Most species of roaches live inconspicuous lives in the woods or swamps. There are, however, a few members of their family that will happily move right into our homes with us. Those that occur in central California are the ones we’ll discuss here.
When speaking of cockroaches, the German Roach is the one that comes to mind first for most people. These roaches move readily from one building to the next “hitch-hiking†in grocery bags, boxes, bags of potatoes, even clothing and purses! They will reproduce readily anywhere it is warm and there is an adequate supply of food, water and harborage. The German roach can live for extended periods without eating, surviving on its own feces for a period of time.