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: If we want to reduce speeding, what do you think actually changes driver behaviour? 🛻🚨🚓
In the Post's article on speeding penalties, the question is asked whether speeding fines are truly about road safety, or are they just a way to boost revenue for the Crown?
What do you think? Should speeding motorists receive speeding fines or demerit points?
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40.7% The sting of a fine (Money talks!)
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59.3% The threat of demerit points (Nobody wants to lose their license!)
SLASH BESIDE THE TRACK UP TO TRIG
I question the wisdom and the morality of an industry which creates so much waste, waste which is also a cause of widespread and devastating damage. So, I searched the internet for potential uses of slash. It was easy to find.
I recommend a visit to nzbioforestry.co.nz. I quote from the website:
OUR SOLUTION:
NZ Bio Forestry proposes to develop a sustainable renewable forestry model that increases the economic value of the NZ- Aotearoa forestry sector, simply by integrating bio-technologies augmenting the forestry, wood manufacturing, and petrochemistry industries into one model.
Specifically, our strategy is to utilise the whole tree and convert the tree’s sugars into bioenergy, biomaterials, and biochemicals. This means using slash, off cuts, pruning, and wood waste to produce biofuel via bio pellets and biochemicals. It means optimising logs through the whole process….logging, manufacturing freighting, and refining process to serve the many Asia-Pacific markets with high-value products….not just exporting raw logs to one or two large dominant markets! (End of quote)
NZ Bio Forestry then contrasts the financial return from the present exports of raw logs with the potential return from utilising the WHOLE TREE.
In US dollars, the return from exporting logs is between $50 - $140 per log.
Using the whole tree including the slash and other waste for wood processing would return $200 - $800 per tree, and,
Using the bio-refinery process to convert the wood waste into fossil-free biochemicals would return $2,500 - $11,200 per tree.
I can’t help but conclude that our current focus on exporting logs is a pitiful failure of industry and government policy compared with the potential benefits of processing THE WHOLE TREE. And to complete the argument, this not just theory. In Scandinavia, SCA, which owns Europe’s largest private forest with 2.7 million hectares, has built a well-invested value chain that maximises the value of each individual tree and all of the forestry’s resources.
A SUMMARY OF POTENTIAL ADDITIONAL PRODUCTS:
Wood Pellets and Chips: Slash can be collected, dried, and processed into hog fuel or wood pellets for use in industrial boilers, as a replacement for coal, to generate heat and electricity.
Biofuel Production: Research is underway to convert forest residues into marine biofuel to help decarbonize the shipping sector.
Gasification: Advanced, small-scale, on-site processing plants can turn slash into renewable energy products like bio-oil, ethanol, and hydrogen.
Biochemicals: Specialized refineries can convert woody waste into sustainable alternatives to plastics, chemicals, and industrial products.
WAKE UP Aotearoa, New Zealand!!!
Share your favourite main crop potato recipe and win a copy of our mag!
Love potatoes? We will give away free copies of the May 2026 issue to readers whose potato recipes are used in our magazine. To be in the running, make sure you email your family's favourite way to enjoy potatoes: mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, by March 1, 2026.
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