(Blattella germanica)
Biology:
The German cockroach, also known as the house cockroach, is the species most commonly found in Germany. It is 10-15 mm in size, yellowish-brown with two black longitudinal stripes on the pronotum. Both sexes have long wings, but are unable to fly. The female lays 20 – 40 eggs in an egg packet, which she carries around and provides with moisture and nutrients until shortly before the young hatch.
The dark-colored, initially pinhead-sized young are very similar to the adults, but have no wings. Their development to adulthood takes about 2 – 3 months. Like all cockroaches, the animals love dark, damp hiding places. They are extremely crepuscular and nocturnal and are therefore often not noticed for a long time. They are often found in commercial kitchens, bakeries, shopping centers, slaughterhouses, restaurants, swimming pools, saunas and hospitals. The German cockroach can endure relatively long periods of starvation (longer than a month).The heat-loving animals show only limited activity at temperatures below 12 °C. However, the egg capsules of the German cockroach can withstand temperatures as low as -22 °C without damaging the larvae developing inside them.
In southern Germany, an increasing number of forest cockroaches (Ectobius sp.), which are very similar in appearance to the German cockroach and are often confused with German cockroaches, have been observed entering houses in recent years. However, unlike the German cockroach, these animals do not actually cause any damage as they die after a few days and cannot reproduce in houses. These forest cockroaches can be distinguished from German cockroaches by the fact that the discus of the neck shield of the forest cockroaches does not have parallel dark longitudinal stripes.
Damage:
The German cockroach is not only a health and hygiene pest, but also plays a role as a material pest. Technical systems are particularly affected here, as the animals like to penetrate electronic devices such as computers in search of warm hiding places and can thus cause technical faults.
