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Giant Flying Bugs in Florida

The flying palmetto bug, better known as the American cockroach, grows up to two inches in length. This giant flying bug is known as one of the fastest running insects as of 2011. Preferring a warm and humid climate, palmetto bugs inhabit many southern states, including Florida. This insect is omnivorous, meaning it eats just about anything. Some of its favorite foods are sugar, bread, fruit and paper, and it invades thousands of Florida homes to find them.

  1. Characteristics

    • Adult palmetto bugs are a shiny red-brown color with yellow just behind the head. Large nymphs often have yellow markings on the abdomen. Males and females are nearly identical in appearance. Adult males have styli on their abdomen, between the cerci. Cerci are a pair of finger-like appendages at the tips of the abdomens.

    Habitat

    • Palmetto bugs usually live outdoors but travel indoors in search of food. This cockroach inhabits areas where food is located and moisture is available, typically a kitchen or pantry. This pest also frequents restaurants, grocery stores and bakeries. Also known as, a water beetle, the palmetto will often be found in boiler rooms, sewers, tunnels, basements, crawl spaces and bathrooms, as well. They prefer being outdoors in the summer and indoors during cool dry months.

    Life Cycle

    • A female palmetto bug produces an egg case within seven days of mating. Each egg case contains about 14 embryos that emerge in 24 to 38 days, depending on the temperature of the location. Each adult female lays a new egg capsule every nine days during her lifetime of one year to 18 months. Juveniles molt seven or eight times before becoming an adult and are reproductive at six to 12 months of age. A recently molted cockroach appears white in color but only for a few hours.

    Control

    • You can help control palmetto infestations by removing rotting leaves from your property, limiting the number of moist places and caulking cracks in ground level walls or around pipes where they enter your home. Insecticides applied around the base of your home, indoors and out, help to keep palmettos from entering. Indoors, loose pellet baits have proven effective, according to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

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