IPM – Emphasis on Sanitation
Sanitation is pest management. Clutter helps create a conducive condition for pest harborage that allows pests to eat, rest, and reproduce. It has been shown that light can penetrate the ootheca of an American cockroach and significantly decrease the weight of the subsequently emerging nymphs. Reduced fitness reduces survival and keeps the population under check.
Adult female German cockroaches were found to live for almost 13 days even without food or water. However, if food and water are present, their longevity increases to 85 days.
These facts provide plenty of reasons to hold sanitation as a key practice in cockroach management. In addition, sanitation further leads to success in implementing the key IPM components such as:
- Making critical areas accessible and improving targeted treatments
- Increasing effectiveness of monitoring
- Eliminating alternative food sources which directly compete with baits
Courtesy of -
Jennifer L. Gillett-Kaufman, Ph.D.
UF/IFAS Entomology & Nematology Department
Rm. 3004 Bldg. 970, Natural Area Drive
PO Box 110620, Gainesville Florida 326110620
Note: New phone number (352)273-3950
Fax (352)392-0190
