Common Roaches Found in Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma

American roaches are reddish-brown in color with light markings behind the head.

Size: 1-1/2 inches in length. This is the largest of the peridomestic cockroaches.

Behavior: Although these are outdoor roaches, they will migrate inside by crawling or flying into structures.

They can also enter through the plumbing. Trees or shrubs located alongside buildings or trees with branches overhanging roofs facilitate the entry of this roach into the home. The American roach’s life cycle averages 600 days, and each adult female can produce approximately 150 offspring in her lifetime. Both males and females can fly. The American roach is omnivorous and will eat almost anything. It prefers sweets and has been observed eating paper, boots, hair, bread, fruit, and other dead insects.

Oriental roaches are dark brown to black in color. Males have wings covering 3/4 of their body, and the female has very short wings. However, both are unable to fly.

Size: Approximately 1 inch in length.

Behavior: Oriental roaches are often found feeding on garbage, sewage, or decaying organic matter.

They will eat almost anything, but they prefer a high starch diet. Oriental cockroaches tend to live near the ground in warm, damp areas. They are more slow-moving than other species, and they also give off an unpleasant odor.

German roaches are brown to dark brown in color. They have two distinct parallel bands running the length of their pronotum. The sexes can be distinguished by the more slender body of the male.

Size: Adults are approximately 1/2 inch in length.

Behavior: German roaches are the most widespread of all cockroaches in the United States

They complete their lifecycle in approximately 100 days, and they breed continuously (with many overlapping generations present at any one time). Under ideal conditions, it has been estimated that one female German roach can be the cause of a population explosion of over 1 million more German roaches.

Brown banded roaches are light brown to glossy dark brown in color. There are two pale, transverse stripes on the abdomen of the cockroach.

Size: Approximately 5/8 inch in length.

Behavior: Brown banded cockroach females deposit egg capsules in clusters on furniture, draperies, wall decorations, shelving, and ceilings.

The egg capsule contains 14 to 16 eggs, and a female produces 10 to 20 capsules in her lifetime. They feed on starchy materials and will even eat non-food items such as nylon stockings. They are nocturnal, and while both cockroaches can jump, only males can fly.