What Do Cockroach Eggs Look Like?

Learn What Cockroach Eggs Look Like & How to Get Rid of Them Before an Infestation Occurs

Cockroaches love humidity, excess moisture, and heat — so it should come as no surprise that the spring and summer months provide perfect conditions for cockroaches to breed and thrive.

With an ongoing birth cycle, one generation of cockroaches can deliver up to 30,000 new cockroaches annually.

Considering the rapid reproduction rate of this invasive house pest, a couple of cockroaches can become a serious problem within a few weeks.

Cockroach eggs can be a sign of an infestation. It’s therefore extremely important for homeowners and business owners to know how to identify cockroach eggs and when to call for professional help.

Identifying Cockroach Eggs

Cockroach eggs are stored inside pill-shaped egg cases called oothecas. Depending on the species, one ootheca can contain approximately 40 eggs.

Oothecas appear as tiny, brown capsules that are approximately 1/4-inch in length.

Under the right conditions — hot, humid climate, exposure to moisture, and access to plenty of food, a female cockroach may produce a new egg case every two to three weeks.

The egg case remains attached to the underside of her abdomen until a day before it hatches.

closeup of a dark brown oriental female cockroach with an ootheca attached to her abdomen crawling on tan pebbles

When an egg case is due to hatch, the mother cockroach places it in an enclosed area, like a baseboard.

Where to Find Cockroach Eggs

Cockroaches store their eggs in dark, enclosed, and moist areas or locations with convenient access to food. This includes:

Appliances like dishwashers, stoves, and refrigerators
Drawers
Cupboards
Pantries
Drains
Plumbing cabinets
Boiler rooms or water heater closets
Trash cans

Cockroaches feel most secure when snugly surrounded by surfaces on all sides, hence why they enjoy hiding in the tight cavities, cracks, crevices, and pipes of homes.

Despite keeping a cleanly space, cockroaches can still enter the home through a number of different ways.

Cockroaches invade households by hiding inside furniture, luggage, cardboard boxes, grocery bags and packages. It is important to always inspect bags, packages, or boxes prior to entering the home.

The pest can also gain entry by way of drainage systems — like sinks or bathtubs, typically by moving along the pipes up through the floor or drain.

a single dark brown cockroach crawling up the side of a silver sink next to sink drain

And even though these pests have wings, they aren’t the best at flying. So, it’s vital to identify each point of entry, aside from an open window.

Cockroaches can also enter the home through points of entry like cracks in the foundation of the building or the siding.

In multi-family homes especially, cockroaches can enter the building through shared walls with points of access or exposed pipes that lead inside.

This nocturnal pest loves humidity and warm temperatures, invading the crevices and cracks of a home during the day, then munching on crumbs and other accessible sources of food during the nighttime.

How to Get Rid of Cockroaches

Getting rid of cockroaches and the eggs is necessary to managing an infestation and protecting your household or business from the bacterial diseases the pest carries, such as hepatitis.

When it comes to efficiently removing cockroach eggs, do not attempt to use dangerous chemicals — like boric acid, or squashing the egg cases, as in many instances the eggs may survive.

One way to get rid of cockroach eggs is to use a vacuum with a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter to gather and suck up the oothecas.

But, unless you’ve found all of the cockroach eggs — and the adults, then the infestation has not been eliminated.

Cockroach eggs are resilient and just dispensing them from the home is not enough. Once the eggs hatch, the cockroaches often return to their birthplace to mate and reproduce. Freezing the cockroach eggs typically kills them completely.

While some do-it-yourself methods may be useful in destroying the eggs and young offspring, cockroaches are extremely resilient. Without help from a licensed pest control expert, reoccurrence of an infestation is high.

Cockroach Control & Removal with Catseye Pest Control

Cockroaches are a major nuisance — able to survive under difficult circumstances and reproduce exponentially in favorable ones, the pest is not easy to get rid of without assistance from a professional.

Which makes it vital to call a pest control specialist to completely solve a cockroach infestation. Catseye Pest Control offers cockroach control and protection for a variety of cockroach species, namely:

This customizable service includes a complimentary inspection of the afflicted property, personalized treatment of the area, complete removal of the cockroaches and cockroach eggs, and flexible emergency visits.

For additional protection, our cockroach control service uses Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices to eliminate the invasive pests from the property and reinforce the home to prevent future infestations.

The IPM service uses environmentally friendly methods that are safe for children and pets.

Contact us for a free inspection and to learn how our trained technicians can help protect your home or business from unwanted infestations.

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