Are Turkestan Cockroaches In Sacramento, CA Dangerous?

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Are Turkestan Cockroaches In Sacramento, CA Dangerous?

While not as well-known or as commonly found indoors as its counterparts, the American and German cockroaches, the Turkestan cockroach still poses a problem for California area home and business owners. These small roaches normally like to hang out outside, but they may wind up in your house under the right conditions.

Once inside, they can easily decide your house is a better place to set up shop than the rugged California wilderness. When that happens, Turkestan cockroaches can prove tough to evict. Let’s talk a little more about what attracts these roaches, how to keep them out, and what to do if they get in. 

Turkestan Cockroach Attractants

Turkestan cockroaches are usually around a half-inch to an inch long, with the females being larger than the males. Females are dark-brown to black with lighter stripes along their wing edges, while males are red or orange-brown with yellowish wings.

Like we said above, these roaches prefer the outdoors. However, their population balloons in the summer, sometimes becoming larger than what the outdoor environment can support. When that happens, these roaches may choose to move indoors looking for food. These roaches are also nocturnal and attracted to light – meaning keeping outdoor lights on throughout the night may bring more Turkestan cockroaches to your property.

Another big factor in these roaches’ ability to spread is the fact that they’re often bred and sold as food for insectivorous pets like lizards, frogs, and tarantulas. Turkestan cockroaches are resilient and breed quickly, so they make the perfect live food for reptiles. The flips side of this, however, is pet stores’ breeding and transporting activities just give these roaches more opportunities to escape and invade new structures and areas.

Turkestan Cockroach Diseases

Like all other cockroaches, Turkestan cockroaches are vectors for all kinds of horrible diseases. Their saliva and feces can trigger allergies and asthma attacks, not to mention transmit tons of live pathogens. Turkestan cockroaches crawl over surfaces, dragging their dirty lower bodies behind their dirty feet and leaving a trail of germs in their wake. To top it all off, they’re also full of parasites that don’t necessarily die when their hosts do.

Cockroaches are known or suspected to carry a plethora of dangerous illnesses including:

  • Typhoid fever
  • Cholera
  • Dysentery
  • Salmonella
  • Leprosy
  • Listeriosis
  • Bubonic Plague

Turkestan Cockroach Prevention

It’s probably safe to say you don’t want a bunch of disease-ridden creepy crawlies scurrying around your house. The good news is there are plenty of things you can do to prevent Turkestan and other roaches such as:

  • Tightly cover food sources like garbage cans and pantry containers.
  • Remove as many water sources as possible, including outdoor pet bowls, clogged gutters, and drains, leaky plumbing, etc.
  • Reduce or get rid of outdoor lights. If you have to have outdoor lighting, use yellow or orange LED bulbs and don’t leave them on all night.
  • Eliminate roach entry points by sealing up any openings you find in your home’s exterior and foundation.

Unfortunately, Turkestan cockroaches (as well as other roach species) are a growing problem in our area. Roaches’ reputation for being just shy of indestructible is well-earned, and these pests are rapidly developing immunity to just about every pesticide available to private individuals. That’s why you’ll need expert help to deal with an established roach problem.

Here at ProServ Pest Management, we’ve been serving members of Sacramento and the surrounding areas for over six years by providing friendly, affordable, commitment-free, and recurring pest control services. Our certified technicians will come to your home or business to do a free estimate and tailor a plan that fits your individual needs. So give us a call at ProServ Pest Management at (916) 571-6740 or visit our contact page to get started today!

Turkestan Cockroach Attractants

Turkestan cockroaches are usually around a half-inch to an inch long, with the females being larger than the males. Females are dark-brown to black with lighter stripes along their wing edges, while males are red or orange-brown with yellowish wings.

Like we said above, these roaches prefer the outdoors. However, their population balloons in the summer, sometimes becoming larger than what the outdoor environment can support. When that happens, these roaches may choose to move indoors looking for food. These roaches are also nocturnal and attracted to light – meaning keeping outdoor lights on throughout the night may bring more Turkestan cockroaches to your property.

Another big factor in these roaches’ ability to spread is the fact that they’re often bred and sold as food for insectivorous pets like lizards, frogs, and tarantulas. Turkestan cockroaches are resilient and breed quickly, so they make the perfect live food for reptiles. The flips side of this, however, is pet stores’ breeding and transporting activities just give these roaches more opportunities to escape and invade new structures and areas.

Turkestan Cockroach Diseases

Like all other cockroaches, Turkestan cockroaches are vectors for all kinds of horrible diseases. Their saliva and feces can trigger allergies and asthma attacks, not to mention transmit tons of live pathogens. Turkestan cockroaches crawl over surfaces, dragging their dirty lower bodies behind their dirty feet and leaving a trail of germs in their wake. To top it all off, they’re also full of parasites that don’t necessarily die when their hosts do.

Cockroaches are known or suspected to carry a plethora of dangerous illnesses including:

  • Typhoid fever
  • Cholera
  • Dysentery
  • Salmonella
  • Leprosy
  • Listeriosis
  • Bubonic Plague

Turkestan Cockroach Prevention

It’s probably safe to say you don’t want a bunch of disease-ridden creepy crawlies scurrying around your house. The good news is there are plenty of things you can do to prevent Turkestan and other roaches such as:

  • Tightly cover food sources like garbage cans and pantry containers.
  • Remove as many water sources as possible, including outdoor pet bowls, clogged gutters, and drains, leaky plumbing, etc.
  • Reduce or get rid of outdoor lights. If you have to have outdoor lighting, use yellow or orange LED bulbs and don’t leave them on all night.
  • Eliminate roach entry points by sealing up any openings you find in your home’s exterior and foundation.

Unfortunately, Turkestan cockroaches (as well as other roach species) are a growing problem in our area. Roaches’ reputation for being just shy of indestructible is well-earned, and these pests are rapidly developing immunity to just about every pesticide available to private individuals. That’s why you’ll need expert help to deal with an established roach problem.

Here at ProServ Pest Management, we’ve been serving members of Sacramento and the surrounding areas for over six years by providing friendly, affordable, commitment-free, and recurring pest control services. Our certified technicians will come to your home or business to do a free estimate and tailor a plan that fits your individual needs. So give us a call at ProServ Pest Management at (916) 571-6740 or visit our contact page to get started today!

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