INSECT: Adults have wings but seldom fly in the northeast. Important types are the German cockroach (small – to about 1 inch), and the American cockroach (large – to about 2 inches). American cockroaches are called “palmetto bugs” in the south. Our kitchens are warm and have food and water sources, making them natural places for some pests to thrive. The most problematic kitchen pests are cockroaches, unsavory creatures that disgust nearly everyone. Many people mistakenly believe that only “dirty” people get cockroaches, but this is a myth. Every home or commercial kitchen has the potential to have a cockroach problem.

Once a cockroach infestation gets started, its severity is usually determined by the resources available for cockroach survival–food, water and harborage–are factors we often control. The biggest cockroach problems are often in homes where there is a clutter problem because the more stuff people have, especially in the kitchen, the more hiding places for roaches. But, clean, neat and tidy kitchens can still have roaches. For example, cockroaches can hide underneath the labels of canned goods and eat the paste off the labels.