The Oriental cockroach is a large species of cockroach, measuring about 1” in length at adulthood. It is dark brown to black in color and has a glossy body.

The female Oriental cockroach has a somewhat different appearance to the male, appearing to be wingless at first glance but has two very short and useless wings. She has a wider body than the male. The male has long wings, which cover a majority of his body and are brown in colour, and has a more narrow body.

The Oriental cockroach tends to travel somewhat more slowly than other cockroach species. They can often be found around decaying organic matter, and in sewers, drains, damp basements, porches, and other damp locations. They can be found outside in bushes, under leaf groundcover, under mulch, and around other damp places outdoors.

Oriental cockroaches can be harder to get rid of than other roaches. The females carry egg cases containing up to 16 individual eggs, and these “oothecae” are dropped by females and hatch on their own in about two months. Although adults can be fairly easily killed by residual insecticides, two months later the egg cases can hatch new nymphs.