Sep 27, 2022 | Pest Control
It’s never ideal to encounter cockroaches in your home. If you do, it’s best to know what types of cockroaches you’re dealing with to help determine the best way to eliminate them. Failing to remove these pests can lead to unpleasant outcomes, like allergies, that can potentially increase your chances of getting asthma.
We have broken down the three most common cockroaches found in the south and how to keep them away; let’s check it out!
American Cockroach
This large out-of-the-house infesting roach can get up to 1.5 inches in length. These roaches develop wings towards the end of their life cycle, with males having some longer than their bodies. You can usually identify them by the yellow band located behind their head.
The American cockroach can typically be found where food is abundant. They also prefer drains that aren’t used as often. In the wild, they prefer dark or damp wood piles.
German Cockroach
One of the most common species found worldwide, the German cockroach is generally light to dark brown and has two stripes near the back of its head. This species does have wings. They prefer dark, moist places. Since they don’t do well in the cold, they thrive in the southern climate.
Brown-Banded Cockroach
This species first entered the U.S. in 1903 and is now found nationwide. The brown-banded cockroach got its name from the two light brown bands that appear across its wings. They prefer warmer, drier, and higher locations in a room and can be found mostly in cabinets and behind picture frames. This species will typically hide its egg cases in or underneath furniture.
Prevention Tips
- Focus on the Kitchen: Clean up any spills or crumbs immediately and take out the trash regularly.
- Declutter: Remove old newspapers, utilize plastic containers over cardboard, and make sure clothing isn’t piled on the floor.
- Limit Moisture: Roaches need water to survive. Be sure to fix dripping faucets and leaky pipes. If you have a basement, employ a dehumidifier to take care of any moisture. Also, consider getting your crawlspace enclosed to ensure no moisture is found.
While prevention can help keep cockroaches away, sometimes it’s best to get a professional involved. A local pest control company will be able to inspect your home and provide you with the best treatment and prevention plan going forward.
Jan 20, 2022 | Pest Control
Roaches are resilient pests that have survived millions of years on Earth. Cockroaches are naturally tropical pests, preferring warm, humid habitats to thrive in. In fact, most species of roaches will die off at temperatures below 15 degrees Fahrenheit. Roaches have learned to adapt and are expert overwintering pests, making their way indoors to avoid exposure to cold temperatures and survive the winter.
There are four species of cockroaches in the United States that can survive year-round with the appropriate overwintering environment.
- American Cockroach: The American cockroach usually lives outdoors but will come inside during the winter months. These roaches like water and are often found hiding out in bathrooms and laundry rooms. If they overwinter outside they can be found in decaying trees and woodpiles.
- German Cockroach: The German cockroach is found throughout the United States. They commonly invade homes and can be difficult to eliminate once an infestation is established. They reproduce quickly, exploding their populations in your house. German roaches can survive winter as long as they find a humid environment and a food source (such as in your kitchen or under your appliances).
- Oriental Cockroach: The Oriental cockroach is an indoor species but they will venture outside in search of food. These roaches must have water to survive and can often be found in basements, crawlspaces, and floor drains. If they overwinter outdoors they will hide out in rock walls or other areas that offer shelter and warmth. Oriental roaches only reproduce in the winter so their survival through the colder months is critical. They can tolerate lower temperatures than most other species.
- Brown-Banded Cockroach: The brown-banded cockroach is found throughout the United States but is not as common as their German counterparts. These roaches are attracted to heat and can be found in near appliances, heaters, or anything else with an electric motor. They are often found in kitchens and prefer to hide out in high cabinets.
To answer the question above, roaches don’t necessarily die off in the winter. As long as they can find a warm place to shelter with a food source they can survive and reproduce year-round. The next question to ask yourself is, “How are they getting into my home?” Roaches can squeeze through openings as small as 3/16″ and will use any opening they find in your walls, siding, baseboards, and ceilings to get inside. Roaches are also notorious hitchhikers and will catch a ride indoors on bags, boxes, firewood, furniture, and appliances.
Keep roaches out this winter by:
- Emptying your trashcans often and keeping them clean.
- Cleaning up crumbs from counters and floors daily, including spilled pet food.
- Sweeping daily.
- Vacuuming frequently.
- Making sure food is not left in sink strainers.
- Running the garbage disposal frequently.
- Keeping food (including pet food) sealed in airtight containers.
- Not leaving dirty dishes in the sink overnight.
- Keeping appliances clean of food and grease.
- Cleaning out clutter in your garage and attic, especially cardboard.
- Using plastic storage boxes rather than cardboard when possible.
- Sealing entrances around utility pipes.
- Ventilating crawlspaces to prevent moisture.
- Storing soap out of reach.
- Not leaving pet food out in bowls overnight.
- Drying all sinks, tubs, and showers before bed each night.
- Using a dehumidifier in your home.
- Carefully inspecting items before bringing them into your home.
If you have a problem with cockroaches or any other household pest, contact your local pest control company for an evaluation and treatment plan.
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Jan 12, 2022 | Pest Control
The cockroach might just seem like a creepy, annoying nuisance, but it can cause more damage than expected. Cockroaches transmit over 30 different kinds of bacteria – E. Coli, Salmonella, and more. In addition to this, they can also trigger asthma and allergy attacks as their droppings, saliva and shed skin contain allergens that increase asthma symptoms, especially in children.
As one of the most common household pests, it’s important to keep roaches under control to lessen the effects they cause. Here we breakdown the types of cockroaches you could be seeing in your home and how you can prevent them in the future.
Types of Cockroaches
- American Cockroach: The largest of the house-infesting cockroaches, the American cockroach is found throughout the United States and worldwide. They are reddish-brown with a yellowish figure-eight pattern on the back of their head. They are often found in basements and sewers. These pests are attracted to moist surfaces and can also be found in bathrooms, kitchens, and laundry rooms.
- Brown-Banded Cockroach: This species first entered the U.S. in 1903 and is now found nationwide. The brown-banded cockroach got its name from the two light brown bands that appear across its wings. They prefer warmer, drier, and higher locations in a room and can be found mostly in cabinets and behind picture frames. This species will typically hide its egg cases in or underneath furniture.
- German Cockroach: The German cockroach is the most common species found worldwide and is found across the U.S. They prefer warm and humid spaces but are typically found in spaces where humans eat, such as kitchens. They can be identified by their light brown body with two dark brown stripes on their back.
- Oriental Cockroach: The Oriental cockroach exhibits a dark reddish-brown to shiny black color and is found in the northern regions of the United States. They are commonly found in sewers and enter homes through drains or door thresholds. This species is considered the dirtiest of all cockroaches due to the strong odor that they create.
Prevention Tips
- Seal Entrances: With cooler weather approaching, cockroaches are seeking warmer hiding places. Ensuring all openings in doors, windows, and foundations are sealed is the first step to take. Replace old weather-stripping and make sure there are no holes in window screens to help stop these intruders.
- Focus on the Kitchen: One of the most effective ways to prevent cockroaches is to begin pest-proofing in the kitchen. Clean up any spills or crumbs immediately and take the trash out regularly to prevent roaches from wanting to stay. The pantry can also be included by this – consider storing your food in sealed containers.
- Limit Moisture: Roaches need water to survive. Dripping faucets and leaky pipes will attract these pests inside your home. Look throughout the house for any loose pipes and seal them as soon as possible. To dry up areas in your basement, employ a dehumidifier to take care of that. If you have a crawlspace, consider enclosing your crawlspace to ensure no moisture is found.
- Declutter: Cockroaches like to find hiding places during the daytime, but by nightfall they emerge. Decluttering and cleaning out items to limit their hiding spaces may help in preventing them in the long run. Some ways to declutter include old newspapers, utilizing plastic containers over cardboard, and making sure clothing isn’t piled on the floor.
While prevention can help keep cockroaches away, sometimes it’s best to get a professional involved. A local pest control company will be able to inspect your home and provide you with the best treatment and prevention plan going forward.
Aug 13, 2020 | Pest Control
You’ve prepped your home, made sure all messes are cleaned, and closed all open gaps, but you’re still seeing roaches in your home! Why are these pests still attracted to what’s inside your house and how do they keep entering?! We break down some common cockroaches you could be seeing and how they keep sneaking in!
The Species Matters
It’s important to note that there are several different species of cockroaches. Each species is attracted to and thrive off of very different environments. The Oriental cockroach prefers a dark, cool place to hideout. You can often find them in organic matter such as mulch, wood chips, and even between your home’s foundation. Brown-banded cockroaches, on the other hand, like warmer, drier environments. These cockroaches are commonly found in areas above eye-level, such as cabinets, pantries, and even TVs. Another common species is the American cockroach that prefers living in warm, moist areas. These pests can be found in homes, restaurants, grocery stores – basically anywhere food is prepped and stored!
Hitchhiking Roaches
What attracts roaches can be easily found inside anyone’s home. What if you’ve taken precautions, however, to ensure these pests won’t get into your house but they still keep coming back? There are several reasons why roaches keep finding their way back into your home. Roaches are extremely resilient and are excellent hitchhikers! These pests can be easily transported from one place to the other by hitching a ride in your grocery bags, luggage, and even cardboard boxes. Roaches can also travel from neighbor to neighbor, so if your neighbors aren’t taking great roach precautions they could be coming from next door!
What Next?!
Roaches are year-round pests making them extremely hard to control. Because of this, you’ll have to take precautions 12 months out of the year to keep them out of the house. Here are some tips to prevent roaches throughout the year.
- Eliminate any standing water in and around your home; check for leaks, seal gaps around your sink and tubs, and don’t leave pet bowls outside overnight.
- Inspect the interior and exterior of the home; seal any open gaps and tears throughout your house and use weatherstripping around all entryways
- Clean up all messes; clean up crumbs and food immediately, wipe down food prep surfaces, clean under appliances, and don’t leave dirty dishes out overnight
- If you’re still experiencing roach issues, call your local pest control company to provide a comprehensive plan to remove this nuisance pest from your home.
Mar 27, 2020 | Pest Control
By Anna V., Editorial Lead — Pest Education · Last updated: April 2026
If you’ve spotted a small, light-brown cockroach with two distinct dark stripes across its wings (and you didn’t find it in the kitchen), you’re probably looking at a brown banded cockroach. They’re one of the trickiest cockroach species we deal with at Northwest, not because they’re harder to kill, but because they nest in places homeowners rarely check. Most homeowners spend weeks treating the kitchen for German cockroaches before realizing the brown bandeds in their bedroom or living room are a different species needing a different approach.
Here’s how to identify a brown banded cockroach, what an infestation actually looks like, and the removal and prevention plan that works in Georgia and Alabama homes.
The two horizontal bands across the wings are the easiest way to ID a brown banded cockroach.
What Is a Brown Banded Cockroach?
The brown banded cockroach (Supella longipalpa) is one of three cockroach species commonly found indoors in Southeast homes, alongside the German cockroach and the American cockroach (the “palmetto bug”). It’s the smallest and most distinctively marked of the three.
Appearance
Adults are roughly half an inch long, light brown to tan, with two clear dark bands running across the back. Males have full wings that extend past their body and can fly short distances. Females have shorter wings and don’t fly. Nymphs are smaller and darker than adults but still show the banding pattern faintly.
If you flip a brown banded cockroach over and look at the underside, the bands are visible there too, which is useful for confirming the species when the wing markings are hard to see.
Behavior — and Why They’re Different from German Roaches
This is the part that surprises homeowners. Brown banded cockroaches don’t behave like German cockroaches. The biggest differences:
- They prefer warm, dry areas. German roaches need humidity and stay near water sources (kitchens, bathrooms). Brown bandeds avoid moisture and prefer rooms that stay 80°F or warmer.
- They nest away from food. Inside televisions, behind picture frames, in furniture upholstery, in light fixtures, in closets, and behind wall clocks. Anywhere warm and undisturbed.
- They spread vertically through a home. Brown bandeds tend to nest higher in rooms (upper cabinets, ceiling-mounted fixtures, the top shelf of a closet) more often than other species.
- They’re often found in bedrooms and living rooms, not just kitchens.
This is why brown banded infestations get missed. Homeowners search the kitchen, find nothing, and conclude they don’t have a roach problem, while a population is quietly growing inside a TV cabinet two rooms away.
Brown Banded Cockroach vs. Other Species
| Feature |
Brown Banded |
German |
American (Palmetto Bug) |
| Adult size |
~½ inch |
~½ inch |
1.5 to 2 inches |
| Color |
Light brown / tan with two dark bands |
Light brown with two parallel dark stripes on the back |
Reddish-brown |
| Habitat |
Warm, dry rooms (bedrooms, living rooms, closets, electronics) |
Warm, humid spaces (kitchens, bathrooms) |
Outdoor harborages, comes inside in heat or rain |
| Reproduction |
~14 eggs per case, ~14 cases per female |
~40 eggs per case, fastest reproduction of the three |
~16 eggs per case |
| Flight |
Males can fly short distances |
Don’t fly |
Can fly short distances when warm |
If you’re not sure which species you’re seeing, the UGA Extension Bulletin B 1412 has detailed identification guidance for all the household cockroaches commonly found in Southeastern neighborhoods. For the broader signs of an active infestation regardless of species, see our guide on whether one cockroach means a roach infestation.
Signs of a Brown Banded Cockroach Infestation
Because brown bandeds nest away from kitchens, the signs show up in unexpected places. What to look for:
Droppings in High Spots
Tiny dark specks (similar to coffee grounds or black pepper) accumulating on the tops of bookshelves, inside light fixtures, behind picture frames, or on the upper shelf of a closet. Brown banded droppings often appear higher in a room than other species’ droppings.
Egg Cases (Oothecae)
Small, brown, pill-shaped capsules. Females often glue them to undersides of furniture, the back of a TV, the inside of an appliance housing, or into the seams of upholstered furniture. Each case holds about 14 eggs and hatches in roughly 50 to 75 days.
Damage to Paper, Cardboard, and Glue
Brown bandeds gnaw on paper, cardboard, postage stamp glue, and book bindings. Damaged storage boxes in a closet or chewed paper in a desk drawer can be a sign, especially if there’s no obvious moisture issue (which would suggest German roaches instead).
Live Sightings in Unusual Rooms
If you’re seeing cockroaches in bedrooms, living rooms, or home offices rather than the kitchen, the species is almost certainly brown banded. They prefer the same temperature range humans do, which is why they end up in living spaces.
(Found droppings or egg cases somewhere unusual? Request a free Northwest inspection and we’ll identify the species and locate the nesting site.)
How to Get Rid of Brown Banded Cockroaches
Because brown bandeds nest in dry, dispersed locations rather than concentrated kitchen harborages, the treatment approach is different from a typical German cockroach plan.
Step 1: Find the Nesting Sites
Inspect upper-room locations: top shelves of closets, behind picture frames, inside electronics housings (TVs, computers, gaming consoles), inside light fixtures, behind wall clocks, in the seams of upholstered furniture, in dresser drawers, and behind loose wallpaper. Brown bandeds also like the void spaces inside hollow-core doors.
Step 2: Place Targeted Baits
Brown bandeds respond well to gel bait, but placement matters. Standard kitchen-focused bait placement misses them entirely. Effective placements:
- Behind televisions and computer monitors
- Inside the empty space behind dressers and bookshelves
- On the top shelf of closets (where they often nest)
- Inside the recessed corners of light fixtures (with caution near hot bulbs)
- Underneath upholstered furniture
Step 3: Use Insect Growth Regulators (IGRs)
IGRs interrupt the molting cycle so nymphs can’t reach adulthood. Combined with bait, this is what breaks the egg-laying cycle. Most over-the-counter products don’t include effective IGRs at the right concentrations. That’s one of the bigger advantages of professional treatment for brown bandeds specifically.
Step 4: Reduce Hiding Spots
Cut clutter in the rooms where you found droppings. Move stored items off the floor and out of sealed cardboard boxes. Vacuum the seams of upholstered furniture. Empty closets and inspect the high shelves. Brown bandeds need stable, undisturbed locations, and disturbance forces them out of preferred harborages and into bait pickup.
What Not to Do
Skip the over-the-counter bug bombs and broad-spectrum repellent sprays. They scatter brown bandeds deeper into wall voids and across the home, which spreads the infestation rather than controlling it. This is a common and expensive mistake we see homeowners make before calling.
Preventing Future Brown Banded Cockroach Infestations
Once an active infestation is cleared, prevention focuses on the conditions brown bandeds need: warm, dry, undisturbed harborages.
- Cut clutter in bedrooms, living rooms, and home offices. Especially cardboard storage. Plastic bins are far less attractive.
- Inspect new furniture before bringing it inside, especially used or thrifted upholstered pieces. Brown bandeds frequently hitchhike in furniture seams.
- Check electronics being moved into the home (used TVs, secondhand computers, hand-me-down kitchen appliances).
- Vacuum baseboards and upholstery seams regularly in living spaces, not just the kitchen.
- Maintain quarterly pest control for ongoing prevention. Brown banded populations rebound from any survivors faster than annual treatment can keep up.
When to Call Northwest for Brown Banded Cockroach Control
Brown banded infestations are one of the species we strongly recommend professional treatment for, and not because they’re particularly dangerous. They’re not aggressive, they don’t bite, and the health risks are similar to other roach species: allergens, asthma triggers, food contamination. (See what really attracts cockroaches into clean homes for more on the health-risk side.) The reason for professional involvement is location: nesting sites are dispersed across multiple rooms, often in places homeowners can’t access (inside electronics, sealed wall voids), and DIY bait placement misses too many of them. We’ve seen brown banded infestations stretch six months of unsuccessful homeowner treatment before a one-month professional plan clears them.
Frequently Asked Questions About Brown Banded Cockroaches
How do I identify a brown banded cockroach?
Look for a small (about half-inch), light brown to tan cockroach with two distinct dark bands running across the wings. The bands are visible from above and below. Adult males have full wings that extend past the body; females have shorter wings.
Are brown banded cockroaches dangerous?
They don’t bite or sting, but like all cockroaches they can contaminate food, spread bacteria across surfaces, and trigger asthma and allergy symptoms through droppings, shed skins, and saliva. Children and people with respiratory conditions are most at risk.
Where do brown banded cockroaches hide?
Unlike kitchen-bound German cockroaches, brown bandeds prefer warm, dry rooms. Common hiding spots include inside electronics, behind picture frames, in light fixtures, on the upper shelves of closets, inside furniture upholstery, and behind hollow-core doors. They often nest higher in a room than other species.
Can I get rid of brown banded cockroaches without chemicals?
Small early infestations can sometimes be cleared with thorough vacuuming, clutter reduction, and sealing entry points. Larger or established infestations almost always require targeted gel bait and an insect growth regulator to break the breeding cycle. Pure-natural approaches rarely succeed against an active brown banded population.
How long does it take to eliminate a brown banded cockroach infestation?
A small early-stage infestation can clear in two to four weeks with targeted bait. Heavy or long-standing infestations typically require two to three months of monthly treatments to break the egg-laying cycle completely. Brown banded oothecae take 50 to 75 days to hatch, so successful treatment must outlast at least one egg-hatching cycle.
Brown banded nests live in places homeowners never think to check. That’s why DIY often misses them.
Schedule a Brown Banded Cockroach Inspection
If you’ve found cockroaches in places that don’t match the typical “kitchen problem” pattern, it’s worth a professional look. Brown bandeds are tricky to find but very treatable once located. Our team has been clearing brown banded infestations out of Georgia and Alabama homes for decades.
About the Author
Anna V., Editorial Lead — Pest Education leads pest education content for Northwest Exterminating, working with senior technicians and service center managers across our Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, and South Carolina service areas to translate field expertise into homeowner-friendly guides. The focus: accurate, regionally-specific answers to the pest questions Southeast homeowners are actually searching for.
