Introduction:

How many cockroaches do you have near your home? Auburn University researchers sampled one home in 1992 and estimated there were more than 6,500 smokybrown cockroaches around the home. But you wouldn't guess it from looking - that's because cockroaches are only active at night, so few people ever see them outdoors, only when they get inside.

The smokybrown cockroach is the common black cockroach found around most homes in the southeastern US. It sometimes gets indoors and is able to fly, to the consternation of homeowners. The immatures are wingless. Baby cockroaches that have just hatched are black with white stripes, while older young (nymphs) are brown to reddish-brown and are often called water bugs.

Auburn University has developed a cockroach index. This index can give an objective measure of the cockroach abundance at your home. You may hate the cockroaches intensly but you may not have many cockroaches around your home, or you may be only slightly concerned and have zillions of cockroaches lurking in the shadows. The index will classify your home on a relative basis, as having a low, medium, or high cockroach activity. We are not able to predict actual numbers. The Auburn University Cockroach Index is based on 10 characteristics of your home.

Can you get accurate results?

This index was designed for single-family, detached homes in the southeastern United States. If you live in a trailer or apartment, results from this index will be misleading. In addition areas outside Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Northern Florida, Georgia or South Carolina will also give misleading results. For example, smokybrown cockroaches may not inhabit your area. The weather and plants in your area are so different from the southeastern U.S., cockroaches you do have may behave differently.

The results generated from this index are relative. Cockroach abundance will vary between years because of cold/warm winters. Some cities may naturally support greater absolute populations. However relative to your neighbors and to other people in your neighborhood or town, it will give a good comparative measure. Numerically speaking the index is 69% accurate. This means, if the index predicts that you have few cockroaches you will not have loads of cockroaches, and vice versa. The results are roughly correct.

Continue to the Cockroach Index

FAQ's about Cockroaches