Sewer roaches: American cockroaches
Large, reddish brown, up to two inches, and able to fly short distances.
They live in Tempe's sewer lines, storm drains and underground utility vaults, and they come up into homes through floor drains, shower and tub drains, gaps around plumbing and under doors.
They are most noticeable during long stretches of extreme heat and after monsoon storms flood the sewers.
Treatment
- Exterior treatment around the foundation, doorways, garage and plumbing cleanouts
- Bait where they forage
- Sealing gaps around pipes under sinks and behind appliances
- Drain advice: keep traps full, run water weekly in unused drains and use drain covers
- Treating sewer cleanouts and accessible areas where they gather
Yard roaches: Turkestan cockroaches
Turkestan roaches are now one of the most common roaches across the Valley. They live outdoors in water meter boxes, irrigation valve boxes, block wall cracks, compost piles and under pavers and rock.
Males are tan with long wings and fly to porch lights; females are dark brown with cream markings and short wings. They wander indoors under doors and garage doors at night.
Treatment
- Treating meter boxes, valve boxes and other outdoor harborage
- Exterior perimeter and threshold treatment
- What decides the cockroaches plan in Tempe is the building near South Tempe, and the irrigation valve is on that list.
- Yellow or LED porch lights to draw fewer males
Kitchen roaches: German cockroaches
Small, light brown, with two dark stripes behind the head. They live indoors near food and water: behind fridges and stoves, in cabinet hinges, under sinks and in appliances.
In Tempe they are most common in apartment buildings around ASU, Apache Boulevard and University Drive, where they move between units along shared plumbing, and they arrive in moving boxes, used furniture and appliances.
Treatment
- Close inspection with a flashlight to find where they cluster
- Gel bait in cracks, hinges and behind appliances
- Insect growth regulator to stop young roaches from breeding
- Crack-and-crevice treatment, never sprays across counters
- Sticky monitors to track activity
- Follow-up about two weeks later to re-bait and check
Apartments, landlords and move-in season
August move-in brings a spike in German roach calls as boxes and furniture move between buildings.
In an apartment, treating one unit while the neighbors stay infested means roaches walk back in.
The best results come when the manager arranges inspection and treatment of connected units on the same schedule.
Tenants get a short prep list: clear cabinets under sinks, move small appliances, and do not spray over the bait.
Roaches and scorpions
Roaches and crickets are scorpion food. Controlling outdoor roaches is part of controlling scorpions, which is why many Tempe homeowners combine them in one service. See scorpion control.
The cockroaches check in Tempe covers the block fence and the stored firewood on the same walk-through.
- Keep drains used or covered and traps full of water
- Clean behind appliances and keep food sealed
- Fix leaks under sinks and around the water heater
- Do not leave pet food or dishes out overnight
- Get rid of cardboard boxes after moving
A Tempe home with cockroaches at the utility chase needs that spot named when you call, so the visit starts in the right place.
We do not fog homes or spray countertops. We do not treat Turkestan or sewer roaches as if they were German roaches.
And we do not call a German roach job finished without a follow-up.
Older homes and cast iron plumbing
Many homes in North Tempe and the neighborhoods south of University Drive still have original cast iron drain lines from the 1950s and 1960s.
Over time cast iron cracks and corrodes, and sewer roaches can come up through those cracks under the slab or through dry floor drains in laundry rooms and garages.
If big roaches keep appearing in the same room despite treatment, a plumber's camera inspection of the drain line can be worth it. The technician will tell you if the pattern points that way.
After a monsoon storm
When a monsoon storm drops an inch of rain in half an hour, Tempe's storm drains and sewers fill quickly and American roaches leave in large numbers.
A burst of roaches the day after a storm is normal. Keeping door sweeps tight and drains covered during monsoon season limits how many reach the house.
Restaurants and businesses
Mill Avenue, the ASU area and Tempe's commercial corridors have a lot of restaurants, bars and food businesses.
Commercial roach service follows the same methods, scheduled around business hours, with written records for the manager.
Cockroaches signs in Tempe
Call when you see German roaches in daylight, or when big roaches keep coming up from drains or under doors. Call now.
Cockroach quick facts for Tempe
- American cockroach (*Periplaneta americana*): up to 2 inches, reddish brown, lives in sewers and drains and comes up through dry traps.
- Turkestan cockroach (*Shelfordella lateralis*): males are tan and fly to lights; females are dark with pale stripes and live in water meter boxes, block walls and irrigation boxes.
- German cockroach (*Blattella germanica*): about 1/2 inch with two dark stripes, lives indoors in kitchens and bathrooms and spreads in apartments.
- Heat: summer heat drives roaches into sewers and toward cool, damp spots in homes.
- Treatment: outdoor roaches get perimeter and drain work; German roaches get gel bait, an insect growth regulator and a follow-up visit.