American and smoky brown cockroaches prefer to live in sewers, garbage cans and crawl spaces — basically anywhere warm and moist. “(A house) is not their ideal environment,” Harris said.

Roaches are black, brown, and reddish-brown, and their size ranges from half an inch to almost two inches long. Their bodies can look shiny, and their wings fold tightly against their backs.

What they look like: The German cockroach is a small, light brown, torpedo-shaped roach that typically gets no longer than ¾ of an inch, says Coby Schal, Ph.D., who heads the Schal Lab at North ...

* Japanese name: Kuro-gokiburi * Scientific name: Periplaneta * Description: The smoky brown is similar to the more common American cockroach, but at 3-3.5 cm long it is slightly smaller. It is a ...

What to do if you see one. If one is spotted in the kitchen or living room, try to determine what species it is. American and smoky brown cockroaches are easy to deal with but German cockroaches ...

An American cockroach is larger, usually around 1 to 2 inches long. German cockroaches hang around the kitchen and bathroom while American roaches spend time in drains and basements. If you see ...