Biology and management of the smokybrown cockroach

Abstract

The smokybrown cockroach, Periplaneta fuliginosa (Serville), has become an increasingly important peridomestic pest throughout much of the southeastern United States, Japan, and southeast Asia. We provide a brief description of the species and clarify its worldwide distribution. Aspects of smokybrown cockroach behavior, biology, ecology, and physiology are discussed in the context of this species' successful exploitation of the urban environment. We describe smokybrown cockroach management based upon a model that relates house and landscape characteristics to cockroach population size. Finally, we illustrate the effectiveness of a model-based IPM system that increases control while reducing use of insecticides.