Cockroach Control in Tempe, AZ

If the roach is more than an inch long and reddish, it did not start in your kitchen. A bug exterminator sees this constantly in the Valley: clean homes, a big roach in the tub, and a homeowner who assumes the worst. These roaches live in sewers, meter boxes and yard cover, and they come in by a small number of routes that can be found.

Sewer roaches in Tempe: which roach is it?

University of Arizona Extension lists seven introduced roach species well established in Arizona cities. Three matter most at a Tempe house.

• American roach. Also called the sewer roach, and the largest and most common in Arizona. Reddish-brown, winged, with two dark spots on a yellowish band behind the head.
• Turkestan roach. First found in Arizona in 1982 and now common around Phoenix. About an inch long. The male has long yellowish-tan wings, and the pear-shaped female has short wings with creamy edges. It works from in-ground boxes, expansion joints and hollow block, and peaks in June.
• German roach. About half an inch, tan, with two dark stripes. This one lives indoors and needs German cockroach control, a bait program that differs from everything on this page.

Anything else, such as the smaller field roach in leaf litter, gets named during the visit.

What brings roaches into a Valley home?

American roaches favor warm, humid spots above about 82°F. Sewer lines, meter boxes and storm drains offer that all summer. They rise into a house through a dry drain trap, a guest bath nobody uses or a gap where pipes pass through the wall.

Light does the rest. Male roaches fly toward lights on warm nights and then walk under a door with a worn seal. Woodpiles, potted plants, leaf litter and compost hold populations close to the house. Where roaches gather, so do the things that eat them, which is one reason spider control often comes up on the same call.

Signs that a route is active include a big roach in the same tub twice, dead roaches along a door or garage edge, and egg cases on a sheltered ledge.

How Kai looks for the entry points

The inspection follows the roach backward. Inside, that means sinks, tubs, floor drains, laundry standpipes, water heater closets and any pipe penetration with a gap around it. Outside, it means meter and valve boxes, sewer cleanouts, weep openings, door thresholds, the garage door seal, and anywhere ground cover is deep and damp.

Egg cases help too. American roaches cement them to protected surfaces, and each case holds about a dozen young that hatch around two months later. Finding those shows where they are living, not just passing through.

What does cockroach treatment include?

This page covers the big outdoor roaches: American, Turkestan and the occasional field roach. The work is route-based, because these roaches breed outside and visit. Kai traces how they reach the house, works those routes inside and out, and shows you what has to change on your side. Indoor German populations are planned separately. Sewer lines are out of reach of a home visit, so the focus stays on the point where the line meets your house.

• A drain and trap check in kitchens, baths, laundry standpipes and floor drains.
• A box check covering water meters, irrigation valves and sewer cleanouts.
• Treatment at foundation lines, thresholds and shelter points.
• Bait in cracks and boxes where the label allows it.
• A species call, including any egg cases he finds.
• A short exclusion list for door sweeps, pipe gaps and garage seals.

Cockroach control in Tempe, AZ: your options

• Exterior residual treatment. Applied at entry routes, boxes and foundation lines. It works on roaches walking in, and it needs repeating through the warm months.
• Bait in cracks, boxes and voids. Gives better long-term control than spray. It may take a week or more, and competing food slows it.
• Exclusion. Door sweeps, sealed pipe gaps and running water through dry traps. This costs little, and it is the part that lasts.
• Foggers. Skip them. UC IPM says they do not reach the crevices roaches hide in, and they bring flammability and exposure concerns.

The roach visit, step by step

1. You tell Kai where you saw them, how big they were and what time of day.
2. He checks drains and traps, then outdoor boxes and the perimeter.
3. He identifies the species, because it decides the whole plan.
4. He treats inside and out to the label, keeps placements out of the way of pets and kids, and gives you the re-entry time.
5. He shows you the gaps and dry traps to fix, and how to keep them closed.

Afterward, expect to find some dying roaches in the open for a few days. That is normal. Numbers should drop clearly over the following two weeks. If a big roach still shows up now and then in peak summer, the sewer is still out there, and the question becomes how often it gets in.

What drives the cost of roach treatment?

• Species, since outdoor roaches and an indoor German population are different jobs.
• How many entry points and boxes need attention.
• Size of the home and yard.
• One visit or repeat summer service.
• Whether drains or plumbing gaps need repair by someone else first.

Tempe homes vary more than you would guess. A 1980s house with several guest drains, a floor drain and a long wall line has more routes than a compact newer build. In-ground boxes add time, especially meter and valve boxes holding Turkestans. Flood-irrigated lots and heavy leaf litter raise pressure, and a woodpile or compost bin gives roaches more to work around. June through the monsoon is peak season, so timing changes how much repeat work makes sense. If a plumber needs to fix a broken trap first, that cost is separate and worth paying before treatment. Mention any rarely used bathrooms when you call.

What the city treats, and what stays with you

Tempe already does part of this work. The city says it regularly paints sewer manholes with insecticide paint, across more than 9,100 manholes and 1,100 clean-outs, treating one side of the freeway one year and the other side the next. That holds down roaches in the public system. It does not reach your pipes, your meter box or a dry guest bath trap, so the route at your house stays your job. Phoenix runs a similar manhole program and says it answers only for public sewers. Tempe's nuisance code, Sec. 21-3(b)(20), names roaches among infestations that may become a public health hazard, which matters mostly when a property has been left to get that bad. Heavy activity at a manhole is one to report through Tempe 311, not to treat yourself.

What you get with Kekoa on a roach job

• One reviewer had cockroaches in a new home and saw Kai the next day. That is a review, not a promise, so call and he will say when he can come.
• A reminder the day before and an on-time arrival, according to reviewers.
• An explanation you can use, covering what the roach is and where it entered.
• A list of the chemicals used, which reviewers report at monthly visits.
• Treatment inside and out, because the route starts in the yard and ends at your tub.
• An owner who stays with the job. Kekoa is family owned and owner operated, so the person who found the gap can answer for it later.
• Fair pricing and no sales gimmick, in the words of the business.

From Tempe, Kai also covers roach control in Chandler, Phoenix and Guadalupe, as well as homes right here in Tempe. Phone him to describe the roach. Size alone tells him a lot.