Pests We Treat - Cockroaches hide in crevices

While inspecting one of our commercial accounts, a restaurant in Spring Lake, NJ, I found several German roaches hiding in small cracks and crevices, which is their natural habitat. Roaches prefer to stay out of sight, hiding in dark cracks, unless scavenging for food or water, activities that usually take place at night. They seek out small hiding spots, pressed between tight voids within walls, appliances or countertops. For them, these are ideal places for shelter and protection and for laying eggs. Often, because of their stealth behavior, roach infestations easily go unnoticed in their early stages, and because of their high reproductive rates, they can soon take control of kitchens and other food storage areas, whether in homes or commercial facilities like restaurants.

Once on the move, roaches are extremely quick. If you have ever seen a roach infestation, as you know, once you turn on the kitchen light, they quickly scurry out of sight, darting for the nearest crack. Roaches overrun areas and take over spaces by crawling, eating and defecating all over everything in their path. They contaminate food and spread disease. These pests, constantly on the move in search of food, invade ever larger areas as their population increases.

Whenever there is a roach infestation, German roaches are the prime suspect. Roach infestations are often associated with sanitation issues, and they themselves have extremely unsanitary behaviors. Just like flies, roaches are attracted to waste and filth. Businesses, especially restaurants and other food service or storage operations, must resolve these infestations quickly and definitively. Unfortunately, once there is an infestation, roaches soon infest other areas. We commonly see this problem in apartment units. One tenant who has sanitation issues will ultimately cause problems for the entire building as roaches spread like wildfire from one unit to the next. With commercial restaurants, German roaches are especially attracted to greasy messy areas to lay eggs and eat. Commercial kitchens must keep and maintain strict hygiene and cleaning protocols. For restaurants, the worst case scenario is roaches finding their way into the dining area. Once roaches are seen by dining patrons, in this age of online reviews, the hard-earned reputation of the business can quickly be lost. Needless to say, roach infestations must be resolved quickly — before a health inspection and before customers see roaches in the dining area.

With this Spring Lake restaurant, I treated the problem areas with an application of aerosol, fan spray, and bait. I also placed several monitors to trap the roaches and to assess the situation during follow-up visits. It is important to verify that the roach population is on the decline, and adjust treatment strategies as necessary.

German roaches can produce over 30 newborn nymphs in just one egg sac. Their reproductive rates are truly mind-boggling. They are among the most persistent and resilient insects. To defeat this pest, it may take several battles to win the war. But it is a winnable war when combining due diligence, thorough pest control treatments, and proper sanitation protocols. Whenever I am assigned to resolve a cockroach infestation, I will not stop until victory is obtained over these vile and disgusting pests!