98—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 31,1979 Cockroches can’t be conquered, only discouraged NEWARK, Del. - If you took a public opinion poll on the world’s least popular , bug, the cockroach would probably win - feelers down. This is one creature nobody wants around. Find a roach in your house and your first reaction (after the initial revulsion) is likely to be a protest: how could this happen? I keep my place clean! Unfortunately that’s no guarantee against a roach invasion, though careful sanitation does lower the chance of the pest taking up permanent residence. University of Delaware Extension entomologist Frank Boys has had lots of calls lately from folks troubled by such invasions. His first words usually are aimed at reassuring the caller that the presence of these fleet-footed scavengers is not necessarily a reflection on his or her housekeeping. Given the way roaches operate, you’re likely to find these creatures' anywhere, he explains. The trick is to keep them from staying. The cockroach has been around for a long time - 250 million years at least, judging by fossilized remains that have been found. This unique insect has the ability to survive anywhere man can - from the frigid antarctic to the sweltering tropics. It .has even survived atomic blasts and travel into outer space. Because of this phenomenal adaptability, there’s no way to eradicate the cockroach completely, says the entomologist. But once you understand its behavior there are some effective controls you can apply. the cockroach’s flattened, oval body is perfectly engineered for slipping through the tiniest cracks or crevices. Many of us have discovered this to our frustration after an abortive attempt to trap one of these creatures against the woodwork long enough to squash it. Also characteristic of the roach are its long, spiny legs and even longer, wavy an tennae. Its color depends on its age and species - ranging from dark brown to reddish brown and from tan to black. The female roach lays her eggs in a tiny capsule called an ootheca which resembles a reddish kidney bean and contains from 12 to 36 eggs, depending on the species. Sometimes she glues this capsule to a sheltered sur face like the back of a refrigerator or the underside of a hghtswitch panel From the day they nktcn, young roaches look just like a miniature version of their parents. Their appetite and survival skills are also well-developed. Of the approximately 3500 species of cockroach in the world, four are common in Delaware: the German, American, Oriental and brown-banded. The two that give us the most trouble are the German and the American types. It’s not uncommon, though, to find all four species in an apartment complex. Control measures for the cockroach can be summed up in just one word: John Deere 60-hp 2440 Plow, plant, and cultivate with this tractor This tractor, and others in the 40- to 80-hp John Deere lineup, deliver a wide range of power to handle all types of fieldwork. And with the emphasis these days on stretching fuel, these compact mighty tractors become a doubly practical choice. Each of these tractors is powered by a John Deere-built diesel (standard) with exceptional lugging ability for tillage work. And these engines, in spite of their power, are not fuel hungry. Teamed with the John Deere constant mesh transmission, they enable you to shift up and throttle back on lighter-load jobs such as hoeing and cultivating. All these John Deere Tractors also come equipped to handle your drawn, 3-pomt, and PTO-dnven tools. Come in and inspect our sensibly sized, sensibly priced lineup of John Deere 40-, 50-, 60-, 70-, and 80-hp tractors. Monitor soybeans and other crops as well as corn with John Deere’s Dual-Rate Monitor (# »“®“ ♦ LANDIS BROS. INC. NEUHAUS'ES INC. ROBERT E. LITTLE INC. M.S. VEARSLEY Lancaster, PA RD2, York, PA Zieglerville, PA &SONS 717-291-1046 1-83 Loganville Ext 3 215-287-9643 o* AO/mm 7I7 2 4 35 fr 13? 5 6 3Cr 215-696-2990 EQUIPMENT INC. STANLEY A. KLOPP Mohnton RD2, PA 19540 SHOT2BER6ERS INC. (nearAdamstown) EQUIPMENT Bernv.lle.PA Chapman Equipment 215-484-4391 Tmpf chSEpa PIKEVIUi 717-665-2141 " 215-398-2553 EQUIPMENT INC. KERMIT K. KISH® Oyster Dale Road A.B.C. 6ROFF INC. INC. J: 6 - * A6 SAL£S Oley RD2, PA New Holland. PA Lvnnoort PA Silverdale, PA 18962 215-987-6277 717-354-4191 215-257-5136 SANITATION. That’s the key, says Boys. Cleanliness in the kitchen is essential. Unwashed dishes and cooking utensils, or leftover food on the counter are open invitations for a serious roach in festation. Promptly clean up all food spills, too. The entomologist even suggests you vacuum even shelves in your kitchen occasionally to remove food crumbs that may collect in cracks there. Store dry pet food in roach proof containers away from the kitchen. And -wash your pet’s feeding dishes daily. Store garbage in tightly covered containers and don’t let it accumulate. Prevention also helps. Seal up all cracks in building foundations and walls, and caulk around air con ditioning units. Cover these when not in use. Paper, cardboard, lum ber, and general debris around the yard can provide food and shelter for roaches. So eliminating yard trash JOHN •icm will lessen the chances of theirmovmg in. Indoors, eliminate all possible hiding and breeding places for the insect. Seal cracks and close up openings around pipes and plumbing fixtures, furnace flues, and electrical outlet. For a small, localized infestation of cockroaches, your best control - other than preventive sanitation - may be to use an aerosol roach spray. There are several of these on the market. But if you live in an apartment, Boys suggests you call in the experts when you see signs of this pest. Trying to treat just one unit merely drives the insects into another. Instead, contact your apartment manager and request an exterminator. Most com plexes have pest control contracts for this very reason. You must treat the entire building for effective control. You also need the cooperation of everyone in Save fuel, time, moisture and soil with John Deere’s Max-Emerge Conservation Planter John Deere's Max-Emerge Conservation Planters, available in 4-row adjustable (30- to 40-inch rows), 6-row narrow or wide, and 8-row narrow models, give you a rugged planter you can rely on in conditions like sod or stubble. Heavy-duty springs help transfer weight from the 7 x 7-mch frame to each planting unit to keep coulters in the ground. The coulter, fluted or ripple, cuts a path ahead of the Tru-Vee™ opener with the cutting depth-gauging wheels. Optional cast-iron extra-tough conditions. Whether you would like to try minimum- or no tillage planting, stop in for more information on the Conservation Planters from John Deere. The Dual-Rate Monitor from John Deere lets you monitor corn populations or compare row populations for crops like soybeans and sorghum. The high/low rate switch makes monitoring practical for just about all of the row crops in our area. the building in the sanitation efforts that will prevent a recurrence of the problem. Besides sanitation and chemical controls, there’s another very simple way to deal with a heavy infestation of roaches - trap them. Here’s what to do. Take a pint jar and smear the inside of the hp with a thin, two-inch-wide band of petroleum jelly. Put bait inside the upright jar and leave this in an area where you’ve seen roaches. They’ll be able to get in, but won’t be able to climb back out over the greasy glass. You can catch up to 50 roaches a night in one of these jars. To catch the American or brown-banded cockroach, put bits of apple or raw potato in the trap as bait. For the German Cockroach, drop in a little fresh banana peel. In the case of a severe infestation you can place several ot the baited jars around a room or an apart ment.
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