Q. We have this bug that gets into our basement every once in awhile. It’s black and sort of shiny like a cricket and its about the same size, but it looks more like a roach. Is there a roach that looks like that?

A. You could be talking about the oriental cockroach. Unlike the more common German cockroach, this roach can live both indoors and outdoors. Outdoors, the oriental cockroach is found around building foundations in sites like mulch or leaf piles, under wood or stones, in voids in porches and exterior walls, patios, sidewalk edges, under splash blocks, near trash cans, and under shrubs and heavy ground covers. They sometimes infest sewers or storm drains.

Oriental cockroaches often move indoors when the weather outside becomes too hot, wet, dry or cold, or when the population gets so large that they run out of space in their outdoor sites. Once inside, oriental cockroaches can survive and breed successfully if they can find an area with enough moisture.

Their need for moisture is why oriental cockroaches are almost always found only in the lower levels of buildings, in basements, crawlspaces, and ground floor apartments. They like cool, damp, dark places. Typical indoors sites for oriental cockroaches would be near leaky pipes, drains, under sinks, around basement doorways, and under washing machines.

The oriental cockroach is one of our largest cockroaches. The adult female is about 1-1/4 inches long. Compared to other roaches, it moves sluggishly. On the positive side, it does not fly; on the negative side, it is more “smelly” than other cockroaches. Like other cockroaches, it scavenges on garbage, decaying plant and animal materials, and on human and pet food.

The best way to keep oriental cockroaches out of your home is to have a pest control company do an exterior perimeter treatment around the outside of your home. Treating outside targets the cockroach where it lives and keeps pesticide out of the inside of your home. In heavy infestations, basements, crawlspaces and other sites where the oriental cockroaches are found can be treated as well.

You should also be sure to treat or seal the access routes that let the cockroaches inside such as cracks in concrete facing of foundations, openings around plumbing and doors, weep holes in bricks, vents in crawlspaces, and gaps around garage doors. Give Colonial a call. We will inspect both inside and out and can help you come up with the best plan to keep oriental cockroaches out of your home.