How to Get Rid of Cockroaches
Cockroaches are an extremely common household pest throughout all of New Zealand and although they make you shudder when you see them, they thankfully do not pose many health risks, however they can transmit diseases, so it is best to keep them out of your home. As with any pest the number one preventative measure is to keep your home and outside surrounding areas as clean as possible. We’ll talk through more information about the different types of cockroaches, how to prevent an infestation before it happens, and if needed how to kill cockroaches.
What are the 3 main types of cockroach?
Although there are thousands of different species of cockroach, here in New Zealand we tend to only deal with the following three culprits. They are all pests and have the potential to transmit diseases such as dysentery, salmonella and diarrhoea due to their eating habits. See below for more information on the pests most wanted list.
The Gisborne Cockroach
This is our native representative, although it was first introduced from Australia, they are usually not found in doors at all so if you spot one of these in your home, it was likely by accident such as being carried in through timber and firewood.
They commonly live outdoors in damp dark areas and feed on decaying forest matter, so if you happen to spot one of these, it might be worth just giving a helping hand to get it back outside again.
The American Cockroach
This is the most common species found in New Zealand and is known as a pest throughout the world. Despite the name this species is native to Africa and the Middle East. They have adapted very well to human living spaces as they prefer moist areas with warmer temperatures.
Classified as omnivores, they will eat many foods as well as materials including leather, beer, glue and book bindings. They have the potential to cause sickness in humans, from their odorous secretions and bacteria that they pick up and deposit on food and surface areas and so it is very important to keep your house as clean as possible.
The German Cockroach
Although the smallest of the cockroach species found in New Zealand, they are actually the biggest problem. They do not like cold temperatures to a point where they struggle to survive and so they will always look to go inside of buildings for warmth. They more commonly prefer restaurants, food processing facilities and hotels to residential.
They are defined as omnivore scavengers, meaning they eat everything the American Cockroach does as well as meats, starches, sugars and fatty foods.
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Poll: Do you think NZ should ban social media for youth?
The Australian Prime Minister has expressed plans to ban social media use for children.
This would make it illegal for under 16-year-olds to have accounts on platforms including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and X.
Social media platforms would be tasked with ensuring children have no access (under-age children and their parents wouldn’t be penalised for breaching the age limit)
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Do you think NZ should follow suit? Vote in our poll and share your thoughts below.
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84.6% Yes
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13.9% No
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1.5% Other - I'll share below
scumbags
There are some really awful people around at the moment. This is what happened on Sunday.
We live in Hinemoa Street opposite the Waiwhetu Stream. At around 3.40 in the afternoon I was looking out my window and saw a car pull up and start to feed the geese and ducks out the window. Then The passenger an asian man jumped out and threw himself onto a goose. he picked it up and put it the boot of the car.
I immediately ran over and stood in front of his car to stop him moving I also called my husband to help. A lovely man was riding his bike and saw it and stopped to help me. The driver tried to drive into me but I didnt move. He tried telling us it was his pet. These are wild geese.
They had a cage in the boot and some wire all ready to catch the poor bird like they have done it before. My husband took the bird from the car and released it. I then moved out of the way and after lots of abuse from the driver they drove off threatening to come back and get more.
No one should be allowed to take these beautiful birds and certainly not like this. they are all starting to have wee babies at the moment the whole thing was so upsetting to me. Another neighbour further down the road also saw it all happen.
Please keep a look out for this car and if you see them by the stream go over and watch them lets all stop this happening.
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