Why is this cockroach white? Roach Control in Neptune, NJ

Challenge

I was performing a roach clean out in the commercial kitchen of a Neptune restaurant. During a clean-out, the pest control tech uses a micro-injector and fogger to access deep crack and crevice harborage areas and flush roaches out of their hiding places. This treatment is highly effective for directed contact of applications in difficult-to-reach areas of restaurants like industrial dishwashers and similar equipment. 

After the clean-out, during my inspection of the area after treatment, I observed a white roach. White roaches are not albino cockroaches. In fact, there is not a single documented case of the genetic condition of albinism, the lack of pigmentation, in these insects. This particular white roach was a brown German cockroach that just happened to have molted, or shed, its outer shell. When a roaches old outer skin splits open, there is brand new skin underneath that’s soft and pliable at first and is without pigmentation. It takes several hours for this new white body to gradually harden and for the pigmentation to be restored into its familiar brown coating. Although all roaches are white for a brief window of time after molting, it is somewhat unusual to see one before it has regained its familiar brown shell. 

Roaches are persistent and resilient pests whose populations can rapidly expand into an entrenched infestation. One single German cockroach egg case can hold up to four dozen eggs. And with their lightening fast growth and reproduction cycle, a single roach can have hundreds of direct offspring. Commercial kitchens need to enforce strict hygiene and cleaning protocols as part of an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) plan that includes regular treatments and inspections. Those restaurants that are proactive are the ones that either avoid pest infestations entirely, or at least identify and resolve them quickly. The best course of action with roach infestations is prevention through proper sanitation protocols and regular treatments and inspections. However, infestations can happen despite the best efforts of everyone. An infestation may not even be the restaurant’s fault. For example, roaches may be hiding in food deliveries. But by staying on top of things and working as a team with a pest control professional who is experienced with these types of facilities, a restaurant can keep its kitchen pest free. 

Solution

Roaches are persistent and resilient pests whose populations can rapidly expand into an entrenched infestation. One single German cockroach egg case can hold up to four dozen eggs. And with their lightening fast growth and reproduction cycle, a single roach can have hundreds of direct offspring. Commercial kitchens need to enforce strict hygiene and cleaning protocols as part of an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) plan that includes regular treatments and inspections. Those restaurants that are proactive are the ones that either avoid pest infestations entirely, or at least identify and resolve them quickly. The best course of action with roach infestations is prevention through proper sanitation protocols and regular treatments and inspections. However, infestations can happen despite the best efforts of everyone. An infestation may not even be the restaurant’s fault. For example, roaches may be hiding in food deliveries. But by staying on top of things and working as a team with a pest control professional who is experienced with these types of facilities, a restaurant can keep its kitchen pest free.