Not all roaches are the same problem
Orlando has two roach stories, and they need completely different plans. The palmetto bug — the big American cockroach that sends people jumping — mostly lives outside in mulch, sewers, and tree holes, and wanders in through gaps. Seeing one occasionally is a perimeter and exclusion problem. The German roach — small, fast, kitchen-dwelling — lives and breeds indoors behind appliances and inside cabinets. Seeing those is an infestation problem, and it needs an indoor program.
Treating a German roach problem like a palmetto bug problem wastes your money. That is why the inspection and identification come first, every time.
How we treat each
For palmetto bugs and other outdoor roaches, we treat the harborage areas outside — mulch beds, leaf litter, tree holes, sewer-adjacent zones — and seal the entry points they use to wander in. Fewer cross the threshold, and the ones that do find nothing to sustain them.
For German roaches, we go inside with gel baits placed in the cracks and voids where they live: behind the fridge and stove, under sinks, inside cabinet hinges. Baits work because roaches share food — one feeding can affect the harborage. We also map the sanitation and moisture issues feeding the population, because bait without fixing the attractants is a treadmill.
The storm connection
After every big Orlando downpour, we get the calls: roaches in the garage, roaches in the laundry room. Heavy rain floods mulch beds, burrows, and sewers, and roaches move indoors within days. A maintained exterior barrier means the surge hits a wall instead of your kitchen.
How It Works: Our Roach Process
- Free inspection and species ID. Palmetto bug or German roach? The answer decides the entire plan, so identification comes first, every time.
- Source mapping. For outdoor roaches we map harborage: mulch beds, leaf litter, tree holes, sewer-adjacent zones, entry gaps. For German roaches we map indoor harborages: behind the fridge and stove, under sinks, inside cabinet hinges, dishwasher voids.
- Treatment. Exterior barrier plus harborage work for outdoor roaches. A gel bait program for German roaches, placed in the cracks and voids where they live.
- Follow-up visits. German roach programs run multiple visits timed to the breeding cycle, because egg cases keep hatching after the adults are gone.
- Exclusion and sanitation coaching. Sealing the gaps they use, and fixing the food and moisture conditions that feed the population.
The full Orlando roach lineup
American cockroaches, the palmetto bugs, are the big ones over an inch long. They live mostly outdoors in mulch, sewers, and tree holes and wander inside through gaps. Occasional sightings are a perimeter and exclusion problem.
German cockroaches are small, light brown, and fast. They live and breed indoors, usually in kitchens and bathrooms, and they are the fastest breeders of the bunch. Sightings mean a hidden population, and they need a real indoor program.
Brown-banded roaches prefer drier, higher indoor spots: upper cabinets, behind picture frames, in electronics. Smokybrown roaches live outdoors like palmetto bugs but love tree holes and attics. Australian roaches look like small palmetto bugs and live in similar outdoor harborage. Oriental roaches favor damp areas around sewers and drains. Each one lives somewhere different, so each one gets treated somewhere different.
German roaches: the indoor battle plan
German roaches need a campaign, not a visit. We place gel baits in the cracks and voids where they actually live, and we rotate bait formulations so the population does not develop aversion. Sticky monitors tell us where activity is heaviest and whether it is dropping.
The part many companies skip: sanitation and moisture partnership. German roaches thrive on available food, grease, and water. We map what is feeding your population: the crumbs behind the stove, the drip under the sink, the pet food left out. Bait without fixing the attractants is a treadmill. And because egg cases hatch on their own schedule, we time follow-up visits to the breeding cycle, not the calendar. Severe infestations take longer, and we will tell you that honestly after the inspection.
Palmetto bugs: the outdoor battle plan
For outdoor roaches, the house is the last line of defense, not the first. We treat the harborage areas where they live: mulch beds, leaf litter, tree holes, and sewer-adjacent zones. We build the exterior barrier so the ones heading indoors hit treated zones first. And we seal the entry points they use: door sweeps, pipe gaps, weep holes, garage door corners.
Storm season gets special attention. After every big Orlando downpour, flooded mulch beds and sewers push roaches indoors within days. A maintained barrier means the surge hits a wall instead of your kitchen, which is why the exterior program runs year-round, not just when you see one.
Seeing roaches?
Send the form below or call (301) 679-9193. Free inspection — we will identify the species and build the right plan.