The cockroach who came in from the cold

Just as the hot weather sets in, another cold front sneaks up leaving you longing for some more sunshine. The effect of cold, wet weather is even more pronounced on insect populations and unfortunately can drive insects into habitats they don’t normally occupy in summer.

While some cockroach species will occupy indoor spaces right throughout the year, other species will tend to move indoors only during colder periods. This is especially true of the Gisborne and native cockroaches which favour outdoor areas but will move inside if they need to. Many home-owners are blissfully unaware of the presence of cockroaches in their homes, as a lot of their movement only occurs at night. While more cockroaches live in the north of the South Island and in the North Island a good number of places in the lower South Island are now also considered home by cockroaches. Cockroaches can impact our lifestyles too, as they carry diseases, give off unpleasant odours, aggravate allergies (especially in children) and ruin food. In extreme cases, they can even bite. New Zealand has three main species of cockroach — the German, American and Gisborne cockroach, as well as a number of native bush cockroach species which are not generally regarded as pests — but are starting to be a problem in some areas. Cockroaches thrive in warm, damp conditions, however, they can live in extreme conditions for short periods of time and will survive for months without food and weeks without water. This makes them very difficult to get rid of. Cockroaches undergo 3 stages of development: egg, nymph and adult. The adult female cockroach lays what appears to be a huge egg. It’s actually an ootheca which contains 20-40 eggs in one outer egg case. The actual number varies for different species. The eggs hatch into nymphs, which look similar to adult cockroaches. The nymphs undergo a series of moults before developing into fully reproductive adult cockroaches. The length of this process varies and may take anywhere between a few weeks to a year to complete the cycle. A female cockroach can lay up to 20 oothecae during its lifespan. Awareness is an important part of cockroach management but high population numbers can be reached before they are finally noticed and a control strategy implemented. Monitoring with Lo-Line sticky traps will help ensure early detection, enabling prevention and management of a cockroach population. Both baiting and spraying can be used to treat cockroach habitats. Baiting is very successful for both American and German cockroaches but unfortunately the Gisborne cockroach is not readily attracted to bait. Using a bait such as No Pests Roach Bait or Vendetta will be very effective to control populations of German or American roaches indoors but for high populations and for Gisborne roaches, spraying with

| German cockroach.

| American cockroach.

No Pests Crawling Insect Spray will control a serious infestation.

Baiting and spraying techniques can both be used for large populations and can be complementary to each other. As with all the crawling insects it is important that spraying is done with a non-repellent insecticide. Dealing with Gisborne roaches on the exterior areas of a building can be achieved using No Pests X-IT Ant.

For further information, contact your Farmlands Technical Field Officer or the friendly team at your local Farmlands store.

Article supplied by Key Industries

Minecto™ Star is all about PRECISION...

IPM PRECISION

MINECTO™ STAR combines two IPM compatible active ingredients (cyantraniliprole and pymetrozine) to provide targeted control of caterpillars, leaf miner and aphids in forage brassica crops, without harming beneficial insects.

DIGITAL PRECISION

Purchase just 900 grams of MINECTO™ STAR and we’ll send you a set of digital scales FREE!* So now you can measure out 150 g/ha of MINECTO™ STAR with DIGITAL precision.

FREE* WHILE STOCKS LAST

*FREE Digital Scales available with purchase from your local Farmlands store - while stocks last!

™MINECTO STAR is the trademark of a Syngenta Group Company. Registered pursuant to the ACVM Act 1997, No. P9417. Always read the label completely before use.