Wood Cockroaches

Color: Light brown
Legs: Six
Shape: Oval
Size: 1 1/4″
Antennae: Yes
Flight: Yes

Wood roaches are large cockroaches often mistakenly identified as the American cockroach. The wood roach does not live inside structures. Wood roaches prefer to eat decaying organic matter and, unlike most roaches, are attracted to light.

Habits – As their name suggests, wood roaches live in moist areas, such as under woodpiles, loose bark, and decaying logs. Since they require consistently moist areas, they typically can’t live in houses. They can sometimes be carried into homes on firewood, but will typically die within a few days.

Habitat – Wood cockroaches are often found in sewers and will enter structures through drains. They find indoor harborage in basements and crawl spaces. They can also be found in leaf piles and firewood outdoors.

Treatment – Unlike all the other species of roaches in our area, wood roaches are phototrophic (highly attracted to light). The males are capable of flying in from long distances away. The important thing to know about wood roaches is that if they do happen to get inside, they will NOT reproduce and in fact, they will die on their own without doing anything within just a few days. Wood roaches are only seasonal; usually April through November. If you will change your white exterior light bulbs to yellow, that will help by about 40%. Also, check to be sure they can’t enter the house through an exterior door. Keep windows and doors closed in the evenings and close the blinds when you have interior lights on. Control measures consist of lighting, sealing, and screening. Simply use a vacuum cleaner to pick up any you find in the house.