Characteristics
Size:  Up to 2 inches long.

Color:  Reddish brown.

The American cockroach is the largest cockroach that infests homes and buildings in the United States. This insect may be recognized by a yellow "figure-8" pattern on the shield at the front of its body. In Florida, the American cockroach is called the "palmetto bug," and it has the nickname "water bug" throughout the United States.

Behavior
Like all cockroaches, it is omnivorous and will eat virtually anything people will and many things we won't.

Habitat
This cockroach thrives in warm, damp environments, such as sewers, steam tunnels, basements, crawl spaces, and boiler rooms. In southern states, it will also be found living and breeding outdoors.

Tips for Control
The key to control is to find and treat these sources directly. In southern states where this cockroach lives outdoors, successful control involves treating the attic, crawl space, and exterior cracks in the home and finding and treating likely cockroach harborages over the entire property.