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How to identify it
- Males and females look so different they can pass for two species. Females are about 1 inch long and dark brown to black, with cream-colored markings along the edges behind the head and a cream stripe along the edge of their short, rounded wings.[1][2]
- Males are slightly smaller and slender, brownish orange to reddish, with long yellowish-tan wings edged in cream stripes. They can glide and are drawn to lights, so males are the ones most often seen indoors.[1][2]
- Nymphs are dark brown to black with reddish heads, thoraxes and legs, and have no wings.[1][2]
- They can't climb smooth surfaces, one reason they are easy to keep in breeding tanks.[2]
Look-alikes
| Look-alike | How to tell them apart |
|---|---|
| Oriental cockroach | Oriental females look similar but lack the cream-colored edge markings, and Oriental nymphs lack the reddish coloring of Turkestan nymphs.[1][2] |
| American cockroach | Turkestan males are often mistaken for American cockroaches. The American is larger, about 2 inches, reddish brown, with light-colored edges on the pronotum; the Turkestan male is smaller and lighter in color.[1][2] |
Where it lives
Native to a region from northern Africa to Central Asia, and spread around the globe since the 1970s. In the U.S. it is established across the Southwest, where it has become the most common cockroach in many urban areas, and it has been reported in the southern states. In California it is displacing the Oriental cockroach especially in southern California, the Central Valley and other warm, dry areas. In Texas it was long reported from El Paso; in 2024 a Texas A&M entomologist reported an infestation in Allen, in North Texas.[2][4][3][1]
Biology and life cycle
Its life is much like the Oriental cockroach's, but Turkestan nymphs develop faster and females produce many more egg cases, which researchers think helps explain why it is displacing the Oriental cockroach outdoors.[1][3]
In a UC Riverside lab study at 26.7 °C, nymphs took an average of 222 days (males) and 224 days (females) to become adults, passing through five nymphal stages. Females laid up to 25 egg cases averaging 16.8 eggs, 82.7 percent of eggs hatched, and adults lived at least 612 days.[3]
Rearing conditions change those numbers a lot. In a 2026 New Mexico State study, nymphs reared alone took 181.5 to 225 days depending on sex and temperature and went through 7 to 11 molts, while nymphs reared in groups matured in 76.5 to 120.2 days.[5]
Turkestan cockroaches are sold online and reared as food for reptiles and other insect-eating pets: they breed fast, are hardy and can't climb out of smooth tanks. Texas A&M says the pet trade has greatly increased their spread.[1][2]
They also hitch rides in potted plants, bags of soil, firewood, lumber, moving boxes and moving trucks.[2]
Damage and signs
- It is mainly an outdoor cockroach that comes into buildings now and then rather than living and breeding indoors, though Texas A&M notes it can become a significant indoor pest in some places.[1][3][2]
- Around homes it lives in in-ground boxes for water meters, irrigation and electrical lines, in cracks and crevices and in hollow block walls.[3][1]
Health risk
Research on cockroach allergens comes mostly from indoor infestations: cockroach exposure raises the risk of asthma attacks and may raise the risk of developing asthma, a link that is strongest for children in city housing. For this species, a 2026 review says it has a recognized but understudied ability to carry pathogens.[6][7][4]
Control
Keep them out
Seal cracks and other openings to the outside so roaches living in the yard can't come indoors.[1]
Sanitation
Take away food, water and shelter near the house: fix plumbing and irrigation leaks, keep trash in containers with tight-fitting lids and store food in sealed containers.[1]
Biological control
A tiny wasp that parasitizes cockroach egg cases, Aprostocetus hagenowii, accepted Turkestan egg cases in lab tests, but its success fell over later generations, so it would need repeated releases.[9]
Pesticides
Baits and dusts are the main tools; Texas A&M says infestations are usually managed with desiccating dusts and baits. When numbers are high and roaches are moving indoors, UC IPM says insecticide treatment of outdoor harborage may be needed.[1][2]
When to call a professional
In lab tests, dried residues of most of the professional insecticide products tested killed 77 to 100 percent of Turkestan nymphs within 4 days, but results and speed varied between concrete, tile and wood.[8]
How it reached the United States
It was first noticed in the U.S. in 1978 around the former Sharpe Army Depot in California, and soon after at Fort Bliss in El Paso and several other military bases. Researchers believe it arrived on military equipment returning from central Asia.[2]
A 2026 review flags three concerns: its understudied ability to carry pathogens, a pet trade with little or no regulation, and signs that it is moving into new kinds of habitat.[4]
Where sources disagree
Time to adulthood: about 222 to 224 days at 26.7 °C in the 2013 UC Riverside study, against 76.5 to 225 days in the 2026 New Mexico State study, depending on temperature and whether nymphs were reared alone or in groups.[3][5]
Number of molts: five nymphal stages (UC Riverside) or 7 to 11 (New Mexico State, nymphs reared alone).[3][5]
Indoors: UC IPM calls it an outdoor species that only temporarily invades buildings, while Texas A&M says it can become a significant indoor pest in some places.[1][2]
Common questions
- Are Turkestan cockroaches sold as pet food?
- Yes. It is one of the cockroaches commonly sold online as feeder insects, and Texas A&M says that trade has sped its spread.[1][2]
- What are the tan roaches gliding around outside at night?
- In the Southwest they are often Turkestan males, which have long wings, glide and are attracted to lights. The dark, short-winged females stay hidden.[2][1]
- Do Turkestan cockroaches live indoors?
- Mostly not. They live outside in meter boxes, cracks and debris and come in only occasionally.[1][3]
Sources
- University of California Statewide IPM Program, “Cockroaches (Pest Notes, Home and Landscape).” ipm.ucanr.edu/home-and-landscape/cockroaches/ (accessed 2026-11-11)
- Texas A&M AgriLife Extension (Insects in the City), “The Turkestan cockroach, an emerging pest in Texas.” citybugs.tamu.edu/2024/06/26/the-turkestan-cockroach-an-emerging-pest-in-texas/ (accessed 2026-11-11)
- Journal of Economic Entomology, via PubMed, “Kim and Rust (2013), Life history and biology of the invasive Turkestan cockroach (Dictyoptera: Blattidae).” pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24498744/ (accessed 2026-11-11)
- Journal of Economic Entomology, via PubMed, “Grady, Dupuis, Blasing and DeVries (2026), Turkestan cockroaches: history, invasion, and future threats.” pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42776570/ (accessed 2026-11-11)
- Insects, via PubMed, “Budha Magar, Bowers, Quezada and Hubbard (2026), Development and morphometrics of the Turkestan cockroach (Periplaneta lateralis) under solitary and cohort rearing at 25 and 30 °C.” pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42783315/ (accessed 2026-11-11)
- Current Opinion in Pulmonary Medicine, via PubMed, “Byrd and Joad (2006), Urban asthma.” pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16357582/ (accessed 2026-11-11)
- Clinical Reviews in Allergy & Immunology, via PubMed, “Poowuttikul, Saini and Seth (2019), Inner-city asthma in children.” pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30666508/ (accessed 2026-11-11)
- Insects, via PubMed, “Gaire and Romero (2020), Comparative efficacy of residual insecticides against the Turkestan cockroach, Blatta lateralis, on different substrates.” pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32731364/ (accessed 2026-11-11)
- Journal of Economic Entomology, via PubMed, “Smith, Chicas-Mosier, Fadamiro and Appel (2023), Potential of the oothecal parasitoid Aprostocetus hagenowii as a biological control agent for the Turkestan cockroach.” pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37227849/ (accessed 2026-11-11)
- iNaturalist, “Periplaneta lateralis taxon page (order and family).” www.inaturalist.org/taxa/1473952 (accessed 2026-10-06)