Surinam Cockroach

Damaged plants and seeing the Surinam cockroach are the primary indications of an infestation.

• In our area, you are more likely to find Surinam cockroaches hiding in potted plants imported from southern states like Florida.
• Surinam cockroaches will burrow three to four inches down into the soil.
• In more temperate regions, Surinam cockroaches live in moist, dark places, such as mulch, piles of leaves, stacks of firewood, and under stones.

• An adult Surinam cockroach is ¾” - 1”in length.
• Surinam cockroaches have dark brown or black bodies with shiny olive-green or dark brown wings that give the insects a distinctive two-tone look.

• Surinam cockroaches can cause severe damage to expensive tropical plants in atriums and houses.
• They are not known to bite or harm humans.

Most likely, Surinam cockroaches got into your home hiding in potted plants, soil and mulch, and similar items imported from southern habitats.

• Inspect plants and soil before bringing them into your home or business.

Unlike other cockroach species that invade homes looking for moisture and food, Surinam cockroaches prefer to eat plants, often feeding on the stems of plants rooted in the planter in which it lives.

• Surinam cockroaches develop by metamorphosis—ootheca, nymph (or instar), and adult.
• Females Surinam cockroaches reproduce by way of parthenogenesis or asexual reproduction without male fertilization.
• The female carries the egg cases, or oothecae, internally until hatching.
• Nymphs look like smaller versions of the adult Surinam cockroach but lack fully developed wings.
• Nymphs will molt 10 to 13 times in about a year.
• The average adult female Surinam cockroach lives for up to seven months and produces three egg cases in a lifetime.