Windermere, FL and nearby
A big roach on the floor at night
A large reddish-brown or dark roach in the house at night is what Floridians call a palmetto bug. UF/IFAS uses the name for the native Florida woods cockroach and, loosely, for any large roach such as the American or smokybrown — and most of them live outdoors.
Independent Florida-licensed providers. No obligation for the call.
Why it keeps happening
They live in the yard. Mulch, leaf litter, palm boots, wood piles and the shade under shrubs are home. The house is a place they wander into.
Weather pushes them in. UF/IFAS notes American cockroaches are rarely found in houses, but infestations can follow heavy rain. Orlando averages about 51 inches of rain a year, more than half of it from June to September.
Some ride in. The Florida woods cockroach usually gets indoors carried on something else — firewood, a potted plant, a box from the garage.
What the visit involves
A perimeter treatment and a look at how they are getting in: door sweeps, weep holes, gaps around pipes, the garage door seal, and the joint between a pool cage and the house. Mulch pulled back from the slab helps. Inside, the technician checks where the roaches were seen.
What to say when you call
- How big it was and what color
- Where you saw it, and at what time
- How often — once, or every few nights
- Whether you also see small roaches in the kitchen
Common questions
Does one roach mean an infestation? Usually not. A single large roach now and then is typically an outdoor insect that found a way in.
Can they fly? Some of the large species do fly or glide, especially in warm weather.
What if I see small ones too? That is likely a different species living indoors. Small roaches in the kitchen
Seeing it right now? Call and describe it — the line can tell you whether a visit is available near your ZIP code today.
(866) 204-1244Check the license before work starts
Florida pest control businesses are licensed by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and each business location must have a certified operator in charge. Any company or individual can be looked up in the department’s public database before a visit is booked.
For this job, the license category to look for is General Household Pest and Rodent Control.
Other things people find
- Winged insects swarming the porch light after sunsettermite treatment
- Thin mud tubes running up the slab or the garage walltermite treatment
- Little piles of pellets keep appearing below the trimdrywood termites
- There is an old termite treatment notice by the attic hatchtermite inspection
- Tiny, almost see-through ants at the sinkant control
- The same ant trail comes back after every sprayant control
- Dirt mounds in the lawn, and the ants stingfire ant control
- Small roaches in the kitchen cabinetsroach control
- Scratching and scurrying in the attic after darkrodent control
- Mosquitoes biting on the lanai in the afternoonmosquito control
- Waking up with new bitesbed bug treatment