Insect Calendar

Use this interactive calendar below that will explain the life cycles of all insects listed and what is happening during each season. With product recommendations for the different time of the year. 

Select an insect

General Information about Cockroaches

In New Zealand, cockroaches are a common household pest. Thirty of the 4,000 roach species are linked with human dwellings. Infestations are inconvenient, but they can also cause damage and illness. They are also hazardous to people's health. Their body surfaces passively transport human infectious diseases. Cockroaches leave chemical trails that other cockroaches use to find food, water, and hiding places. Cockroaches are a common year-round trigger of allergy and asthma symptoms, especially among children.

German cockroaches

What to Look For - Signs of a Cockroach Infestation

Cockroaches are highly adaptable and can live wherever enough food, moisture, and heat exist to support them.

  • The faecal spots that are deposited around harbourage areas. 
  • German roach produce faeces that resemble coffee grounds or specks of pepper
  • American roach droppings are blunt on the ends and have ridges on the sides. They are often mistaken for mouse droppings
  • The presence of egg capsules, egg capsules are usually glued to surfaces near food sources such as; basements, laundry rooms and kitchens, as well as behind appliances or underneath cabinets
  • A very distinctive odour also described as “musty” smell by some people