Cockroach pictures: Click on image for a bigger size.

APPEARANCE:

Wood roaches are very similar in appearance to the American roach;
flat, oval body, long antennae, spiny legs, chestnut brown color.
They are slightly smaller than the American Cockroach, about 3/4 to 1 1/4 inch long.

The adults, especially the males, appear tan because of the color of their wings.
Adults and large nymphs of the wood roach can be recognized by a pale,
creamy white or transparent stripe on their outer edge.
The pale edge extends onto the first 1/3 of the front wings of the adults.

DIET:

They prefer decaying organic matter.

HABITS AND BIOLOGY:

The Woods roaches are attracted to light, much different than the other roaches.
Females deposit their egg capsules outdoors under old logs, stumps and firewood.
Females produce about 30 capsules containing up to 32 eggs each.
The egg incubation period is about one month, with nymphs hatching
in the summer and maturing the following spring (May or June).
There is one generation per year and, in some cases,
the life cycle takes two years.

At dusk, males may begin taking short flights and are often seen in the headlights
of the automobiles by persons driving through wooded areas.
Woods cockroaches are active during the winter and can be found in firewood
after pulling the bark away. These cockroaches are usually found in groups.
Compared to domestic roaches, woods cockroaches are less likely to flee
when approached and do not survive indoors.
Over wintering occurs outdoors as a partially grown nymph.
When disturbed, nymphs are active even in freezing weather.
Adults are present May through early October.

Their normal habitat is moist woodland areas but they frequently become a household nuisance
because they wander into or are carried into houses, with firewood, etc.

Wood roaches are active both during the day and at night and they are less likely to scamper
out of sight when approached. They are less likely to congregate in a particular location,
but will wander through the house. Wood roaches do not thrive and reproduce in homes because they require
the consistently moist environment of their natural habitats such as
under wood piles or loose bark and in decaying logs.
Indoors, their presence is strictly a temporary annoyance.
They usually die within a few days in the house due to insufficient moisture.

If Woods roaches are found anywhere inside the home, usually they are solitary.
The males are attracted to lights and will often make short,
erratic flights in the early evening hours.
Woods roaches do not reproduce or multiply inside.

RECOMMENDED COCKROACH CONTROL MEASURES:

Since woods cockroaches do not establish themselves indoors and
their presence is temporary (a few weeks) during the spring,
chemical control measures are rarely needed.

It is not practical to treat firewood or other areas away from the dwelling
because males can fly in from a distance.
Also, to limit the risk of exposure to toxic chemical fumes when burning firewood,
non-chemical preventive practices are preferred.

Occasionally, populations can build in crawl spaces under the house.
Residual insecticides such as:

DEMON WP  or  CYNOFF WP

Also, a good roach bait like: NIBAN FG can be effective.

The sprays and dusts used with success against other cockroach species
are of very limited benefit against wood roaches.
Exclusion techniques that prevent wood roach entry should be considered.

Practice exclusion techniques such as sealing any cracks,
gaps or openings with caulking compound, putty or plastic wood.
Maintain tight fitting screens, doors and windows.
Store the firewood pile far from the house.
Try not to carry over large quantities of firewood from season
to season in order to reduce potential breeding sites.
If practical, bring only enough firewood indoors for a day or two to prevent insects
from later emerging in the house.

Avoid the use of unnecessary lights at night, since males fly to them during mating season.
Females will crawl into areas around porch lights or yard lights,
thus attracting numerous males.
Individual roaches found inside can be collected with a vacuum cleaner
or a broom and dustpan and discarded.

Caulk all penetrations through ground level walls.
Stop water leaks, screen equipment overflow drains, and take overflow water away from buildings;
keep drain traps full or capped.
Remove rotting leaves from window wells.
Move garbage cans out of preferred moist habitat.
Ventilate moist spaces.