THE WOOD ROACH: COTTAGE COUNTRY’S OUTDOOR COCKROACH

We’re going to let you in on a secret about Ontario’s gorgeous cottage country – they have cockroaches too!

While no one likes to talk about cockroaches, they are a common pest issue in many areas, including the cottage. The Pennsylvania Wood Cockroach, also nicknamed ‘cedar bug’, ‘pine bug’ or ‘wood roach’ is an outdoor cockroach that differs from its cousins, the German Cockroach, American Cockroach and Oriental Cockroach:

• Wood roaches are active, day and night and do not scamper off if they are discovered.
• They live and breed outdoors in wooded areas, favouring dead trees, log stumps and loose bark.
• They don’t pose health concerns like other cockroach species (who live, breed and scavenge in unsanitary environments) do.
• They cannot survive indoors, so even if they wander or fly inside, they will not last long.

If you spot wood roaches in your cottage, home or business, the best thing to do to get rid of them is to use a vacuum to suck them up or sweep them up and toss them back outside. Pest proofing will also help keep them outside. Here are some pest-proofing tips:

• Seal exterior gaps and cracks.
• Repair loose and broken screens.
• Install screens over all vents that lead outside.
• Install door sweeps on your exterior doors.
• Minimize exterior lighting directly around your structure, which attract males wood roaches.

In some cases, wood roach populations can be huge and an ongoing problem, which can cause concern or annoyance. In these instances, the best approach to take is to contact an experienced pest control company for help.