If you find a Surinam cockroach within your home, they are not a common annoyance. In tropical climates, it is a pest to plantations and gardens.
In heated greenhouses, where large numbers can hide during the day and emerge at night to feed on the vulnerable parts of plants, it can be particularly troublesome.
How to Identify Surinam Cockroach
Burrowing cockroach Pycnoscelus surinamensis is the species of cockroach known as the greenhouse cockroach Pycnoscelus surinamensis.
Common in tropical and subtropical places worldwide, it has also been seen in isolated populations in cooler climes, where protective habitats like greenhouses give sanctuary for individuals accidentally delivered into the soil of plants. It is an Indomalayan endemic plant pest.
As a result of its sexual progenitor, P. indicus producing numerous clonal strains, the species’ populations are virtually completely female and it reproduces by parthenogenesis.
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Picture of Surinam Cockroach
Habitat
In addition to loose soil, humus, mold, compost piles, and lawn thatch. Surinam cockroach a burrowing cockroach can be found under rocks, rotting limbs, rubbish, and other waste.
Peridomestic means that it can only be found near human-made structures or crops, and synanthropic means that it lives in close proximity to humans.
Although it is a common cockroach on damp soil throughout its range, it has an unusually high rate of cutaneous water loss.
Size
Approximately 18–25 mm (0.71–0.98 in) long, adults are brown to black on the underside and have glossy, paler brown wings on the topsides.
A thin, pale white stripe runs down the pronotum’s front margin. Male adults have longer wings than females, which completely cover the belly, despite the fact that both sexes are ineffective flyers.
Nymphs are born with a head circumference of around 4.5 mm (0.18 in) and a translucent white body with orange-brown mandibles and spines.
Over time, the exoskeleton hardens to a glossy brown color when exposed to air, but the underside and legs remain translucent.
Reproduction
For most species, reproduction takes place ovoviviparous, with the fertilized egg being carried inside the uterus until it hatches into nymphs, which are then delivered, almost always at night or in darkness.
It’s possible that the ootheca may be released too early, resulting in eggs that are no longer viable. Each segment of the ootheca, which measures 9×3.5×2.5 mm, contains 30 to 36 eggs.
Egg case fragments are promptly consumed by the newborn nymphs as they are being released, sometimes with the rear limbs, at the time of the nymphs’ birth.
Read also: What Is a Surinam Cockroach?
Where Do Surinam Cockroaches Live?
A cosmopolitan cockroach, Surinam cockroaches are found in tropical and subtropical regions around the world, as well as in greenhouses or other facilities heated during the colder seasons.
With tropical plant shipments, it can spread to greenhouses.
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How to Get Rid of Surinam Cockroach
The prevention and control of Surinam cockroaches are the same as for other cockroach species. While the Surinam cockroach prefers to stay outside, it will occasionally wander inside in search of food and water.
- Maintaining your home’s plumbing is the first step to keeping Surinam cockroaches out of your house.
- If you have indoor plants, make sure you water them appropriately and don’t let them become too dry.
- Your yard should be watered sparingly to avoid attracting the Surinam cockroach, just like puddles.
- Make sure your home is adequately sealed to keep them out.
- Verify that all doors and windows are closed and weather-stripped; if necessary, have the screens and weather-stripping replaced.
- Using a finer mesh cover for the attic vent and dryer, and chimneys can help keep pests at bay.
Lastly
Plants are the primary food source for the cockroaches found in Surinam. They pose a considerable risk to the health of the vegetation that can be found in backyards, greenhouses, and atriums.
The most efficient technique to get rid of this particular kind of cockroach is to eliminate any potential harborages, such as piles of leaves or wood. This will prevent the cockroaches from breeding and spreading their disease.
In addition to this, it is necessary to fill in and seal as many exterior cracks as possible, check that all foundation and attic vents have screens that are a snug fit, and fill in and seal any holes in the exterior that are too large for a pencil.
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