Cockroach Control

Pest Czar always recommends our ongoing Czar Guard protection program for cockroach and other pest issues. With Czar Guard, you will be covered for cockroaches and a variety of other pests all year long. However, we also offer one-time cockroach services if the customer requests it. One-time cockroach services come with a 30 day warranty, so if you need additional services, you can call us for a free reservice after the initial treatment has taken full effect.

Cockroaches In Maryland

There are three primary types of cockroach pests found in Maryland: German Cockroaches, Oriental Cockroaches, and American Cockroaches.

German Cockroaches

The German Cockroach is the most common cockroach found in Maryland homes. In addition to being a nuisance, it has been implicated in outbreaks of illness, the transmission of a variety of pathogenic organisms including at least one parasitic protozoan, and allergic reactions in many people. They are notorious “hitchhikers” and can be brought in or can enter through walls of neighboring structures.

Adult German cockroaches are about 1/2 to 5/8 inch long. They are light brown to tan in color except for two dark, almost parallel longitudinal stripes/bars/streaks on their back pronotal shield. Ootheca (egg capsules) are yellowish brown but usually two-toned, with the paler end attached to the female, about 1/4 to 3/8 inch long with about fifteen to twenty eggs on each side. On average, the female will produce about five oothecae averaging thirty to forty eggs each.

German Cockroaches are often found in warm and humid places such as kitchens and bathrooms but can be found in other areas like closets, utility rooms, laundry rooms and rooms.

Oriental Cockroaches

Oriental Cockroaches, also known as waterbugs, are commonly found outdoors in Maryland. Adult males are about 1 inch long whereas females about 1-1/4 inch. Their color is usually shiny black but may vary to dark reddish brown. The ootheca is reddish brown when deposited, then changes to black, with usually eight eggs on each side. On average, the female will produce about eight oothecae. They are much despised because of their strong “roachy” odor in areas they infest.

Oriental cockroaches survive quite well outdoors and spend considerable time there. Around homes, this pest is typically found under debris, stones, and leaf litter, but also in wall and porch voids. Indoors, these cockroaches are usually found in damp crawl spaces and basements.

They usually enter buildings via door thresholds, under sliding glass doors, along utility pipes and air ducts, and through floor drains. Indoors, they are typically found in crawl spaces, cellars, basements, and on the first floor but at times on higher floors, especially around water pipes. They feed on all kinds of food and decaying organic matter but prefer to feed on starchy foods.

American Cockroaches

Adults American cockroaches are about 1-3/8 to 2-1/8 inches long, making them the largest cockroach encountered in this area. Adults are reddish brown and fully winged. On average, the female will produce about nine to ten oothecae (egg cases) with each containing fourteen to sixteen eggs.

Although American Cockroaches are found in residences, they are much more common in larger commercial buildings such as restaurants, bakeries, grocery stores, food processing plants, hospitals, etc. They typically infest food storage and food-prep areas, basements and steam rooms / tunnels. In residential homes they can be found in laundry rooms/closets, furnace/utility rooms, closets, basements and crawl spaces. They can enter structures by being brought in, by coming up from the sewer system via drains, or by occasional mass migration from other structures, dumpsters, etc.