What Should We Do If There are Baby Roaches in Our Home and Garden?

You may be worried when you know that there are unwanted guests in your garden and your house, especially if they are baby roaches. Most people have probably seen the appearance of adult roaches, but the appearance of baby ones might be uncommon for some.

What do Baby Roaches Look Like?

What may surprise you is that baby roaches look completely different from adult ones. They’re also known as nymphs, and the color of baby roaches, decided by their species, can be gray or white. Compared to adult roaches, the color of baby ones is lighter. In addition, babies have no wings and are a smaller size than adults.

If you don’t immediately deal with the baby roaches in your home, then the number of roaches will grow significantly after just a couple of months. Once this occurs, it will take much more time, effort, and expense to eliminate them all.

So, What do You Have to Do with Baby Roaches?

Fortunately, you will be happy to know that to get rid of them, burning the house down or moving will not be necessary! To control an infestation of baby roaches easily and effectively, all you need to do is to learn a little about them and then follow our simple instructions.

Where do Baby Roaches Come from?

Roach Reproduction

As I have mentioned above, if baby roaches exist in your home, they will definitely cause many different problems. If you see baby roaches running around, this means that adult roaches are also there to reproduce baby ones.

Typically, approximately 16 eggs will be generated by a female roach each time she lays. Notably, in her prime, a female roach can reproduce once or twice every week. Throughout her lifespan, her average rate of reproduction is once a month.

American roaches are able to live for a year or even a year and a half. It is obvious that their long life expectancy together with their rapid birth rate create favorable conditions for roaches to multiply hugely in number. On average, an adult female roach is likely to produce several hundred baby roaches, and then, a new cycle will start again.

How do Female Roaches Lay Their Eggs?

Only female roaches can produce eggs. They are covered by egg cases, also known as the ootheca or egg sack. This cover is the layer responsible for protecting the eggs. The protein, which toughens and serves as a shell is the main ingredient which makes it firm. There are some differences in the eggs of different roach species. However, we only mention 2 species here as these are the most common today:

¾ German Roach Eggs:

German roaches appear mainly in the UK and can be seen in commercial buildings, domestic properties or any place outside, especially in compost areas or rubbish bins. One notable feature of this species is that their oothecae (or egg sacks) are kept in their bodies until the time when they hatch into baby roaches.

For this species, an egg sack can hold up to 50 eggs. This is the reason why the number of German roaches increases so quickly.

It is estimated that about 3 to 4 weeks are needed to create an ootheca. Compared to other species of roach, the German roach only needs a very short time to develop their eggs after being hatched. Moreover, to develop into an adult roach from a nymph, the average time needed is only about 36 days. After that, a new cycle starts, and the population grows rapidly.

In comparison with eggs of other species of roaches, the German roach eggs are thinner. Usually, a nymph will need 5 hours to get out of the capsule. In the early hours after hatching, the color of a nymph may be white. However, after being exposed to the air for a few hours, its exoskeleton will become darker because its body will have absorbed a large amount of oxygen. In case the change in color doesn’t happen, the adult roach will become albino, a scenario which rarely occurs.

¾ American Roach Eggs:

Similar to the German roach species, the American roach eggs develop in the oothecae and are laid in the same way. Compared to the number of eggs the German roach can produce, the number of eggs of the American roach may be nearly doubled and can reach up to 90.

The egg case of this roach species is nearly 0.9 cm in size and is long in shape. Before getting out of the ootheca, a nymph will require about 6 to 8 weeks to develop and become bigger. The nymphs of the American roach species require more time to become mature, and the average time needed is approximately from 6 to 8 weeks. After that, the nymphs will grow into adult roaches. To become a fully developed roach, a nymph will have to go through 13 stages of molting. In other words, a roach will change its skin after each phase. In general, this transformation process requires at least 5 months. On average, the number of roaches the female American roach can produce throughout her life span is about 150.

Where do Roaches Lay Eggs?

Generally, most roach species will choose a place to lay their eggs in which they can stay away from other dangerous insects. In addition, those places must also provide enough oxygen for them. Such places may be:

The Risks of Baby Roaches

Not only do baby roaches bring you social embarrassment and fear, but they also silently contribute to the deteriorating health of your family. Baby roaches by themselves do not cause any disease, but they are vectors or carriers for millions of bacteria and infectious agents that can lead to an array of diseases from diarrhea to food poisoning.

Giant Infestation

As I said above, an influx of baby roaches should be viewed as a huge problem. They can survive under most conditions by consuming anything available. In addition to the food we use every day, they can even eat fallen hair, leather, paper, soap, glue, fecal matter, dead animals, and plants.

It’s important not to leave food out in the open uncovered because baby roaches will cause damage to it and make it unusable. They will leave their fecal matter, hair, dead skin as well as some empty egg shells on the open food.

If you have already discovered their existence, to handle this problem is really a difficult task. Nevertheless, if you don’t deal with them and let the number of baby roaches grow uncontrollably, you will have to spend a lot of money, time and effort to get rid of them.

Cause Diseases

Baby roaches by themselves don’t have diseases, but they are the main vector for transmitting certain diseases from one species to another. Each different species of roach is able to carry a different species of bacteria and people may become ill if infected with these bacteria.

The bacteria and viruses that the roaches carry can have a severe impact on the health of you and your family. For example, they may cause diarrhea, dysentery, as well as some other infectious diseases.

Roaches are also seen as a potential danger to those who already have problems with their respiratory systems, such as asthma or allergies.

Food Poisoning:

When food poisoning occurs on a large scale, people have discovered that if the affected area has no further infestation of roaches, the number of new cases of poisoning recorded will decrease significantly. This indicates that the insect is a source of bacteria carrying diseases, including salmonella, a type of bacterium that causes both food poisoning and typhoid.

What should We Do to Get Rid of Baby Roaches?

If the number of baby roaches in your home is growing so rapidly that you can see it clearly, then you will have to initiate effective measures to get rid of them efficiently and quickly. Below are some tips to support you in eradicating baby roaches effectively and efficiently from your home.

1. Seal Up Holes and Cracks

To prevent baby roaches from intruding into your house, you should use foam and caulk to seal cracks. In case there are no nests yet established by roaches in your home, caulking is considered the top priority to prevent them. First of all, you have to locate potential entrances through which baby roaches can go. Generally, places to seal may be:

Be sure to check such areas carefully and thoroughly to find any holes or cracks, and then mark them with a cross. For greater convenience, you can use an old tooth comb to do this job. After marking, it is time to use foam or caulk to seal up the gaps.

2. Sanitize the Home

Because baby roaches love water and humid conditions, you are advised to clean any place with spilled water right away. Also, it is better to clean up all enclosed damp areas as well as surfaces. Keep your home as clean as possible, particularly inside kitchen food cupboards, behind the fridge and stove, and in the bathroom. You can hire home cleaning service to do this task for you.

3. Fix Any Water Leaks.

The main factor that attracts baby roaches is water and moisture leaking from cracks on pipes. That’s the reason why baby roaches often live around the sink. One interesting truth you may not know is that without food, some types of roaches are still able to live for a few months. However, they can only survive for a few days without water. Therefore, you should repair all leaks and cracks in your home- even the smallest ones. In addition, after using the sink, you shouldn’t leave water inside. Remember not to water indoor plants too much, either.

4. Eliminate All Roach Food Sources.

Some favorite substances of baby roaches include sugar and carbohydrates that can be contained in plants, soaps or food.

In case you have pets, you should use plastic or glass containers to put both your pets’ and family’s food in. Wash pet food bowls as soon as possible after they have eaten. Make sure that food containers have lids that fit tightly. If you are storing food in boxes, bags or any material which baby roaches can easily get into, don’t hesitate to invest in better quality airtight containers.

It is advised to use liquid soap dispensers instead of bar soap. Furthermore, one tip to protect your plants from baby roaches is to cover your plant pots and holders with a little petroleum jelly.

It is better to use containers with tightly fitting lids to hold recycling materials, compost and garbage, and to empty out the garbage regularly.

5. Bring in the Experts.

If you are facing a huge infestation of baby roaches and you would like help with eliminating them, then you need to contact the pest removal experts or natural pest control companies to ask for help.

6. Use Roach Traps

Most experts advise you to apply traps instead of using powders or bug sprays. The reason is simply that you don’t know exactly where they are or how many baby roaches there are. If you don’t see any critters in your trap, you can change the position of the trap until you locate their position After finding the baby roaches’ shelter, you can then use sprays or powders.

7. Chemicals

If you are facing a huge infestation of baby roaches, then using chemicals is suggested. One substance that can get rid of baby roaches quickly and effectively is boric acid. Nevertheless, you should be careful when using it because this acid is very harmful to your plants in the garden. If you prefer not to use boric acid, then hydramethylnol and imidaclopri-based bait traps are also good choices. Such traps should be placed near wall borders. Another good option is an outdoor roach spray containing imidacloprid, but do remember to read the instructions carefully before using. This roach killer will be useful to eliminate baby roaches quickly.

Always remember to spray pesticides on a calm, windless day. Be careful to follow any package directions carefully to prevent any harm to plants, pets, or your family.

8. Regular Raiding

Clearly, detecting and eliminating baby roaches is a tricky task once they’ve established a foothold. That’s why the only really effective protective measure is to check and spray your house frequently even though you may not have seen any baby roaches yet.

9. Kill it with kindness … or just kill it.

In case baby roaches appear in your house, but you don’t want to use harmful insecticides because of their potential risks, then you could try a solution made of water and soap to get rid of roaches. (Besides, this solution also helps me clean my countertops.)

The soap will suffocate them and they’ll die because roaches breathe through the skin. Otherwise, sprinkling borax powder in their areas will help kill them, as the borax will get into their bodies, they’ll clean it off, and they’ll die. Containers of icing sugar mixed with plaster of paris powder are another way that’s said to be an effective bait plus killer, as the plaster hardens inside them once eaten.

To sum up

The fast rate of growth, rapid birth rate as well as the potential risk to your health may be enough to persuade you to take strong action aimed at preventing and controlling these harmful insects efficiently. The above-mentioned methods are considered simple and confirmed ways to prevent a massive infestation of baby roaches. No matter what measures you take, the goal is to eliminate all roaches in your home completely and safely.

The elimination of all the baby roaches right away is impossible, so you need to be patient and persistent with your measures. We hope these tips have helped, and wish you all the best as you eliminate these pests from your home.