Blattella germanica (German cockroach)
Identity
- Preferred Scientific Name
- Blattella germanica Linnaeus
- Preferred Common Name
- German cockroach
- Other Scientific Names
- Blatta germanica Linnaeus
- Blatta transfuga
- Ectobia germanica Linnaeus
- Periplaneta germanica (L.)
- Phyllodromia germanica
- Phyllodromica germanica (L.)
- International Common Names
- Englishcroton bugRussian roachsteam fly
- Spanishcucaracha alemanacucaracha europeacucaracha pequena de las casas
- Frenchblatte germanique
- Local Common Names
- Denmarkkøkkenkakerlaktysk kakerlak
- GermanyDeutsche SchabeHausschabe
- Israelhatikan hagermani
- Netherlandsduitsche kakkerlakHuiskakkerlakkleine kakkerlak
- Norwaytysk kakerlakk
- Turkeyalman hamam bocegi
- EPPO code
- BLTTGE (Blattella germanica)
Pictures
Adults
Blattella germanica (German cockroach); adults caught on a sticky trap. USA.
©Gary Alpert/Harvard University/Bugwood.org - CC BY-NC 3.0 US
Various nymphal stages
Blattella germanica (German cockroach); various nymphal stages caught on a sticky trap.
©Gary Alpert/Harvard University/Bugwood.org - CC BY-NC 3.0 US
Egg case
Blattella germanica (German cockroach); egg case, or oothecae.
©Gary Alpert/Harvard University/Bugwood.org - CC BY-NC 3.0 US
Nymph
Blattella germanica (German cockroach); nymph caught on a sticky trap. USA.
©Gary Alpert/Harvard University/Bugwood.org - CC BY-NC 3.0 US
Distribution
Host Plants and Other Plants Affected
| Host | Host status | References |
|---|---|---|
| Oryza sativa (rice) | Unknown |
Prevention and Control
Prevention and Control
Public Awareness
Infestations of B. germanica are exacerbated by poor hygiene, therefore it is important to create public awareness on how to prevent and control the spread of this public health pest. Shahraki et al. (2010) studied the efficacy of sanitation and sanitary factors against B. germanica infestations and the effectiveness of educational programmes on sanitation in Iran. Pamphlets, posters and lectures were used to describe the importance of sanitation and the comprehensive education programme led to a reduction in infestations.
Control
Cultural Control and Sanitary Measures
B. germanica live where humans and human activity is, feeding on scraps of food (Valles, 1996) and their presence is associated with poor hygiene. However they can also occur in the cleanest and most hygiene-conscious dairies and cheese factories (Rockman, 1992). By eliminating food and water sources and clutter, the risk of encouraging new infestations and population increase is decreased (Valles, 1996). Sealing cracks and crevices can be effective in reducing harbourage space and population size (Valles, 1996) because B. germanica are smaller than most other cockroaches, with the ability to conceal themselves in many places inaccessible to larger species (Jacobs, 2013).
Beccaloni (1991) reported that freshly cut plants of Tagetes minuta placed into the wooden walls and thatched roofs of dwellings in Papua New Guinea repelled B. germanica.Tabaru and Mochizuki (2005) reported that B. germanica was repelled by ethanol extracts of some herbs under laboratory conditions. Herbs showing the most repellent effect were Anethum graveolens (dill), Apium graveolens (celery), Carum carvi (caraway), Cuminum cymimum (cumin), Coriandrum sativum (coriander), Cinamomum zeylanicum (cinnamon), Myristica fragrans (mace) and Capsicum annuum (chili pepper).
Physical/Mechanical Control
Sticky traps can be used to monitor and/or reduce population size of B. germanica (Valles, 1996); however, Ballard and Gold (1983) reported that sticky traps did not reduce populations in Nebraska, USA. Ballard and Gold (1983) evaluated two different types of traps for the control of B. germanica: tent-shaped sticky traps and electrified traps, in Macy, Nebraska, USA. It was found that the sticky traps did not reduce populations, but the electrified traps caused a 76% reduction in catch after two months of trapping.
Biological Control
Pathogens and in particular fungi, appear to be the most promising group for the biological control of B. germanica, according to a review of different methods published by Suiter (1997). Ren et al. (2005) reported successful infection rates of B. germanica using Metarhizium anisopliae under laboratory conditions. Infected B. germanica were erratic in their movements and hyphae of the fungi were found in most parts of the body 4-5 days post-infection. Other reported symptoms of infection by M. anisopliae are a reduction in the mean number of oothecae laid by females, oothecal production, hatchability and nymphal production (Quesada-Moraga et al., 2004).
Other reports suggest that entomophilic nematodes such as Neoaplectana carpocapsae and Steinernema carpocapsae could provide acceptable control of B. germanica (Zukowski, 1984; Manweiler et al., 1993). The parasitic wasp Aprostocetus hagenowii lays its eggs in the egg cases of B. germanica and other species of cockroach and have been used as a biocontrol agent (Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, 2016).
Chemical Control
Due to the variable regulations around (de-)registration of pesticides, we are for the moment not including any specific chemical control recommendations. For further information, we recommend you visit the following resources:
•
EU pesticides database (http://ec.europa.eu/food/plant/pesticides/eu-pesticides-database/)
•
PAN pesticide database (www.pesticideinfo.org)
•
Your national pesticide guide
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
Copyright © CABI. CABI is a registered EU trademark. This article is published under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
History
Published online: 4 October 2022
Language
English
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
SCITE_
Citations
Export citation
Select the format you want to export the citations of this publication.
EXPORT CITATIONSExport Citation
View Options
View options
Get Access
Login Options
Check if you access through your login credentials or your institution to get full access on this article.