American Cockroach
Periplaneta americana
One of the largest household cockroaches in Australia. Lives in drains, sewers and sub-floors and wanders inside on warm nights.
- Size
- 35–45 mm
- Key marking
- Pale band around pronotum edge
- Lives
- Drains, sub-floors, outdoors
- Flies
- Short distances in heat
Questions about the American Cockroach
How to identify a American Cockroach
Identification
- Adults about 35–45 mm, shiny reddish-brown.
- Pale yellowish band around the edge of the shield behind the head.
- Fully developed wings; can glide or fly short distances in warm weather.
Where it lives
- Sewers, stormwater and floor drains, grease traps, sub-floors and roof voids.
- Commercial kitchens and basements.
Behaviour
- Travels up through drains with dry water traps.
- Attracted to lights on hot, humid nights.
- Lays egg cases in hidden, humid spots rather than carrying them.
Why it matters
Its association with sewers makes it a potential carrier of bacteria into kitchens and bathrooms.
It is one of the main species behind cockroaches coming through drains.
Commonly confused with
Australian Cockroach
Periplaneta australasiae
A large outdoor cockroach, despite its name probably not native to Australia. Common in gardens, mulch and around houses in warmer parts of the country.
Smokybrown Cockroach
Periplaneta fuliginosa
A large, uniformly dark mahogany-brown cockroach that lives in trees, roof voids and gutters and is a strong flyer attracted to lights.
Other cockroach species
German Cockroach
Blattella germanica
A small, light-brown cockroach that lives and breeds indoors, mostly in kitchens and bathrooms. It reproduces faster than any other household cockroach and is the species most often behind persistent indoor infestations.
Oriental Cockroach
Blatta orientalis
A dark, glossy cockroach that prefers cool, damp places such as drains and basements. Less common in Australian homes than other large species.
Cockroach guides
The Australian Guide to Cockroaches
Everything an Australian household needs to know about cockroaches: which species you are seeing, why they are there, how they get in, the health implications, and how to prevent and manage them.
GuideHow to Pest-Proof Your Home
A practical, room-by-room approach to reducing pests without relying on chemicals: remove what attracts them, close the ways in, and make your property less comfortable for them.
GuideCommon Brisbane Household Pests
A Brisbane-specific overview of the pests residents meet most often, when they are active, and what the subtropical climate, storms, creeks and Queenslander homes mean for pest pressure.
Cockroaches by location
More about cockroaches
Cockroaches
Fast, flat-bodied insects that hide in warm, damp gaps and come out at night to feed. A few introduced species cause most household problems in Australia.
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Sources & further reading
- Australian Museum — insects and spiders — Australian Museum
- Queensland Museum — insects, spiders and animals of Queensland — Queensland Museum
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