Signs of Cockroach Infestation

Often, you will see one, few or more running around or inside your pantry or simply feeding on a food particle on the floor. You might see them when go to kitchen middle of the night to get a glass of water  for the first time. However, as the infestation grows, you will see them quite often throughout the day in varying numbers compared to night. Cockroaches multiply at a very rapid pace. Starting from a one pregnant female, they can make groups of hundreds and more in weeks to few months if proper controlling is not done. Areas that are dense with Cockroach droppings are a good sign of their presence. They will mostly like black fine-sand pebbles or sometimes it’s tarry stains on the surfaces with mix of fine particles of poop if there are many adult cockroaches in that area. With experience, Dhanush and Nalaka Daundaratne have found that the size of these areas showing their excretions is a great indicator of severe is your cockroach problem. While this must couple with many other observations, if you will find more than one location with saturates cockroaches’ poop that are roughly spread over 8-10 sq. cm., it means you might have moderate to severe infestation. If you have over 5 isolated areas with cockroach poop in a space no more than 800 sq. ft, it clearly shows that your cockroach infestation is quite advance and you should consider taking professional advice and pest controlling services.

Empty cockroach eggs capsules or ootheca are another indicated of the presence. When the eggs inside mature enough to hatch, these capsules are also expelled from the body. Typically, one formal hold around 30-50 eggs where at least 80% of them are born successfully. Sometimes, you may find dead adult female cockroach along with the shells as traumatic expulsion of the shell can sometimes cause death to female. If you see these first few signs, the best is to inspect more around in your food cupboards, behind stoves and spaces like under of sides of your refrigerator. Ideally, start the inspection at late night as they will be more active at that time. Nalaka Daundaratne - Dhanush Madhavan (Pest Controllers)