Amber cockroaches have become increasingly common in Germany in recent years. Favored by climatic changes, the insects are increasingly spreading north. But their way of life is very special and can even be useful.

The amber cockroach is not a storage pest

Table of Contents

Show all
  1. the essentials in brief
  2. Harmful or useful?
  3. Fight?
  4. Prevent
  5. Characteristics
  6. distribution and habitat
  7. confusion
  8. food
  9. Create natural habitat
  10. frequently asked Questions

    11. the essentials in brief

    • The amber cockroach is not dangerous to humans and will not eat fresh plants or our supplies
    • This cockroach is even useful because it forms hummus
    • Fighting is not necessary; however, specimens lost indoors can be caught in traps and transported outside
    • Strong odors such as garlic, catnip, or peppermint and clove oil keep amber cockroaches away

    Harmful or useful?

    The amber cockroach is completely harmless to humans. It is not one of the storage pests and only occasionally gets lost in houses and apartments. Since the insects feed exclusively on plant material in an advanced stage of decomposition, they cannot find any food sources in human dwellings and die within a very short time.

    Amber cockroaches are neither harmful nor dangerous to humans. They even take on important tasks in the forest ecosystem.

    humus formation

    Forest cockroaches are involved in the decomposition of plant matter and accelerate the formation of humus. In this way, amber cockroaches ensure that the plant residues are utilized and the nutrients contained therein are made available to the plants more quickly.
    Although forest cockroaches have a more restricted food spectrum than cockroaches, they can provide valuable service on the compost where the animals also seek protection from cold temperatures.

    digression

    Cockroaches for kitchen waste

    In east China's Shandong Province, people are taking advantage of cockroaches instead of fighting them. Every day there are tons of kitchen waste from restaurants, which contains a lot of foreign substances, water and oil. The organic waste is used by the cockroaches. The insects produce heat, which is used to grow vegetables in winter. When the cockroaches die, they are processed into protein-rich pet food.

    Is combat necessary?

    Amber cockroaches are neither dangerous nor harmful

    Since amber cockroaches are not stored product pests and do not transmit any diseases, control is neither necessary nor recommended. Mass occurrences are favored by warm summer temperatures and mild winters, making amber cockroaches occasionally considered a nuisance. Various cities such as Stuttgart or Munich were affected by this in 2022 and 2022. However, they only appear en masse in houses in exceptional cases.

    identify species

    Use a flashlight to check the insect's behavior. Cockroaches flee as soon as the light is turned on. They hide in crevices and niches under cabinets. Forest cockroaches show no flight instinct. They crawl around aimlessly during the day and move towards the light source at night.

    Avoid chemical agents

    Insecticides kill the cockroaches in no time. However, there are many health risks associated with them. Insecticides are not selective. Other insects can also be killed using chemical agents.

    Attract

    If there are several animals in the apartment, you can build a trap and attract the insects with attractants. A plastic bottle with a wide mouth can be turned into a trap in just a few steps. The insects are attracted by the smell of the food and fly inside. Since the animals can hardly hold on to the smooth surface, there is no escape from the trap. In order not to damage the forest cockroaches, you should check the containers regularly and expose the animals in the garden.

    How to build the trap:

    • Cut the bottle in the upper third
    • Fill the lower part of the bottle with leaves and plant remains
    • Insert the upper part with the opening into the lower part

    tips

    If necessary, place several of these traps in the apartment. You don't have to make sure that the food is particularly fresh.

    Prevent

    Equip your windows with fly screens if you want to ventilate during the evening hours with the lights on. To make sure that no wood cockroach strays into the apartment, you should keep the windows closed during the main activity time in the evening.

    Essential Oils

    Cockroaches do not like the intense smell of various oils. Catnip, peppermint and clove oil have been shown to be deterrents. Garlic cloves or crushed catnip leaves also have a deterrent effect on the insects. Essential oils can be vaporized in a fragrance lamp. If you find even the intense smell off-putting, you can put intensely scented plants in pots.

    Characteristics

    The amber cockroach owes its name to its beautiful coloring

    The amber cockroach (Ectobius vittiventris) belongs to the subfamily of forest cockroaches and originally comes from southern Europe. It requires warm temperatures and cannot develop in areas with prolonged cold spells. Rising temperatures make insects more likely to survive, so they are increasingly spreading north. In midsummer, the forest cockroaches sometimes fly in large masses. The name comes from the light brown coloring reminiscent of amber.

    general characteristics

    This species is comparatively slender and long. With its six legs, the amber cockroach can move quickly. The insects are between nine and 14 millimeters long, with their feelers being as long as the body. You can clearly identify amber cockroaches by the coloring of the pronotum. This is light brown in color and translucent at the edge.

    The thorny legs, which are typical for the forest cockroach, are also striking. In the case of the amber cockroaches, the wings protrude beyond the tip of the abdomen. Sometimes they can be finely dotted. Large dark spots are absent, which distinguishes the species from similar cockroaches.

    Other characteristics:

    • one or two spines on middle and hind thighs
    • Egg packet of females clearly visible and slightly curved
    • Surface of egg packets with fine longitudinal ribs

    way of life

    Amber cockroaches are nocturnal and hide under leaves and stones or under flower pots and in shutter boxes during the day. In warm weather, a particularly high level of flight activity can be seen. Both males and females then fly frequently.

    development

    From summer to autumn, the female insects lay their egg packets. Nymphs hatch only after overwintering the following spring. Shortly before the second hibernation, the larvae molt once or twice. The last molt to become an adult insect occurs in the following summer. This biennial evolution is typical of the amber cockroaches and other species of the genus Ectobius. It is not yet known how old the adult insects can become. Mass proliferation can occur in particularly hot summer months.

    digression

    Egg packets with feeding protection

    The egg packets, also called oothecae, are typical of all cockroaches and differ in shape and coloration between species. The insects have developed a special protection against predators. The egg packets are surrounded by a hard shell containing calcium oxalate. This substance is also present in many plants such as rhubarb or parsnip and is considered the main component of kidney stones.

    winter

    Amber cockroaches overwinter in sheltered habitats under foliage or in compost heaps. Occasionally, the insects look for suitable winter quarters in houses and apartments. The nymphs last two winters from laying eggs to moulting into adult insects.

    distribution and habitat

    Ectobius vittiventris is widespread in southern Europe. Originally, Ticino in Switzerland represented the northern limit of the natural distribution area. In the 1980s, the species spread increasingly in northern Switzerland. The amber cockroach was first detected in southern Baden in 2002. The range of the species now extends from Rhineland-Palatinate to Bavaria and Thuringia. In 2015, the insects were discovered in NRW.

    Good to know:

    • Cold affects development
    • development is faster at higher temperatures
    • ideal temperature: 30 degrees Celsius

    house and apartment

    Because amber cockroaches are capable of flight, they are occasionally found indoors. It is striking that the animals appear more often in houses that are in the immediate vicinity of a forest. Amber cockroaches are attracted by light and probably also by the heat emitted by house facades.

    While most cockroaches have no chance of surviving indoors due to the low humidity, amber cockroaches can survive a little longer indoors. Here the insects are also active during the day and crawl around aimlessly and awkwardly on the ground. The species cannot reproduce in apartments.

    natural habitats

    In the wild, the insects live in low bushes and at the edges of forests. Since they feel particularly comfortable in hedges, amber cockroaches also appear in the garden. They crawl on leaves and branches of various shrubs, not specializing in any plant species. The animals can also be observed under flower pots. The insects are now found in urban gardens and parks.

    Amber Cockroaches require:

    • vegetation: loose planting with low bushes
    • light: sunny places
    • floor: sheltered and warm spots

    confusion

    The amber cockroach can be easily confused with other cockroaches, which is why many people are afraid or uncomfortable with their appearance.

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    forest cockroaches

    The species of this subfamily live on the forest floor and have a similar diet. They are between nine and 14 millimeters long and are light brown to brown in color, which is why the species can be easily confused. The amber cockroach stands out because of its reddish hues.

    cockroaches

    There is a greater risk of confusion between the amber cockroach and the German cockroach, which occurs as a storage pest. Both species are similar in shape, size and color. The most important difference to the cockroach is the pronotum. But the cockroaches also differ in their behavior. While the German cockroach is flightless and can only survive in buildings in Central Europe, the amber cockroach moves around by flight and avoids houses. The storage pest does not crawl around aimlessly, but immediately crawls into a crevice.

    size pronotum house pest
    German cockroach 12 to 15mm brown with two dark longitudinal stripes Yes
    Common forest cockroach 9 to 12mm dark spot no
    Real forest cockroach 7.5 to 11mm dark brown to black no

    food

    Like all forest cockroaches, the amber cockroach feeds mainly on plant food. The insects have specialized in the utilization of dead plant material that is already in the decomposition stage. Fallen leaves or plant remains on the compost provide valuable food sources.

    Create natural habitat

    Wood cockroaches are favored by certain climatic conditions, so they can occur in large numbers. However, this also means that natural enemies appear more frequently. The populations of different insectivores are determined by the food supply, so there are constant natural fluctuations between predator and prey. Encourage insectivores in your garden to mitigate mass spread.

    Natural enemies:

    • birds: reed warblers, gray shrikes, thrushes
    • reptiles: Turtles, iguanas, geckos
    • arthropod: Be crazy

    tips

    The amber cockroach feels particularly at home in lush ivy tendrils. Avoid similar plants in your garden if you don't want to provide a habitat for the cockroaches.

    A diverse garden

    In a habitat that consists of various small-scale mosaics, natural enemies of cockroaches feel particularly comfortable. Make your garden as varied as possible with piles of dead wood, dry stone walls and beds full of flowers. If you have space, you can create a wetland habitat with a pond. You can also create different living spaces on the balcony by equipping flower pots with native wild plants. A zinc tub is ideal as a mini pond.

    way of life specialized in forest cockroaches
    hungry wasps parasitize in egg packets Yes
    fan beetle parasitize in egg packets no
    jewel wasp parasitize in adult cockroaches no

    frequently asked Questions

    What to do against amber cockroaches in the apartment?

    Occasionally, an amber cockroach strays into apartments and houses, because the flying animals are attracted to light sources and warm house facades. If an animal is crawling aimlessly out of the ground, there is no need to panic. However, the six-legged creatures are very agile. Put a glass over the insect and slide a piece of paper underneath. You can then take it outside and release it.

    What do amber cockroaches eat?

    Like all forest cockroaches, the insects feed on dead plant remains. Their diet consists mainly of fallen leaves and withered herbaceous plants that are already rotting. The animals are not storage pests, because they cannot do much with human food.

    Do amber cockroaches transmit diseases?

    Because of their way of life, cockroaches can transmit many diseases. They spread bacteria, fungi and viruses, which can cause various diseases on contact. Molting residues occasionally cause allergies. Forest cockroaches, which include the amber cockroach, are completely harmless. They don't crawl around in garbage dumps or garbage pits, but live on the forest floor. As a result, they are not considered disease vectors.

    Are amber cockroaches harmful?

    This species belongs to the forest cockroaches and has a restricted food spectrum. Dead plant remains are on their menu. The insects spurn human food or leftovers so that they do not appear as stored product pests. If an animal got lost in your apartment, you don't have to worry. Amber cockroaches are not harmful.

    How long do amber cockroaches live?

    The lifespan of adult amber cockroaches is not yet known. It takes up to two years for the egg packets to develop into cockroaches. The nymphs molt several times and overwinter. Under particularly warm conditions, this development can take place more quickly.

Category:

Animals in the garden