Cockroaches are tough insects capable of thriving in a range of different conditions. They will look for shelter, warmth, food, water and quiet hiding spots to nest and breed all year round. With distribution facilities providing all these resources, it’s not hard to see why your facility could fall victim to a potential outbreak.

As the cockroach peak breeding season is summer, they’re often on the prowl for quiet hiding spots to lay eggs in the warmer months. However, cockroaches are just as likely to use the same places to hibernate in winter.

With a wide-ranging diet that consists of many organic and inorganic materials that are found in distribution facilities, they have easy access to food sources. These include paper, leather, fabric, cardboard, grease and starch found in packaging and transport products and of course, stock.

If your facility has wet areas or a high moisture environment, this can also entice cockroaches, which can often be found living in drains.

A notorious pest in industrial facilities, cockroaches can be found in many different places and cause disruption to your workplace. Here’s how:

Contaminate food and surfaces

Due to their unhygienic foraging habits, cockroaches collect germs and spread them along their travels.

Spread diseases

Your workplace could be at risk of illnesses such as gastroenteritis, salmonella, dysentery, typhoid fever, cholera, hepatitis A and leprosy.

Penalties for non-compliance to industrial health and safety standards

Breaching regulations can result in hefty financial penalties and affect your ability to trade as a business.

Damage to business reputation and operations

Clients, customers, employees and contractors will be deterred from attending your facility if there is a known cockroach outbreak.

Damage packaging, belongings, furniture, stock and furniture

Cockroaches have sharp teeth and strong jaws, which can chew through a wide range of materials found in distribution facilities, including grease, starch, plastic, leather goods, clothing, furniture and paper and cardboard.

Trigger allergies

With a known allergen called tropomyosin found in their droppings, and sometimes even parasitic worms, cockroaches can trigger asthma and eczema in employees and customers.

They are messy

Cockroaches leaving their droppings, eggs, moulted skins all around the workplace. This can make the floor slippery and unsafe. Their droppings also contain pheromones to attract more cockroaches to the area and make outbreaks even worse.

When it comes to outbreaks, cockroach prevention is far better than cure. We recommend the considering the following tips as part of your pest management plan:

Regular building maintenance

Building inspections are helpful to identify all possible entry points. By sealing them off, you can stop cockroaches from squeezing through very small gaps.

Check and repair all leaking pipes, faucets and drains as moisture attracts cockroaches.

Regularly clean and sanitise

For food preparation surfaces and food storage areas, good hygiene practices are key.

Remove all spilled food items and wipe down food preparation areas thoroughly. Consider disinfection as well.

Don’t forget to clean less frequently used areas and other potential hiding spots for cockroaches, including behind or underneath shelving and pallets.

Keep all food tightly sealed and properly stored away

Check that lids are secured tightly and all food packaging is intact.

Ensure all waste is properly disposed of

Make sure that lids are properly fitting and rubbish is tightly sealed off in bags.

For over 35 years, we have partnered with many businesses to prevent all unwanted pest outbreaks. Our Integrated Pest Management System plays an important role in keeping staff, clients, customers and workplaces safe all across Adelaide.

With a dedicated pest control technician assigned to your facility, to perform an initial inspection, we will thoroughly check for any risks, current pest control measures and learn how your business operates. This information will help us to come up with a personalised Pest Management program for your facility.

Using our 24/7 online portal you’ll be able to access, manage and update your Pest Management Program. This includes all compliance documentation, your pest management strategy and inspection reports. You’ll be able to report any new concerns immediately. Our tailored approach makes it easy for you to alert your assigned pest control technician to any new issues and receive accurate advice as quickly as possible.

For up-to-date pest control technology at your fingertips, contact Allstate today.

For centuries, cockroach outbreaks have been feared for several reasons:

They damage to packaging, belongings and furniture

Cockroaches have sharp teeth and strong jaws that are capable of chewing through a wide range of organic and inorganic materials, including plastic. Look for unusual signs of damage in unexpected places, not just on food packaging. This can include leather goods, clothing, furniture and books.

They continue to attract more cockroaches

Cockroach droppings can emit a pheromone to entice more cockroaches to the same area. To make matters worse, when droppings continually accumulate at their nesting site or aggregation point, a small issue can quickly turn into a big outbreak.

They trigger allergies

A runny nose, itchy eyes or throat, or persistent cough, can be symptoms of a cockroach allergy. These arise after being around their droppings, saliva or shed skin. Sometimes, the droppings also contain various allergy triggers, including parasitic worm eggs.

They spread disease

Due to their unhygienic feeding and nesting habits, cockroaches can accumulate a range of highly infectious bacteria, parasites and viruses, which they leave behind on food, objects and surfaces where they feed, nest and crawl, resulting in contamination. Once you come into contact with something that is contaminated, you are at risk of being infected and falling ill. Some diseases spread by cockroaches include:

• Diarrhoea
• Gastroenteritis or food poisoning: caused by salmonella, campylobacteria, listeria, e. coli
• Typhoid fever
• Cholera
• Dysentery
• Leprosy
• Hepatitis A

At Allstate, our cockroach control technicians are well aware of the health risks posed by cockroaches, and the urgency of preventing a cockroach infestation. That’s why our team is available 24/7 tin every suburb of Adelaide. For competitively priced, effective treatments and advice, call 8371 1277.

Identifying the species of cockroach causing an infestation can make it easier to treat the problem by understanding their habits and behaviour. Here are the most common types found in Australian homes and businesses:

American cockroach

• 35-40mm long and have a glossy reddish brown colour
• Capable of running and using their wings to fly at high temperatures
• Live in trees surrounding your property
• Favour humid climates and also darker, less frequented areas in buildings, including roof cavities, basements, subfloors, kitchens and bathrooms

German cockroach

• Grow to 12-15mm long, easily identified by 2 dark stripes along their head
• Skilled at climbing
• Live indoors, in warmer, humid climates with moisture, usually found in wet areas such as the bathroom, laundry and kitchen

Australian cockroach

• 23-35cm long, with pale stripes on their wing and near the head
• Prefer living in areas with mild winters
• Hide in gardens and debris
• Enter buildings at night

Cockroaches are naturally attracted to places that provide good shelter and nesting sites, as well as an abundance of food sources. If left unchecked, an outbreak affects cleanliness and hygiene, creates an unpleasant odour, and spreads disease. This will eventually lead to staff, contractors and customers falling sick and being reluctant to return, a loss of stock and trade, and damage your reputation. To top it off, in Adelaide you can also cop heavy penalties for breaching food and industrial health and safety standards.

Restaurants
An abundance of fresh food makes restaurants vulnerable to a cockroach outbreak, and the results can be disastrous. A cockroach sighting can ruin your reputation overnight and subject you to fines for breaching food safety laws. If left unchecked, a colony can quickly spread diseases over chairs, tables, crockery and equipment, and cost you dearly in damaged stock. To prevent an outbreak, all restaurants must practice proper storage of food supplies, stock and rubbish, and implement regular pest control to meet regulatory requirements.

How to control cockroaches in restaurants

Commercial buildings
A cockroach problem for one tenant can potentially become an issue for all tenants in the building, so it’s important for everyone to follow the same strict health and safety practices. You may even experience disruptions to trade while the outbreak is being treated.

How to control cockroaches in commercial buildings and offices

Distribution facilities and warehouses
The sight of cockroaches scurrying around is not just distracting and off-putting to workers. Cockroach germs can contaminate stock and machinery,, and make you liable for not meeting WH&S obligations. Cockroaches may even be transported to other locations by latching onto products loaded for transport.

How to control cockroaches in distribution facilities and warehouses

There are several ways to manage a cockroach infestation, and using more than one give you the best chance of success. Here are some common methods used in Adelaide:

Cockroach bait
This is effective for use indoors, and comes in liquid, gel and solid form. Baits are strategically placed close to nesting areas and the poison is transferred from an affected cockroach to the rest of the colony.

Fumigation
This method is effective for more serious infestations in a confined space, and best used alongside other methods. A gas containing insecticide chemicals is introduced to a building that has been sealed off.

Heat treatment
This method is the most environmentally friendly and chemical free, and can prevente cockroaches at any stage of their life cycle. A mobile system delivers dry heat of 50-60 degrees to an area for a monitored period.