Palmetto bug, to most people this bug sounds very strange but in this article, we will elaborate more on the details about everything you need to know concerning palmetto bug. On hearing the name, yes! it does sound very strange to some people or even you! but don’t worry because all the details are fully prepared for you. First, let us look into the facts about this bug.
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Facts About Palmetto Bug
The name palmetto bug is a very common general name, used for some species of cockroaches in the southern part of the U.S and some other bug which names are: croton bug or water bug. Sadly, the names of this bug can be complicated and misunderstood. However, any bug of the same size is referred to as these names.
Moreover, a cockroach popularly called a palmetto bug is associated with the kind of the American cockroach, with the scientific name of “Periplaneta americana“. Matured palmetto bugs are big and have wings for flight, their color is seen to be a dark brown with a creamy-colored anterior segment of the thorax accompanied with dark markings.
These bugs would rather accept soaked surroundings and are easily seen in the sewage system, gutters, trench, woodpiles, and mulch. They normally fly to the lights when dark. this specific action is unsettling for owners of the home who get in contact with the bugs when going into their homes with lights nearby in the evening.
Normally when people discuss the palmetto bug they are talking about the smoky brown cockroach, people living in rural areas have hatred for the palmetto bugs. These strong bugs can live for up to 2 or 3 months without food or water. Palmetto bugs especially the females can live for a year and in some cases longer.
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Palmetto Bug Baby
Palmetto bug as a living organism has a characteristic of reproduction so it can reproduce through the laying of eggs, but you would not fancy seeing a palmetto bug baby. It’s not really about their looks but they look scary, though. But what concerns us is that if you have a baby bug, it means you have a breeding ground in your home.
Like other living organisms, baby palmettos are just a tiny version of the matured palmettos, but the main difference is the baby lacks the wings for flight their matured ones have, the babies can also have a lighter color than the matured ones. The baby bugs have tiny heads and are shaded by a pronotum, their tiny mouth is backward and directed down.
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Palmetto Bug Poop
Has the been a case where you found brown dots littered all over your kitchen? At, first it might seem really strange to a point that you over imagine what such a thing would be doing in your kitchen. Now you have an insight idea of what that might be.
Most times it is very difficult to identify a palmetto bug poop or this bugs infestation anywhere in your home. These pests are always afraid so they prefer getting out of sight until their sense tells them either your out, then they come out to eat and drop off their poop. Seeing the droplets of such bug gives you the creeps, moreover, you should be able to recognize their poop anywhere.
Palmetto bug poop is usually deep brown but sizes may differ due to the shape or type of the palmetto bug. Small palmettos leave tiny marks that look like coffee, some usually look like stains.
The poop of the baby palmetto is always very small cause they are small in size that’s why it is completely easy to confuse them with something else. The palmetto bug poop is solid and looks exactly like brown crystals. Droplets maybe the size of a rice grain and will have circular ends.
Palmetto Bug Size
Palmetto bugs are reddish-brown bugs that are 1.5 inches long, they are the largest of the bugs that attack people’s houses, this type of size is well developed, matured can care for itself and can feed for its nest and they are usually male, it is hard to find a female palmetto bug with such size cause the consume less food than the male.
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Palmetto Bug Bite
It is very rare for a palmetto bug to bite human beings. Just as people eat plants and animals, so does the bug, but in some extreme cases of infestation, the bugs bite people when there is a shortage of food. The bugs bites are not really serious only that a reddish spot or mark is left after the bite.
Palmetto bug carrying with them different disease-causing organisms due to their likelihood of hiding in unclean places like the sewage systems and the drains, and eating decomposed food particles and animals. These bugs can easily pollute the kitchen tables, the tidied plate and, food.
Metabolic infection is nearly-all the regular infection human get from the bug. The evidence which helps people to know that they have the disease are vomiting, stomach ache and diarrhea.
Most humans have a sensitive response to the bugs or their skins that have been shed. The sensitive response includes irritation in the nose that causes sneezing, skin eruption that may cause rashes and in rare cases may cause asthma attacks.
Palmetto Bug Infestation
Palmetto bugs, like to stay together in a large gathering, most times in thousands, get out of sight in a secured environment which is soaked and no light is not found.
They likely find homes under palm leaves, in deep trees, in the midst of short plants even among firewood. The palmetto bug infestation may also occur in the foundation of the house and also in the roof.
It is most common to see them in the nights when they are fully strong, at this time the palmetto bug usually comes out to look for food. However, like normal bugs, they will feed on anything be it decomposed food particles in the trash or the gum from books. They mostly like sugary foods and containing carbohydrates.
Palmetto Bug Egg
The female palmettos can produce one egg seal of 14 to 16 eggs weekly and may position the eggs anywhere, the number of eggs positioned is from 15 to 90 egg seal for eternity.
The egg seal is lower than a half inches long and it is dark brown in nature, the female normally keeps it out of sight but it is always close to food, later in less than two months, the baby will open up the eggshell and come out.
The palmetto bug nymph has a color that is grayish brown in nature when they come out of the eggshell and gradually it continues to become dark and then becomes brown when they peel. The bugs normally peel 9 to 13 times before it matures.
Palmetto Bug Habitat
Palmetto bugs normally live together in enormous number as a result, most times they can be in hundreds or thousands, and they stay out of sight in wet and moist places. These bugs can at times be caught shielding themselves from attack under the large leaves or decayed logs.
The palmetto bugs try to survive in dry and hot places but instead they prefer to live in wet and moist places, that is why they choose Florida.
Palmetto Bug Comparison
There are some bugs that look like the palmetto bug, as we mentioned earlier the name palmetto bug looks alike with some bugs like the croton bug and the water bug. However, we are comparing it with the roach.
Palmetto Bug vs Roach Appearance, Differences, and Identification
The roach here is mostly known as a cockroach. The palmetto bugs are referred to as the outdoor American cockroach while the bugs that usually attack our houses are known as the indoor German cockroach.
Appearance: In the Palmetto bug, it has big wings for flight, while in the cockroach, not all the bugs can fly, in the palmetto bug their color is seen to be dark brown, with a cream-colored prothorax while in the cockroaches, the coloration is a light brown and the prothorax is dark brown. the palmetto bug has powerful limbs for taking off into the air for flight while in the cockroach not all have the limbs for flight.
Differences: In these two bugs there are major differences which will be spotted below:
- The palmetto bugs have big wings for flight and the roaches, not all the roaches have wings for flight.
- The palmetto bugs have a dark brown color and the roaches have a light brown color.
- The palmetto bug lives in wood while the roaches live in the home.
Identification: It is known that for people to identify between palmetto bug and roaches, a person has to know the following:
- The palmetto bugs poop is brown in color while that of the roach is black.
- When a person is bitten by a palmetto bug the spot becomes red while most roaches do not bite.
- All palmetto bugs can fly while most roaches cannot fly.
- The prothorax of a palmetto bug is cream in color while the cockroach has a dark brown prothorax.
How to Get Rid of Palmetto Bug
The best way and the easiest way to get rid of the palmetto bug is to spray the house with an insecticide. To really get rid of them is to spray the exterior walls of the building including the foundation while in the interior part of the house you spray on openings and cracks all through the house.
However, ensure all cracks and openings are sealed, do well to get rid of stagnant water, damp, and moist areas in your home. Also, natural pest control agents like insects and wall geckos can be used to get rid of this bug.
Palmetto Bugs Insecticide
There are several insecticides that can be used to get rid of this bug. These insecticides are strong chemicals that help to keep this bug out from your home when applying this insecticide, ensure that all safety measures are observed this implies that you have to cover edible items, children are to be kept out, and flames should be avoided. The insecticides used to get rid of these bugs are D-Fense SC, and Boric acid
Palmetto Bugs Exterminator
There are several pest control companies which help exterminate palmetto bug, some of them offer low price services starting from $8 per month together with kits to help you get rid of this bug.
The kits are:
- Roach control kits
- Delta dust insecticide
- Riptide pyrethrin ULV
- Gentrol Point Source
- Sector misting concentrate
- Cyper WSP
- Evergreen pyrethrum dust
- Pyrocide 100
- Pyrocide 300
- Shockwave fogging concentrate
- BorActin insecticide powder
- Vector-Ban plus
- OMRI natural insect control kit
- Naprovit PRO plus
- Demand G Granules
- Vamprye misting concentrate
- PestXpert home barrier insect killer RTU
- Dos flea and crawling insect spray
- Jt eaton answer boric acid dust
These kits can be purchase here.
Conclusion
We believe after you have gone through this article, you will be able to understand everything about the palmetto bug and how to keep them completely out of your home. To contribute, suggest or enable us to help you, do well to contact us or drop a comment below.
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