TYPES OF ROACHES

The three most common roaches in the Fort Worth/Dallas area are the Smoky Brown, American, and German Cockroach.

GERMAN COCKROACH:

The German cockroach thrives all over the world. The German roach grows from a small speck to about 1/2 inch long. This roach can be identified by two dark vertical stripes on the head and thorax. These roaches like to live indoors and eat whatever people eat. Because of their small body size, especially nymphs, they find harborage in very small cracks, crevices, voids, electrical appliances, etc. In homes with poor sanitation and in poor repair, these roaches may be found by the tens of thousands, throughout a structure. Where the infestation is moderate or light, you usually see them around kitchen cabinets, on drain boards (countertops) and around moisture areas, such as bathrooms. They thrive in restaurants, bakeries, and food processing plants.

Problem: Nasty pests that will crawl around the rim of a toilet feeding, then feed on products in the pantry spreading germs wherever they go. German roaches breed throughout the year and can become an adult in 40 to 60 days. The female carries the egg sack until it hatches and the egg contains about 29 little first instar nymphs. The eggs reach maturity in approximately 38 days. Females may produce 5 capsules in her life time, of approximately 200 days. You can see they can multiply very quickly.

Control: Call (817) 834-3121 and set up an appointment for treatment or click here, (westernext.com) and we will contact you. Treatment choices consist of :

 #1 Baiting: We use baits which will eliminate these pests, with some additional insecticide dusts in voids and around appliances. This is a very effective control method. Baiting also has no odor and does not release vapors into your home or workplace.

 #2 Combination of sprays, insecticide dusts. This method is sometimes used if you also have other problem pests that would not consume the roach bait and under certain conditions may be less costly than baiting.

 The German Roach in the 1950's, 1960's and 1970's were the #1 pest for our company. Since more effective, low toxicity, baits have evolved, they now rate well below American and Smoky Brown Roaches, in number of service calls our company encounters. They are still a major problem in restaurants that don't use baiting treatments and homes in poor condition and anywhere unsanitary conditions prevail. They may be a real problem where homeowners and low priced pest control operators have let the problem get out of hand, through poor treatment procedures or using the wrong products.

SMOKY BROWN AND AMERICAN ROACHES

 The Fort Worth/Dallas Metroplex has become very infested with Smoky Brown Roaches and American Cockroaches. They are similar in size and habits and are most commonly referred to, by customers, as huge waterbugs. We will cover these 2 roaches together, because of their similarities.

 The American Roach is a little larger, averaging 1 1/2 inches as adults. In some of the "largest roach contests" they have some measure a little over 2 inches. Customers swear they are 3 to 4 inches long. The American adult is most easily distinguished by the yellow pronotum just behind it's head. They are called palmetto bugs, in the South. The Smoky Brown adult is darker brown and does not have the yellow pronotum.

Problem: Both species deposit large egg capsules and usually take over 6 weeks to hatch. When you rid your premises of the small nymphs and adults, the egg capsules will still hatch. From egg to adult they go through 6 to 7 molts or nymph stages, growing from this long ( -) to this long (-----------) . This takes 275 days to over 450 days.

Habits: These roaches thrive outdoors under leaves, wood piles, storm drains and feed on plant decay and many other things outdoors. Homeowners offer great living areas by keeping shrub beds moist and filling them with mulch and ground cover. Under wood decks offers moist, dark, cool harborage and decay from everything that accumulates under the deck. Cracks in concrete and hollow trees are wonderful harborage areas for these pests. These large roaches also thrive indoors, on basically anything humans eat. They also feed on book bindings, wall paper and glue, glossy paper with starch sizing and sweets. Americans especially thrive under pier and beam structures while Smoky Browns are often found in attics. Both adults have wings and can fly or flutter as they drop from ceilings. In the 1950's through the 1970's, we provided services most often for American Roaches, but now we see greater numbers of the Smoky Brown, throughout the D/FW metroplex.

Control: Call (817) 834-3121 or click here ( westernext.com) to have us call or contact you. We recommend treating the inside of the structure, around the outside perimeter, attic space and under the structure initially. We recommend outdoor perimeter treatments, every three months thereafter, plus inside the structure if needed. These treatments incorporate the use of insecticide sprays, dusts, wettable powders, granules and baits. A program can be custom designed to fit the customers specific needs. We will always schedule a knowledgeable, capable, caring, service technician to provide your service.

We, at Western, also offer exclusion services. We caulk entry areas, seal holes and plumbing entry areas and use wire mesh in weepholes, etc. Exclusion services are expensive, but this is a permanent non chemical approach to help obtain control.

Homeowner Control for American and Smoky Brown Roaches:

Sealing entry points, especially thresholds, seal weep holes with wire mesh, seal where trim at eaves meet the siding. Windows must be well sealed and screens fitting tightly. Keep debris, mulch and clutter away from structure and stack firewood away from the structure and off the ground. We, as homeowners, do everything we can to encourage pest, by putting wood bark, mulch, ground cover, encourage heavy plant growth around the house and then water constantly. Most all insects require food, water and harborage as their main three needs. We provide that, free of charge, to these roaches as well as 1,000's of other insects. If this describes your setting you need to use baits, such as Larva Lur, dusts like Boric Acid in weep holes and other cracks, crevices and voids. Especially try to exclude these pests. Sprays around perimeter are also a choice. We, at Western, also offer very reputable over the counter products you can use to help control Smoky Brown and American Cockroaches. We have been in business in the Fort Worth Dallas Metroplex area since 1956 and Smoky Brown Roaches are more prevalent now, than ever before.

Homeowner Control for German Cockroaches:

Clean homes thoroughly, seal as many cracks and crevices inside as possible. Keep food products stored properly and clean up crumbs, spills, throw away paper sacks and keep the trash carried out. Western offers over the counter products such as sprays, baits and insecticide dusts that can help with control. Important: Don't let these pests get heavily populated before taking appropriate actions. German roaches are immune to many pesticides, that is why it is better to call a professional. You must have lot's of experience to know all the areas to apply treatment.