Wood Roaches in the Collingwood, Blue Mountain Area
Wood Roaches in the Collingwood, Blue Mountain Area
Recently, when attending a home inspection in a subdivision in Collingwood, the Home Inspector opened a cabinet door under the kitchen sink to examine a damaged part of the cabinetry. To our chagrin, he discovered that the house had roaches. Turns out, though, they are wood roaches and they are quite different to a cockroach, although they are part of that family.
Just to be safe, I grabbed my purse and spent a few quality moments on the front porch.
Research has told us that wood roaches are more outdoor-living cockroaches and they don’t generally seek out the indoors. They prefer the great outdoors. Their behaviour and preferences are what make them easier to distinguish from their much-hated cousins, more so than their appearance. (They do scurry like their cousins, though.)
Wood Roaches are ¾” to 1.25” long, and the ones encountered in the house appeared to be a tan colour. Mostly, it’s the males that are this colour. Apparently, it’s rare to encounter the female. (She’s probably busy tending the woodpile.)
It’s commonplace for these wood roaches to come into the house on some firewood, or even through an open window when they see a light on in the house. They don’t mean to come in, really, they prefer outdoors and well, wood. They aren’t light sensitive like other house-invading species, and you may encounter them at any time of the day.
Control of wood roaches is usually mostly about changing habits, like being careful when you bring in firewood or move firewood/wood piles away from the house. Seal any openings into your home. In the home we sold, they were abated with the help of professionals who set bait in little house-shaped traps. Some professionals guarantee their work, and the next time we attended the house, there were no longer any roaches to be found!
