The 4 Common Types of Cockroaches in Minnesota: How to Identify and Treat Them
Cockroaches are known to withstand the craziest of conditions, like nuclear blasts. They certainly are intriguing pests, as well as, perhaps, formidable if you don’t know much about them. Like, did you know the average cockroach can live for a week without its head? It’s true! All thanks to an open circulatory system and little breathing holes along each body segment, the food is only needed for food and water intake: meaning the cockroach without its head died of thirst, not because it didn’t have its head.
In this post you will learn the 4 common types of cockroaches in Minnesota, their habits and threats they pose to humans, and how pest professionals treat for them.
Table of Contents:
- 4 Common Types of Cockroaches in Minnesota
- How Pest Professionals Treat Cockroaches
- How We Treat for Cockroaches
- Conclusion
4 Common Types of Cockroaches in Minnesota:
The average one-day-old baby cockroach can run nearly as fast as its parents. That is unheard of in any other kingdom of species except the insect kingdom.
American Cockroach:
With its reddish brown exterior, the American Cockroach is known to be the largest house-infesting cockroach in the United States and Worldwide.
Like many other cockroaches, American roaches can congregate in kitchens, bathrooms, and laundry rooms, though because they like pipes and drains they are often found in sewers and basements. They prefer temperatures of 70 degrees or higher, but can also withstand colder temperatures. 
American cockroaches are some of the largest cockroach species, growing up to 2 inches in length. The female cockroach only carries their egg cases around for 6 days before attaching them to a hiding place, like the inner part of a crack or crevice. If you have American roaches, their egg cases may be easier to spot than German roaches’ egg cases.
The egg cases contain between 12 to 16 eggs, but these eggs might not even hatch for over 2 months, making the American roach life-cycle one of the longer life cycles of cockroaches. One female American cockroach is only responsible for around 800 baby roaches. Nymphs (baby roaches) mature between 65 and 400 days, talk about a long maturing cycle!
The American Cockroach often carries salmonella, and is therefore a threat to human health. Plus, did you know the odorous secretions they emit can actually alter the taste of food? Crazy! And if there weren’t enough reasons to eradicate these pests from your home.
Brown-banded Cockroach:
Brown-banded cockroaches are distinct due to the brown uniform banding across their wings. These cockroaches are also found throughout the US. While this cockroach species also prefers warmer temperatures, they also prefer drier and higher locations more than any other cockroach species. Brown-banded roaches can be found in kitchen or bathroom cabinets, even under furniture and behind picture frames (where they have been known to hide their egg cases).
Male Brown-banded roaches have larger wings than female Brown-banded roaches, but both are about the same size as the German roach (about half an inch). While some cockroaches species get along with others, Brown-banded roaches do not get along with German roaches.
Female Brown-banded roaches only carry their egg cases for about a day to a day and a half, just like the Oriental roaches. One female can produce about 14 egg cases in her lifetime, and each egg case usually contains between 13 and 18 eggs, hatching in 50 days or more. Similar to the American cockroach, the Brown-banded cockroaches nest their eggs in cracks and crevices near ceilings, closets, and the undersides of furniture.
German Cockroach:
German roaches’ color ranges from tan to light brown with distinguishable 2 dark stripes located on the back of their heads. Like other roaches they are also oval shape with six legs and antennae, though they are relatively small (about half an inch long).
While German roaches are the most common cockroach species found worldwide, they are typically found in kitchens, bathrooms, and basements in the dampest areas of each.
Female German cockroaches lay egg cases every few weeks. These cases can contain between 30 to 40 eggs each. The German cockroach lifespan is not long, as the average female lays only between 4 and 8 egg cases in its life. Still, these few egg cases can be responsible for more than 30,000 roaches in one year.
If you have German roaches, you may have trouble finding the egg cases because females carry them around on their backs right up until 1 to 2 days before they hatch. Once hatched, it takes German cockroach nymphs 40 to 125 days to mature.
Oriental Cockroach:
Oriental roaches are the shiniest of cockroach species with reddish-brown to black exteriors. They are large, like the German roach. Oriental roaches are found in the northern parts of the United States, including Minnesota. Similar to the American roach, they are often found in sewers and drains, as these are also the most common of highways in which to enter homes through basements. In warmer areas they can even be found outdoors in leaf piles and firewood, since they like dark, wet places.
Female Oriental cockroaches carry their egg cases for only 1 day before placing it in decaying food or waste, producing up to 8 egg cases in its lifetime. Female Oriental roaches only produce about 200 baby roaches. Like the American cockroach, Oriental roach life cycles are long too. It can take a nymph up to 2 years to mature, but then on average they only live around 180 days after that. 
The Oriental cockroach is considered one of the dirtiest of all the cockroach species, perhaps because it creates such strong odors. Because they feast on garbage, feces, decaying plant and animal matter, as well as sewage, they are one of the more dangerous types of roaches, carrying some of the more harmful diseases.
Oriental cockroaches transfer bacteria, viruses, and diseases they’ve picked up along the way on their legs. With their legs they touch food, dishes, utensils, counter tops, floors, and more areas in homes and businesses. Oriental roaches can spread dysentery, E. coli, salmonella, and food poisoning. If you find these cockroaches in your home or business, it is imperative that you call pest professionals in a timely manner.
Other Types of Cockroaches:
There are also types of roaches like the Wood cockroach or the Smokybrown cockroach, Australian cockroach or the Asian cockroach. These species are not common in Minnesota.
On one occasion, I remember one of our technicians coming across some African cockroaches, a rare find in Minnesota!
There are more than 4,000 different cockroach species worldwide.
How Pest Professionals Treat Cockroaches: The Basics
Inspection
Good inspection is key. In an article titled, “Fundamentals: The Secret Ingredient” in the printed PMP Magazine, Mark Sheperdigian explains of cockroach inspections: “We waste a lot of time trying to get all the answers when we should be working to get all the questions. Sometimes you have to stop and stare. Change your perspective. Change your altitude; both the floor and the ceiling look different once you’re there.”
In the printed PCT Magazine, the article titled, “9 German Cockroach Mistakes Rookies Make (and how to avoid them),” Syngenta explains 9 easy to make mistakes that professionals make, usually just by going through the motions. At Done Right Pest Solutions, we try our best to always be our best and at every job!
One mistake Syngeta pointed out was “Doing a cursory inspection,” meaning, pest management professionals should make it a goal to inspect well, since treatments are only as good as inspections. If pest management professionals miss something during inspection they will certainly miss something during treatment. The difference is crucial: it could be the difference between eradication in several months versus eradication in a couple of weeks.
If pest management professionals miss something during inspection they will certainly miss something during treatment.
Identification
Cockroach identification is a critical part of inspection, because it may alter the course of action on the treatment end. Incorrect identification can lead to treatment failure. Different types of cockroaches have different types of behaviors, habitat preferences, and instincts. Knowing the species of cockroaches in an infestation lead to better and quicker results upon correct treatment. It is important to determine whether your roaches are among the 4 common types of cockroaches in Minnesota or another species.
Treatment
Syngenta pointed out other techniques to be avoided, like applying too much product, whether a bait or dust. The example they gave is if a truck dumped a giant pile of dirt at your front door, you’d walk out your back door. Cockroaches will do the same: avoid large amounts of product. One key to cockroach eradication is placing an enticing amount of product.
Finally, another critical point Syngenta made was “being afraid of customers,” meaning being afraid of informing the client on some housekeeping tips to keep cockroaches away. Let’s face it: ill-kept homes are enticing to pests, plain and simple. However, cockroach eradication is a team event, and we can’t help you without educating you. If there is anything you need to be doing, our technicians will tell you. We do, however, try to be low-maintenance for you, and therefore do not require any prep work for the first treatment.
But it is important to know cockroaches habits, that’s why we started the posts with the 4 common types of cockroaches in Minnesota. One habit of German cockroaches is that they are thigmotactic, meaning they like to be touched on all sides. For this reason, they like to squeeze in cracks and crevices, which comes in handy knowing when technicians treat for them.
Monitoring: Imperative in Restaurants
Cockroach eradication and routine maintenance is common in restaurants as well as multi-family housing complexes. And again, education is a key factor in restaurant cockroach eradication: “The more effort you put into educating your clients on where they can help themselves, the better off both parties will be.”
Restaurants often cannot control cockroaches from coming into the facility through orders and equipment. Cockroaches travel from warm areas of the world to grocery stores and restaurants through produce trucks. Cockroaches have many opportunities to harbor in and behind equipment in restaurants, making restaurants one of the most habitable locations for the cockroach.
The same article explains the importance of using monitoring devices in these restaurant facilities to identify species easier and as a notification for restaurant staff to inform their pest control company on the non-service days if something comes up.
Pest control is important in restaurants and regular commercial spaces. If you’re wondering how often should pest control be done for roaches, the answer varies. If you’re talking about a restaurant, the answer should be routinely. If you’re talking about a multi-family housing property, the answer is very routinely. If you’re talking about a mall, the answer is it’s generally not necessary.
So the answer to the question “can pest control get rid of roaches?” is a resounding “yes!”
How We Treat for Cockroaches:
Just as the last part of this article has explained, Done Right Pest Solutions expert technicians begin with a proper inspection and identify the cockroaches.
From there the technicians make note of active locations, remove any live roaches so you can see immediate results, and treat the active areas.
The treatments usually consist of a direct-kill spray that is applied to the backs of appliances like refrigerators, stoves, and occasionally microwaves. This spray is a direct-kill spray when wet, but then carries a residual effect that kills cockroaches within hours of touching the product. Our technicians also use a gel bait to treat inside cabinets like under kitchen and bathroom sinks.
A 2-week follow-up is performed, and in most cases that is all that is needed. However, our 1-Time Cockroach Service also comes with a 3-month warranty from the first date of service, which means if you need any additional follow-ups, there is no additional cost. We easily exterminate the 4 common types of cockroaches in Minnesota explained in this post and more.
Bonus: Our technicians have the option of using a special of roach vacuum to eliminate a lot of the live and dead cockroaches, as well as cockroach activity within a home or apartment, bringing some immediate gratification to our clients and reducing the amount of chemicals and bait needed to treat your home.
As you can see, the answer to the question “can pest control get rid of roaches?” is absolutely! — Especially the way we do pest control.
Conclusion
In this post you you learned a lot about cockroaches and how to properly treat for them. You learned the 4 common types of cockroaches in Minnesota: American, Brown-banded, German, and Oriental cockroaches. From helpful facts of cockroaches to the illnesses and diseases they carry and spread, roaches are pretty interesting. You learned how pest professionals treat roaches, starting with inspection and cockroach identification, ending with treatment and in some cases, like with restaurants, setting monitoring devices.
Finally, you learned about our 1-Time Cockroach Service and its perks. If you have found any type of cockroach in your home or business, it is important to get them eradicated right away. You’ve learned the answer to the question, “Can pest control get rid of roaches?” is “Yes!” So what are you waiting for? Call Done Right Pest Solutions at 651-342-9489 and get helpful advice from our pest control experts.
If you’re in a hurry, you can always fill out our Quick Estimate Form. To learn of more of our services, view our Services Page.
We look forward to serving you.
Done Right Team
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