1w ago

is this a cockroach? SE Michigan, USA

cross-posted from: https://midwest.social/post/33436612

saw the same bug indoors, wondering how concerned to be. looks like it has all the same grossly visible body parts as a cockroach but it is a much lighter tan than i am used to.
curious

(originally posted in sopuli.xyz/c/whatisthisbug)

What Is This Bug? @sopuli.xyz

Overkrill @midwest.social

1w ago

is this a cockroach? SE Michigan, USA

14 comments

Yes. Someone may try to tell you it's a "water bug" but they're just trying to gloss over having roaches.
- Water bugs are a roach but they aren’t by any means the worst to have.
  
  Water bugs are a roach
  They are absolutely not. Entirely different order of insects.
  
  They are just as bad. Roaches are bad, it doesn't matter what kind.
- Is it native to the United States?
  
  Yes. In the more humid climates.
- I have seen a waterbug in India once, it's got nothing to do with a roach. It's about 20cm wide, with pincers thick almost like my pinky finger. Absolutely stunning if you've never heard about them before
Nifty find and thanks for posting such clear pictures! It's def a roach. I think that would be Ectobius pallidus (though it can be similar to other species) and here's some info about it you will enjoy:
https://entomologytoday.org/2014/01/06/after-a-49-million-year-hiatus-a-cockroach-reappears-in-north-america/
https://blogs.cornell.edu/nysipm/2023/05/22/can-a-cockroach-be-cute-meet-the-tawny-field-cockroach/
That's a roach but keep in mind that there are hundreds of cockroach species in the world and most of them aren't pests. A roach you see in nature probably couldn't even survive in your house. When I lived in rural New Hampshire I frequently saw cockroaches in the forest but never indoors.
(If you're in an urban area, then chances are it's a pest.)
Just one: don't panic, it happens.
More than one in a short time or you find droppings: you may have an infestation and you need pest control as soon as possible.
In doubt, start with a spray or traps.
- Gentrol is a growth hormone inhibitor roach control method https://gentrol-igr.com/ Apparently it works really well
Definitely.
I've never seen one IRL and even I can tell that's a roach.
Not necessarily a pest kind, though, if it looks unusual. Maybe one test would be if it goes towards or away from light; seeking dark is the original adaptation that allowed them to hide in human environments.

14 comments