![]() ![]() (Cockroaches like darkness and shelter, Meek says.) You’ll also want to try to weed out potential food sources by keeping dirty dishes out of the sink and containing your garbage. ✔️ Get rid of the junk: It helps to clean out areas where clutter tends to form, like your garage, basement, or attic. “Seal all possible entry points with a silicone-based caulk, paying close attention to cracks around doors, windows, pipes, and utility lines,” Thome says. ✔️ Try to prevent them from getting in: That means figuring out how the bugs are getting into your home and blocking the source, Meek says. Luckily, the methods below will help get rid of roaches and stray water bugs away from your home: “Cockroaches are attracted to homes because the habits of the human occupants provide them with plenty of food and shelter,” Russell says. If you do, in fact, happen to have a true water bug in your home, Russell recommends using this time-tested pest control method: a flyswatter.īut, our experts say the “water bug” is probably a cockroach. the middle segment of an insect’s body), Russell says. “Females have wing pads, while males have ¾ length wings,” he says.Ĭockroaches also have “bulging eyes” and chewing mouthparts, with the head mostly concealed from above by the pronotum (a plate-like structure that covers the thorax, i.e. Cockroaches are a dark brown or shiny black color, and tend to be about an inch long with six legs, long antenna, and an oval shape, says Michael Thome, associate certified entomologist at Ehrlich Pest Control. Giant water bugs have the large pinchers in front, cockroaches do not. Pictured left: American cockroach / Picture right: Water bug Getty Images How can you tell water bugs apart from roaches? They also have rear legs that are flattened and have tiny hairs called cilia to help propel them through the water, according to the National Park Service. Giant water bugs have an oval-shaped body and also have appendages on their body that “look like a big pincher,” Meek says. “They can be anywhere from 1.5 inches long to up to four inches long,” Meek says. Giant water bugs are pretty big by bug standards. Cockroaches, on the other hand, will happily set up shop in your home, as it has all the food, water, and shelter they need to survive. In general, these insects aren’t trying to get inside-they’re just trying to be where the moisture is. Instead, he adds, water bugs are more likely to be hanging out in ponds and lakes, or maybe a pool if they got there by accident.Ī water bug could happen to wander into your home at night if you live near water, especially if you leave your porch light on. “I would never say never when it comes to an insect, but typically you’re not going to find water bugs inside,” Meek says. Here’s the thing: If you spot a water bug-like insect in your home, it’s highly likely that it’s a roach, not a water bug. The term “water bug” is used to describe a range of insects, but the giant water bug is the one that’s usually confused with roaches, says Frank Meek, technical services manager at Rollins pest control. Some water bugs use their legs as paddles to move through the water, while others use surface tension to float on top of water. an entomologist at Michigan State University. Water bugs are aquatic insects, according to Howard Russell, M.S. bug experts) break down how to identify them, what to do if you happen to see a giant bug lurking in your home, and how to get rid of water bugs so you never have to deal with them again. Water bugs look a lot like roaches, but they’re actually pretty different-and there are a few simple ways to tell them apart. While the bug may look like a cockroach, it could also be a water bug. Spotting a cockroach-like bug in your home is seldom a welcome sight, and seeing something sizable that scuttles across your floor is especially freaky. ![]()
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