Pictures of Cockroaches: Image Guide to Roaches

Written by: A O’Neill, Licensed Pest Management Professional

These pictures of cockroaches will help you identify which species is in your home. There are over 5,500 types worldwide and about 70 of these can be found in the United States. Here, you will find images of the more common roaches that you might find in and around your home.

Picture of German cockroach eating roach gel bait — *Picture of a German cockroach eating roach gel bait*

Below are some cockroach identification pictures of nymphs and adults. There are also images of infestations and cockroach droppings. We’ll start off with the most important and most common cockroach, the German cockroach.

Pictures of German Cockroaches

The German cockroach (Blattella germanica) is the most common and economically important species of roach in North America. In fact, it is actually the most prevalent species of cockroach in the world.

Measuring about 5/8″ (16 mm) in length, it’s one of the smaller-sized roaches and can be confused for other bugs, so the following German roach images show you what they look like. The distinctive two dark stripes on the pronotum will help identify them.

In the following close-up image you can see the two stripes I mentioned above, as well as two long antennae and six spiny legs which enable them to scurry around quickly.

Photo of an adult German cockroach with roach feces next to it — *Picture of a German cockroach adult with roach dropping next to it*

In this photo of two German cockroaches, you can see one from above and underneath the body of the other. You will often find dead cockroaches on their backs.

Cockroach picture of two roaches, one is upside down showing the legs and underside of the body — *Two German roaches, one showing the underside of the body*

Image of German cockroach egg case (ootheca) protruding from the female roach on the left — *German cockroach egg case (ootheca) protruding from the female on the left Image: Clemson University – USDA Cooperative Extension Slide Series, Bugwood.org*

Can cockroaches climb walls? Yes, they can! In this image, this German roach is crawling up the wall toward the ceiling.

*Adult German roach crawling up a wall towards the ceiling*

Picture of German cockroach egg casing — *Close up of German cockroach egg case*

Pictures of Baby Cockroaches

The photo below has most of the German cockroach life stages ranging from baby roach (and various stages of growth) to adult.

Picture of baby cockroaches and adults — *Adult German roaches and baby German cockroaches and later stage nymphs*

This is a zoomed-in image, again with a number of adults and numerous roach babies.

Image of baby roaches and adults — *Photo of German cockroach nymphs and adults I took when treating an infestation*

In the next picture, there are numerous German cockroach babies and adults clustered together in the corner of the ceiling eating the gel bait I put down. This species breeds quickly so you will need to get rid of these roaches as soon as you see any signs of them.

*Photo of roach adults and nymphs feeding on gel bait in the corner of a wall adjoining the ceiling*

The following photo shows various growth stages of the American cockroach nymph.

Picture of American roach nymphs and adults — *Picture of American roach nymphs Image: Daniel R. Suiter, University of Georgia, Bugwood.org*

Photos of Cockroach Poop

Finding cockroach poop is one of the first signs of an infestation. As the infestation grows in size, they will spread out looking for other hiding spots. This photo shows dead roaches and large amounts of cockroach poop on the bottom of the appliance.

Photo of cockroaches and lots of droppings in refrigerator — *Dead cockroaches and lots of droppings inside a refrigerator*

In the next image I took, there are two adults and two immature roaches, and lots of frass that have stuck to the sides of the cabinet.

Two adult and two baby cockroaches and lots of poop inside kitchen cabinet — *Picture of cockroaches and nymphs and lots of cockroach poop inside a kitchen cabinet*

Dead roaches lying on their backs surrounded by large amounts of cockroach droppings.

Photo of dead cockroaches lying on their backs inside kitchen cabinet — *Dead cockroaches lying on their backs inside kitchen cabinet with lots of droppings that look like black pepper or coffee grounds*

Another pic of what can happen if you don’t get rid of cockroaches quickly – they leave their droppings everywhere. German roach droppings look like coffee grounds or specks of ground black pepper.

*Live and dead cockroaches infesting kitchen cabinet. Notice all the frass.*

Kitchen cabinet shelf covered in cockroach droppings and dead roaches — *Another kitchen cabinet shelf covered in cockroach droppings and dead roaches*

Another zoomed-in picture of a cockroach sealing its fate by feasting on the gel bait. Again, notice all the droppings everywhere.

Close up photo of German cockroach surrounded by poop and eating gel bait — *Close up photo of German cockroach taking the bait while surrounded by lots of feces*

*Close up of cockroach and droppings on cabinet hinge*

Roach eating bait, surrounded by lots of roach poop. — *Roach eating bait, surrounded by lots of roach poop*

Pregnant Cockroach Images

While treating a German roach infestation, I took the following pictures of a pregnant cockroach carrying the egg sack, which you can see is protruding from the abdomen.

German cockroach carrying egg sac — *Zoomed in photo of cockroach carrying an egg sac*

cockroach pregnancy:roach with egg case protruding from lower abdomen — *Cockroach pregnancy – German roach with egg case protruding from lower abdomen*

*Close up of pregnant female German roach with ootheca*

Pictures of American Cockroaches

The American cockroach (Periplaneta americana) is peridomestic and is often found in sewers. It is the largest of the house infesting cockroaches and is also known as a ‘palmetto bug’.

This large reddish-brown pest can grow to over 2-inches (5cm) in length. In the following photo, you can see the yellowish-colored band on the pronotum and its two long antennae and six spiny legs.

What does an American cockroach look like — *Close up photo showing what an American roach looks like*

Adult American cockroach feasting on a cracker — *American cockroach Image credit: Clemson University – USDA Cooperative Extension Slide Series, Bugwood.org*

Lifecycle of American roach from egg to adult — *Lifecycle of American roach: egg, early and late-stage* baby cockroaches, *and adults. Image: Department of Entomology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln*

Pictures of Brownbanded Cockroaches

Brownbanded roaches are also known as ‘furniture cockroaches’ because they will infest the furniture in all rooms of your home.

They are small roaches and grow to around 0.5″ (1.2 cm) in length. Brownbanded roaches get mistaken for German roaches but you can tell them apart from their two yellow-brown bands on the center and lower areas of their wings.

They also have two long antennae and the pronotum is dark brown to black and has a bell-shaped pattern and translucent border.

Image of brown-banded cockroach lifecycle eggs, nymphs, adults — *Image of brown-banded cockroach lifecycle showing eggs, nymphs, adults Daniel R. Suiter, University of Georgia, Bugwood.org*

Picture of adult brown-banded cockroach — *Clemson University – USDA Cooperative Extension Slide Series, Bugwood.org*

Several brown-banded cockroach egg capsules ootheca in a cluster — *Several brown-banded cockroach egg capsules (ootheca) in a cluster. Pest and Diseases Image Library, Bugwood.org*

Close up photo of brown-banded cockroach adult — *Close up photo of brown-banded cockroach Clemson University – USDA Cooperative Extension Slide Series, Bugwood.org*

Pictures of Smokybrown Cockroaches

The Smokybrown roach is another peridomestic type of roach but is fairly easy to recognize as it is all one color – mahogany-brown, and it doesn’t have any markings on its pronotum.

This roach grows to about 1.5″ (33 mm) and has fully developed wings so they are capable of flying. It lives in warmer climates that have high levels of humidity.

In the following pictures of smokybrown roaches, you can see the familiar long antennae and six spiny legs.

Male and female smokybrown cockroaches picture — *Image showing female and male smokybrown roaches. Daniel R. Suiter, University of Georgia, Bugwood.org*

*Picture of an adult smokybrown cockroach. Image: Pest and Diseases Image Library, Bugwood.org*

Oriental Cockroach Pictures

This species of peridomestic roach has a shiny dark red-brown to black-colored body that has banded segments. The female oriental roach grows to 1.25″ (3.2 cm) while the males only grow to around 1 inch (2.5 cm).

This roach is slower than other roaches and their feet do not have the cushioned pad that other roaches have, so climbing walls and other smooth surfaces are nearly impossible.

The following pictures of oriental cockroaches show why they are also called ‘black beetles’ or ‘water bugs.’

Picture of Oriental roach adults, nymphs, and numerous egg capsules — *Picture of oriental roach adults, nymphs, and egg capsules. Image: Liz Kasameyer, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Bugwood.org*

*Picture of adult Oriental cockroaches. Credit: Clemson University – USDA Cooperative Extension Slide Series, Bugwood.org*

Closeup black shiny oriental cockroach — *Shiny Oriental cockroach that looks like a black beetle Image: Clemson University – USDA Cooperative Extension Slide Series, Bugwood.org*

White Cockroach Images

Below are some photos I took of a white roach when treating an infestation. White roaches are not a different species of roach, they are white when they are first born and after each molt.

White cockroach and german roach egg case — *White cockroach – german roach nymph and roach egg case*

Close up of white cockroach on its back — *Close up of white roach on its back with both eyes and six spiny legs visible.*

White roach next to roach ootheca — *Albino roach/white cockroach on its back and next to German roach egg case.*

So, there you have it! Numerous pictures of cockroaches that will hopefully help you identify them and tell them apart from other similar-looking bugs that you might find in your home.

However, it’s always best to get an expert opinion, especially if you are still unsure as a cockroach infestation will quickly grow and become harder to treat. Therefore, it is always advisable to get in touch with a professional pest control firm that will be able to tell you which species it is (usually German) and treat the problem for you.

I’ve been in the pest control industry helping people get rid of their unwanted pests for over 20 years, both in the UK and Canada.

As a licensed pest management professional, I’ve seen and treated just about every common household pest, insect, or rodent, you can think of. I’ve seen the damage caused when an infestation has been left too long and has become hard to get rid of.

For this reason, banffawa_pestssolutions.com was created. By having honest advice and the right guidance to hand, along with scientific evidence to back up claims, you are given information on the best eradication methods, as well as how to get rid of most pests yourself.

Anthony O’Neill, Licensed Pest Management Professional