Black cockroaches in the apartment – ​​where they came from and how to get rid of them

Black cockroaches are synanthropic insects whose lives are directly tied to proximity to humans and their homes. Therefore, their appearance in apartments is not uncommon and often spontaneous. Getting rid of them is not easy; it seems as if nature itself is on the side of these arthropods. Excellent vision and sense of smell, omnivorousness, and well-developed instincts—this is far from a complete list of the gifts 300,000,000 years of evolution have given them.

Morphology of black cockroaches

In Russian apartments, black and red cockroaches are most often found, although coexistence of both species is impossible due to the competition between them.

Interestingly, when red cockroaches appear, black ones quickly disappear because they are inferior to their fellows in a number of life characteristics: relatively low fertility, weak care for offspring, a longer development cycle, and low speed of movement.

The black cockroach (Blatta orientalis) is significantly larger than its red counterpart.

Nevertheless, black cockroaches are as constant companions of humans as Prussians.

A characteristic external feature of black cockroaches is their large size (some individuals reach 5 cm in length). The average size fluctuates around 3 cm. Females are larger.

Black cockroaches exhibit sexual dimorphism (anatomical differences between males and females).

Black cockroach appearance - video

Habitat and lifestyle

The black cockroach is common throughout European and Asian countries, Russia, and the African continent. In areas with mild climates, it can also live in the wild, but always near human habitation. The insects' primary habitats are warmth and water, so their primary habitats are:

• private and apartment buildings;
• summer cottages;
• heated greenhouses;
• utility rooms (sheds, cellars);
• food warehouses;
• commercial buildings.

Cockroaches' usual habitats are sewer systems, which is why this species has an unofficial name: "water cockroach."

The existence of the black cockroach is directly dependent on water sources, so the kitchen sink is an ideal habitat for it.

Black cockroaches are nocturnal insects. Throughout the daylight hours, and until artificial light sources fade, they quietly hide in their nests, emerging only at nightfall to search for food. They move quickly, are sensitive to any scent, and are resilient—able to remain active for long periods until their search is successful.

Cockroaches find shelter in an apartment in the following places:

• skirting boards and cornices;
• furniture (behind it and inside it);
• cracks in the walls and floor;
• household appliances (behind them and inside them);
• sewer pipes and plumbing;
• sockets;
• decorative and rarely used items (mirrors, carpets, paintings, vases, etc.);
• ventilation shafts.

Nutritional Features

A characteristic feature of cockroaches, including black ones, is their absolute indiscriminateness in their choice of food. It's hard to even describe this as omnivorous, since the diet includes not only classic edible products (organic), but also:

• paper;
• building materials;
• leather and suede clothing;
• personal hygiene products (soap);
• human hair;
• animal hair;
• indoor plants (especially unkempt ones).

Insects can even chew on wiring in the house. Of course, the main source of nutrition in an apartment is any available food:

• cereals;
• bakery products;
• seasonings;
• vegetables;
• fruits;
• sausage;
• drinks.

Anything that's not hidden, poorly packaged, or forgotten on the table or stove will inevitably end up in cockroaches' stomachs. The stronger the food's smell, the easier it is to find. Insects also indulge in garbage, any food scraps (for example, on dirty dishes), and moldy foods.

The female black cockroach eats up to 50 g of food per day, the male – up to 25 g

In the complete absence of food, black cockroaches can survive without food for up to 75 days, and also resort to cannibalism, eating eggs and nymphs.

Causes and sources of black cockroaches in an apartment

Hundreds of thousands of years of evolution have served cockroaches well, equipping them with excellent vision and the ability to detect any odor, so finding a new source of food and the water they need to survive is not a difficult task. Human apartments are not impenetrable citadels, but habitual places of residence, and there are several established routes of entry:

1. Garbage chutes, basements, and ventilation shafts are the most common sources of arthropods entering an apartment.Interestingly, insects can live quietly in these parts of the house throughout the summer without being detected, and only with the onset of the first cold weather do they begin to migrate en masse closer to humans.
2. The sewer system is a suitable habitat for cockroaches. Their resistance to water (their ability to float for long periods) allows them to travel through pipes, unexpectedly appearing in kitchen sinks, bathtubs, and toilets.
3. Neighboring apartments are a perennial source of cockroach infestation. It only takes one or two "bad" apartments in a building to cause trouble for all the residents. However, there is one caveat: the higher the floor, the lower the likelihood of cockroaches appearing.The distribution of humidity in the building plays a significant role in this; as a rule, all floors above the fifth are drier, and therefore less tempting for insects.
4. Items brought into your home can sometimes become a source of infestation. For example, furniture and appliances bought secondhand, returned from a repair shop, or brought from the dacha. Even a book borrowed from a friend (or taken from the library) can harbor a prolific inhabitant under the spine or between the pages. Therefore, it's important to carefully inspect every new item in your home.
5. Hotels, hostels, and transportation. Cockroaches can be brought into your apartment upon returning from a trip, for example, in a suitcase or carry-on bag.
6. Various retail outlets located on the ground floors of apartment buildings. Not all of them strictly adhere to sanitary standards. Increasingly, the source of the problem is not the neighbors, but a 24-hour store or a small cafe.

Just because a cockroach has entered an apartment doesn't mean it's permanently residing there. In a clean and well-maintained home where cleaning and trash are regularly done, the insect may feel unwelcome and seek out a more "comfortable" home.

Why are black cockroaches dangerous?

Cockroaches typically inhabit less-than-sterile places, typically trash cans, sewer systems, basements, and so on. It's hard to imagine the abundance of pathogens in such an environment, and when you add in the hordes of cockroaches and the overall reproduction rate of both, the picture becomes truly disgusting and frightening. There, the insects come into direct contact with other pests and parasites, with bird and animal feces, and swim in waste, while their wide, flat bodies help them retain as much of this "good stuff" as possible. Arthropods migrating into apartments bring with them a wide variety of pathogens (bacteria, fungi, protozoa, helminth eggs). Crawling on dishes, food scraps, and settling near food supplies, cockroaches directly harm human health. Most often they become sources of diseases such as:

• helminthiases of various kinds;
• mycobacteriosis;
• diphtheria;
• typhoid fever;
• dysentery;
• urogenital infections;
• pneumonia;
• salmonellosis;
• respiratory infections.

Cockroaches can even crawl into a sleeping person's ear or bite him.

There are known cases where pests, with limited access to water, collected saliva from the lips. The feces of black cockroaches are particularly dangerous and can cause allergic reactions.

In addition to the obvious harm to health, cockroaches also cause harm to the apartment itself:

• they disable the equipment in which they like to hide during the day;
• chewing on wiring;
• spoil furniture, food, clothing and books.

Numerous molts result in scattered chitinous shells, which can also trigger allergies. And the main characteristic of cockroaches is their odor. Their activity, especially when they infest an apartment, inevitably produces a distinctive, unpleasant aroma that cannot be eliminated immediately, even after extermination.

How to get rid of black cockroaches

If you discover black cockroaches in your apartment, it's important to begin pest control immediately. Otherwise, the colony will quickly grow, the females will scatter their cocoons with their offspring in the most inaccessible places, and the adults will spread infections throughout the entire living space. Despite the resistance of this species to various control methods, a serious approach will definitely lead to success.

Basic steps and principles of pest control:

1. Identifying the source of the infestation. For example, if the cockroaches came from neighbors, you should join forces with them to combat them. If they're coming from a garbage chute or basement, contact the property management company and other residents to collaborate on exterminating the infestation at the source.
2. Analysis of the situation: determining the size of the population, localization locations in the apartment.
3. Selecting an insecticide and studying in detail how it works.
4. Observe safety precautions (you will need a protective mask, gloves, and a hat, as well as isolating children and animals, packaging food and other items, etc.).
   

   When treating your apartment, don't forget to use personal protective equipment.

5. Shutting off all water sources in the apartment (this measure significantly reduces the survival rate of insects after elimination measures).
6. Completely disinfect the apartment (even if cockroaches were found only in the bathroom or kitchen, preventative pest control should be performed in all rooms). Pay particular attention to areas where the insects were found.
7. Thorough cleaning after the procedure.

Chemicals

Today, there's a wide range of chemicals available for cockroach control. These products can be broadly categorized by their form:

• powders;
• aerosols;
• liquid poisons (often microencapsulated suspensions);
• gels.

Modern insecticides have a number of advantages, including:

• quick results;
• convenient to use;
• safety;
• efficiency;
• easy cleaning of residues of the preparation after disinfestation.

The disadvantages include cost: purchasing some insecticides can hit your wallet.

Gels

Gel insecticides are a successful modern development that allows for the effective control of arthropod invaders. Drugs of this kind have the following advantages:

• leave no traces behind;
• easily removed during wet cleaning;
• have a long period of action;
• safe;
• easy to use;
• economical in dosage;
• affordable.

They work well in combination with other insecticidal measures. Furthermore, the gel can be applied to the most hard-to-reach corners of the apartment, significantly reducing the labor intensity of pest control. Some gels are already available with dispenser caps, while others are sold with syringes that make it easy to measure the required amount. The product will do its job on its own for almost two months, without the need for constant outside assistance. There is also a downside: the cockroaches will not start to die immediately; direct contact with the drug is important. First of all, all adults will die out, and only then the hatched young.

There are two types of gels:

• intestinal - affect the cockroach when it enters its digestive tract;
• contact - begin to kill the pest upon contact with it.

Principle of application

Before using the gel, wear rubber gloves and carefully read the instructions. Then, apply small drops at intervals of 5-10 cm in areas where cockroaches live (behind furniture, in the bathroom, along baseboards, etc.). For convenience, you can use narrow strips of paper to spread the product on and then place them around the apartment.

Effective means:

• Anti-cockroach;
• Dohloks;
• Brownie;
• Raptor;
• Trap;
• Absolute;
• Legion.

Circumstances force me to live in a dorm. The new dorm presents new problems. While the renovations are still in good shape, the old residents left behind a mountain of cockroaches... The neighbors recommended this "Raptor" product, saying it would be gone in a week. Yeah, right, a week... yeah, they're gone... Basically, this gel is complete crap. The only good thing is the peach scent! Appearance: the tube is like glue, convenient. The instructions are vague. Open it, pour it in, don't get it on your hands, and if you do, rinse it off, that's it. The instructions don't specify how long to leave it on, when to clean it, how the product works, or whether airing is necessary. Basically, I don't know who was supposed to leave this gel out in a week: me or the cockroaches, but we all stayed... Dichlorvoz, although much more harmful, is more effective. I don't know if I should recommend it, as there's very little information about this product.

I bought a cockroach gel called "Kapkan." You can buy Kapkan cockroach gel in a store or order it online. This syringe-like gel is incredibly powerful. It's shaped like a syringe, and it contains a brown mixture. It's easy to use. The syringe makes it easy to apply even to hard-to-reach places. We moved into an old apartment building, built in the 1950s, and there were tons of cockroaches there, literally walking all over people. The kids were little then. They're still afraid of cockroaches, having never seen one. I bought this Kapkan gel, even though I was skeptical, but I decided to buy it anyway, as they were just coming out back then. I applied it to the baseboards and behind the sink. That was it. Just like my grandmother whispered, I forgot what cockroaches even were, and to this day I don't have any. I recommend it to everyone; you won't regret it. The truth is, right now I don’t even know if it’s even on sale and what quality it is.

Photo gallery: brands of cockroach gels

Powders

Powders are the most traditional category of insecticides, which have not lost their position in the modern market. Efficiency, availability and ease of use are the main advantages of such products. Powders are also versatile and safe for warm-blooded apartment dwellers. Their disadvantages include low effectiveness against large populations, labor-intensive application, and rapid loss of activity in direct sunlight. The principle of action is twofold: damage to the nervous system and repellency.

Principles of application:

1. Apply the required amount of the product in a thin layer to all surfaces infested with insects: floors, kitchen cabinets, cabinet interiors, baseboards, and plumbing fixtures. Leave overnight, and clean in the morning. Repeat several times if necessary.
2. Make an edible trap using any plastic food (egg yolk is ideal) and insecticide powder. Mix these ingredients and divide them into small balls, which can then be placed around the apartment.

Popular remedies:

• Frontline;
• Tornado;
• Phenaxin;
• Clean house;
• Tarax.

Today I want to touch on a very unpleasant story called COCKROACHES. God, how I hate these crawling insects, it's just terrifying. You'd think they'd disappear somewhere by now. But still, every now and then, they pop up in the apartment. Last summer, I went on vacation for a month. And when I got home, a "wonderful" surprise awaited me. It turned out that in my absence, "pets" had appeared in my apartment - COCKROACHES - damn, red-whiskered ones, and they were real nasty. The first thing I did was scrub the bathroom, toilet, and kitchen with Blanidas. Then I ran to the nearest store to buy some kind of pest control. They recommended "Clean House Dust" insecticide for cockroaches. It wasn't expensive at the time, but I paid ten hryvnia for it. I came home and sprinkled this powder into metal lids. I placed them behind the refrigerator, behind the stove, and on top of the kitchen wall in the kitchen, and in the pantry. In the bathroom, I also placed them under the bathtub. And also on the top shelf. I did the same in the toilet. You know, by the second day, those bastards were gone. The main thing is that I didn't find any corpses either. Now I just periodically change the powder for fresh one and place it on top of everything. If you have pets, don't put the product on the floor, only on top. At the moment, I don't have any visitors like that; they don't like it here.

Photo gallery: brands of cockroach control powders

Liquid poisons

Modern liquid insecticides are divided into two groups:

• concentrates;
• microencapsulated suspensions.

These are effective, safe and high-speed drugs. They are excellent for destroying large colonies, affecting not only adult insects, but also their eggs. Among the disadvantages:

• long-term preparation of the premises;
• compliance with a number of precautionary measures (a protective suit and isolation of residents and pets will be required);
• strict adherence to proportions and all recommendations in the instructions;
• high cost.

Features of application

After taking all safety precautions and accurately calculating the required amount of solution for a specific area, begin diluting the insecticide. A regular spray bottle works well for this. Then quickly spray the solution onto all cockroach infestations and the surrounding area. After treatment, isolate the area for several hours, and upon returning, thoroughly ventilate and wet-clean it.

Effective means:

• Foresight;
• Ram;
• Get;
• Lambda Zone.

We live in a new house, but we've had a nasty problem: COCKROACHES. How did I deal with them? Everything they offered in hardware stores and at the market. First, I used dichlorvos—they ran away in all directions, and my husband and I swatted them, but it didn't last long. They came back again. We tried traps—they were completely useless, IMHO. I tried gels—of all the ones I tried, only Raptor worked, but after about three months, the cockroaches were back. I won't even mention the ultrasonic repeller. I found a product called TARAN for cockroaches and ants at a joint purchase. I attached a spray nozzle to a regular 1.5-liter mineral water bottle (they sell for about 30-35 rubles at hardware stores) and diluted the TARAN solution. I added a little more, or at least according to the instructions. I moved the furniture and linoleum, treated everything with Taran, and filled all the cracks where the floor and walls met in all the rooms where there were no baseboards (since our renovations are still in progress). I left everything for a day. Then I washed it. No more cockroaches! Hurray! I highly recommend it!

We inherited cockroaches... A week ago, we decided to order the "miracle remedy" "Taran" online. We bought a respirator, a protective suit, a spray bottle, goggles, and gloves. We also ordered two bottles, as we wanted to treat the entire house at once (just in case). The cockroaches were primarily located in the kitchen. We prepared a solution, using not 10 liters, but 9 liters for 5 ml of the product. We treated the entire house: all the walls, cabinets, cracks, places where they were located, even the floors. The product flowed like a river from every surface... We returned home two hours after the treatment, found about 10 half-dead cockroaches, and that was it!!! The rest continued to live as if nothing had happened. So, after this, you can't trust "one of the best remedies" from the internet. It's just a shame we wasted our time, nerves, and money.

Photo gallery: brands of liquid cockroach poisons

Aerosols

Sprays and aerosols are widely available and popular insecticides that have a number of advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages:

• rapid death of the cockroach, which occurs immediately after contact with the poison;
• ease of use;
• easy cleaning after disinfestation;
• no unpleasant odor or traces after use;
• possibility of spraying in hard to reach places.

Flaws:

• has an unstable effect (it loses its active properties as it weathers);
• affects only nymphs and adult insects;
• Not suitable for use in areas occupied by people with asthma or allergies;
• requires repeated use.

How to apply

Proper preparation will help increase the effectiveness of the product. First, ensure the safety of residents and pets. You can also remove houseplants and aquariums, and, if possible, close all cracks, windows, and doors. Then, place a fragrant decoy (sausage, cookies, or baked goods) on the floor and other surfaces, spray the product liberally, and leave the area. After a few hours, thoroughly ventilate the apartment and begin cleaning.

Popular remedies:

• Argus;
• Raptor;
• Combatant;
• Cobra;
• Raid;
• Monitor lizard.

I think many apartment building residents are familiar with the problem of cockroaches. Everyone tries to keep their homes clean, picking up crumbs, and so on, but they still show up. For us, the main reason is the garbage chute, where many people throw food waste, and the housing and utilities staff doesn't clean it very often. That's where the cockroaches come from. One day, we decided to <buy Raptor spray> and treat the garbage chute, and in this post, I'll tell you how it turned out. I'll say right away that I don't know the cost of the product, since my parents bought it. Using this aerosol is very simple: just open it and spray it where the cockroaches hang out, and they should run through the poison and die. We decided to give the garbage chute a thorough treatment. We opened the lid and sprayed it inside for a long time. They smelled like chemicals, but what can you do? A large number of cockroaches immediately came crawling out of the garbage chute and started dying right on the floor. In the morning, when everyone got up, the entire hallway carpet and kitchen floor were covered in these roaches. We raked up a whole dustpan of them with a broom. It was quite a sight, I must say! However, this remedy is harmful to health. Afterward, my throat felt like it had been scraped with sandpaper, and this wasn't a cold, but the result of prolonged exposure to this product. Even though I tried to hold my breath, it still worked. Overall, the remedy is very effective, as the cockroach count decreased for several months, but the health benefits aren't particularly beneficial.

Photo gallery: cockroach aerosol brands

Folk remedies

Folk methods for getting rid of cockroaches, compared to chemical treatments, are less effective and require more time to destroy the pests, but a significant advantage is safety.

Boric acid based recipes:

• Make a stiff dough by mixing equal parts flour, sugar, and boric acid, add a little water, and roll into small balls. Then, you can distribute the "treat" in darkened areas of the apartment, closets, and behind furniture.
• Prepare a water mixture with boric acid and place the containers in areas where the insects feed: in the bathroom and kitchen sink. Shut off all other moisture sources to ensure the cockroaches only drink what they're supposed to.
  

  Boric acid is a universal folk remedy for insects.

Recipes based on sodium salt (borax):

• Make bait by mixing 1 tablespoon of sodium salt with 1 boiled egg and mashed potatoes. Place the mixture in areas where the nests are located;
• Prepare a sticky poisonous mass that can be placed in any corner of your apartment. You'll need: 1 cup of borax, 2 tablespoons each of powdered sugar and starch, 1 g of vanillin, and water.

Borax is one of the well-known folk remedies for fighting cockroaches.

Recipes based on vinegar (9%):

• dissolve 1 tablespoon of vinegar and a few drops of any essential oil in 0.5 liters of water, mix well, pour into a spray bottle and spray all surfaces in the apartment;
• You can also add hot red pepper juice to the vinegar-water mixture. This mixture can be sprayed throughout the entire area and also rubbed onto cornices, shelves, cabinet doors, and baseboards.

Cockroach traps

Various cockroach traps are more likely a preventative measure or intended for complex control. It's unlikely that you'll be able to deal with these black invaders using devices alone, and it'll take a considerable amount of time. However, some devices have proven effective.

Electric traps

Electric traps are practical and effective devices that operate directly from a power source. They should be placed away from moisture and out of reach of children and animals. The operating principle is based on attracting the cockroach inside with the help of bait, after which the insect is killed by an electric shock. An important advantage of such a trap is automatic disinfection of the pest.

At first, we tried to kill the cockroaches with various methods, but the effect was temporary. They seemed to get used to the poisons and would boldly crawl over them and eat them. It's like the joke, "I bought some crayons to kill cockroaches, and they worked—they just sit in the corner and draw and don't bother me." We couldn't make friends with them, though, because my wife and children would freak out whenever a huge bug crawled across the floor. We decided to try something more advanced. We started with GH-180 because it doesn't use chemicals and is very convenient to use, 24/7, even in the living room. The cockroaches are attracted to the warmth and smell, and then get electrocuted. There are four entrances, the cockroaches crawl through them, a power cord, and a small box—that's it, nothing else. The first day, I collected 12 cockroaches, opened the box, and there they were, fried by the electric shock. The second day was around 10, and every day since (I've been using it for two weeks now), I've been picking up 8-9 cockroaches in the morning. I can't say there aren't any cockroaches at all—there are some, but there are far fewer of them. I don't even know what to do now: buy another one of these "electric chairs" or just leave it in place for another month... In any case, I'm seeing results, and so far I'm loving it!

As the electric trap fills up, it is necessary to clear it of dead insects.

Another type of trap—discs with insecticidal bait inside—is not widely used to control black cockroaches, as the black cockroach may not be able to reach the poison due to its considerable size compared to the red cockroach.

When purchasing, compare the holes in the trap with the size of the pests you are trying to control.

Sticky glue traps

This type of trap is not known for its durability, but it has the advantage of being safe, portable, and affordable. The principle of effectiveness is simple: once an insect gets inside such a device, it will not be able to get out, as it will be firmly glued to the sticky element located inside. The most famous brands:

• Forsythe;
• Mashenka;
• Argus;
• Taiga.

Since the balcony windows were always open this summer, I think the cockroaches have migrated into the apartment. I no longer thought there could be cockroaches in the apartment. It seemed like you couldn't find them anywhere anymore. But! I was wrong. Well, I noticed one cockroach once. I chased it and caught it. But this made me realize that I needed to take immediate action. If there's one, there must be others. I bought various products. I'll write about them later, when I see results. But at the store, along with the other products, they offered me a trap. Five days after setting the trap, this cockroach got in. The adhesive has a very strong adhesive power. If something sticks to it, it's difficult to remove. From this point of view, the trap is actually quite good. But I think the downside is that this is not a product that can get rid of all the cockroaches in an apartment.

Glue traps are shaped like a house with multiple entrance holes and a sticky bottom surface.

How to get rid of cockroaches – video

Preventing black cockroaches from appearing in your apartment

The following measures will help prevent the appearance of black cockroaches in your apartment:

• regular garbage removal, dishwashing, high-quality cleaning;
• proper operation of plumbing and the entire water supply system in the premises;
• carrying out necessary repairs, absence of clutter;
• ventilation of living space, especially in the autumn-winter period;
• control of new items in the house, borrowed items, items returned from repairs or travel, their inspection and, if necessary, processing.

Cockroaches' lifestyle provides additional camouflage for them; sometimes weeks can pass between their appearance and detection. Infrequent cleaning and neglect of your own apartment significantly increase the chances of uninvited guests making themselves at home. Therefore, don't neglect simple preventative measures, and if an infestation is inevitable, take immediate and appropriate pest control measures. Remember, cockroaches are a formidable adversary. To get rid of them for good, chemicals or traps alone are not enough; determination and patience are also key.