Cockroaches in Illinois

The most prominent cockroaches in Illinois are the German cockroach, the Oriental cockroach, and the American cockroach. Anyone with a restaurant or an apartment can tell you how much of an issue any cockroach can be in Illinois cities. All three are disgusting and can track bacteria wherever they walk, so while it may matter for the correct cockroach extermination treatment, all you probably care about is getting rid of the cockroaches! We can understand that. German cockroaches hide in dark places like refrigerator motor housing, behind dishwashers, and inside cabinets only to crawl out when you least expect it. Their long, flat bodies allow them to squeeze into food containers and slip through tiny cracks with ease. German cockroaches are light brown to tan with two dark “racing stripes” on their backs. They have 6 legs, 2 antennae, are oval in shape, and are about 1/2″-5/8″ long.

The American cockroach is the largest cockroach found in the area and the most common cockroach in sewers. The adults can grow to between 1.5 and 2 inches in length. American cockroaches are large insects with flattened, reddish-brown bodies and matching wings and have unique, yellow-colored “halos” on their backs behind their heads. From the side, you can see that cockroaches have exposed wings rather than wings covered by a hard outer casing. This trait helps to separate them from beetles that may look like cockroaches.

Oriental cockroaches can be either shiny black or dark reddish-brown in color. They have a “greasy” sheen. As adults, the male and female cockroaches, though both large in size, are quite different in appearance. Growing to only 1 inch in length, the smaller males have shortened, three-quarter-length wings. Female Oriental cockroaches have no wings and grow to about 1 ¼ inch. Whether they have wings or not, neither can actually fly.