What Is a Wood Roach?

Meet the Wood Roach – a Cockroach that Doesn’t Want to Invade Your Home

Wood roaches, also known as wood cockroaches or forest cockroaches, are a species that primarily inhabit forests and wooded areas.

Unlike more common household cockroaches like the American cockroach and brown-banded cockroach, wood roaches typically don’t seek entrance into homes. However, they occasionally will wander accidentally into buildings or homes located near wooded areas.

Read on to learn how to identify wood roaches and deter them from your home.

First, What Does a Wood Roach Look Like?

Wood roaches vary in color from light to dark brown and their bodies are flattened and oval-shaped. They have long, slender antennae and wings, but they’re not strong fliers. They’re more commonly found crawling on surfaces.

Wood Roach vs. Cockroach – What’s the Difference?

Wood roaches are cockroaches, but their behavior and look sets them apart from other cockroach species. Very different from the German cockroach, American cockroach, and Oriental cockroach, which are all common pests, wood roaches are not commonly found in homes. That’s in part because they’re not as attracted to human food as other cockroach species. Wood roaches are also smaller and typically lighter colored than other roaches.

Wood roaches are primarily outdoor pests and are not typically associated with causing significant damage to homes or property. 

Can Wood Roaches Infest Your House?

Yes. Although wood roaches do not commonly infest indoor spaces, they can still be a nuisance when they wander into homes. While wood roaches are not as attracted to human food if they do accidentally come inside, they can still contaminate surfaces and produce allergens (by spreading bacteria while moving around or shedding).

Wood roaches in a house usually behave differently than other household cockroaches, as they are active both during the day and at night and are less likely to run out of sight when approached. However, wood roaches don’t thrive or reproduce in homes because they prefer a damp environment – like under wood piles or loose bark and inside decaying wood.

Indoors, their presence is temporary. Outside, wood roaches can be a benefit to your yard and garden as they are important decomposers and serve as a food source for pollinators such as birds.

How to Get Rid of Wood Roaches & Keep Them Away

Although wood roaches typically can’t survive long in a home, no one wants to find roaches inside. Plus, finding roaches inside may signify that there are entry points for other pests to find their way indoors.

Here are five tips for getting rid of wood roaches and preventing them and other pests from entering your space:

1. Seal entry points – Seal any cracks or gaps in doors, windows, and walls.
2. Keep outdoor areas clean – Wood roaches are attracted to decaying organic matter. Keeping your yard and outdoor areas free of leaf litter, wood piles, dead tree branches, and other debris can help keep them from making a home in your yard (and accidentally meandering inside).
3. Remove food sources – Wood roaches are not as attracted to human food as other cockroach species, but they can still be attracted to food crumbs and other sources of sustenance.
4. Maintain proper drainage – Wood roaches are attracted to moisture, so ensuring that your home has proper drainage and that there are no leaks or standing water in or around your home will help deter them.
5. Consider professional pest control – If you have a persistent wood roach problem, you may want to hire Mosquito Squad to help control the infestation outside. Mosquito Squad’s professional barrier treatment kills pests on contact and continues to deter them for up to 21 days following treatment. Services can target both areas outside where the insect lives and breeds and around the perimeter of your home to deter them from entering.

Related Blog: How to Reduce Bugs in Your Yard After Rainfall

Keep Intrusive Insects from Your Home

While wood roaches don’t pose an immediate threat to people and are typically “accidental” home invaders, no one wants unsightly insects scurrying around their home!

With a combination of approaches, such as properly sealing your home and professional treatment to manage populations outside, you can prevent your home from becoming a haven for unwanted pests including wood roaches. Get our Squad Home Shield pest package service and discourage roaches and other common pests, like spiders, from invading your dwelling.

Contact the Squad today at (877) 332-2239 or request a quote online.