Cockroaches multiply and multiply in Belmar - Cockroach control in Belmar, NJ

Challenge

During a routine servicing of one of my commercial accounts, a Belmar restaurant, I checked a glue trap that I had set during a prior visit. These sticky traps have adhesive material that traps bugs that managed to find their way onto the adhesive. Pest control technicians use glue traps as monitoring devices. They are my “eyes” when I’m not there, so I can determine whether there is insect activity when I return for my next scheduled service visit. They provide me with valuable information about the types of insects infesting the business and the level of infestation.

However, it breaks my heart when I see homeowners or business owners buying these “roach motels” at a hardware store thinking that from the “you can check in but not check out” advertisements that they are an effective  DIY way of resolving a roach infestation. They are not! Glue traps do not address the source of a roach infestation: large nests of hundreds of egg-laying females responsible for producing new generations of hungry, dirty roaches. For that you need effective residual spray applications applied to the smallest cracks and crevices where the roaches hide. In fact, for every roach you find stuck in a glue trap, it’s a safe bet that there are hundreds more scurrying around your kitchen. Roaches stay out of sight unless they are scavenging for food or water, which they do mostly at night when the lights are off. As a result, roach infestations often stay hidden until their populations swell.

This particular glue trap provided a vivid illustration of the reproductive capacity of a pregnant female roach. A single roach is able to give birth to dozens of babies from her egg sac (called an ootheca) that holds a bunch of eggs. These sacs, which are elongated and resemble an elliptical pill you may take for a headache, is a layer of protein that acts as a protective case for the eggs. The number of eggs in a roach sac depends on the type of roach. Unfortunately, German roaches are the prime suspect in an infestation, and these roaches are the most prolific breeders. A single German roach egg sac contains up to 50 eggs, and the female will carry its egg sac up until it is a few hours away from hatching so it is always on the move and it would be rare to come across an egg sac sitting there just waiting to hatch..

Solution

The most successful pest control is a joint effort between the pest control technician and the commercial facility, working together to achieve a pest-free environment. Running a successful restaurant takes a lot of work and a lot of decisions, and it’s my job to handle the pest control side of things so restaurant personnel can focus its energies on its core business of serving its customers. For restaurants, an Integrated Pest Management Plan that includes effective, targeted residual pesticide treatments as well as strict hygiene and cleaning protocols is the most effective method to deal with active insect infestations and to reduce the chance of future infestations. A restaurant simply can’t afford to have bugs!