable with the help of seasoned professionals. They possess the tools, knowledge, and training that is required to remove pests for good. Unsanitary conditions no longer need to be a place of concern in homes and businesses.
Our trained specialists will inspect your home and the structures around your property, then determine where the cockroaches are coming from, and customize a treatment plan. We’ll eliminate the infestation using the right methods for your home and your family.
Contact Antworks Pest Control for your cockroach exterminator needs.
