American Cockroach / Palmetto Bug in Mobile, AL (Periplaneta americana)

In Mobile and Baldwin County, the American cockroach is
almost always called by its regional name — the “palmetto bug.”
It is the largest common cockroach in the Gulf Coast Alabama corridor,
active year-round in the humid subtropical climate, and pushes indoors
on rainy nights and during temperature swings. Treatment is performed
under ADAI HPC certification.

(251) 555-0100

Identification

• Size: 1.5–2 inches as adults — the
  largest common cockroach in homes here.
• Color: reddish-brown with a distinctive yellow
  figure-8 marking on the pronotum (behind the head).
• Flight: capable of short flights at temperatures
  above ~80°F. Often glides toward porch lights on warm humid
  evenings.
• Egg case (ootheca): dark brown, ~8 mm, deposited
  in crevices.

Why Mobile & Baldwin sustain year-round palmetto bug pressure

• Humidity. Mean summer humidity above 70% and ~67
  inches of annual rainfall create ideal conditions.
• Habitat. Mulch beds, woodpiles, sewer access
  points, basements, crawl spaces, palm-tree boots, and mature live
  oak debris are primary outdoor harborage.
• Indoor pressure triggers: heavy rain (especially
  after the dry-spell-to-rain transition), interior humidity above
  70%, plumbing leaks, and any structural gap connecting wall voids
  to crawl space / sewer.
• Sewer-line communication. Mobile’s older sewer
  system creates an easy palmetto bug pathway from outside to indoor
  drains.

Health & nuisance considerations

American cockroaches are not directly disease-vectoring in the same
way mosquitoes are, but they mechanically carry bacteria across food
surfaces and produce allergens (cockroach allergen is a documented
asthma trigger). The visible scatter response under light is a quality-
of-life problem for residents and a regulatory issue for restaurants
and food service.

Treatment approaches our technicians use

• Inspection — harborage mapping (under sinks,
  behind appliances, plumbing voids, crawl space, sewer-line access).
• Perimeter exterior treatment — the primary
  palmetto-bug intervention; targets the outdoor harborage before they
  push in.
• Gel bait + IGR (interior) — for active
  indoor populations.
• Crack-and-crevice dust — in voids, behind
  switch plates, in plumbing chases.
• Sewer / drain treatment — vent stack
  screening and drain treatment to break the sewer pathway.
• Moisture / sanitation guidance — gutter
  drainage, mulch pull-back, woodpile relocation, crawl-space humidity
  control.

When to call

• Palmetto bugs gliding toward porch lights on humid nights
• Cockroaches scattering when kitchen / bathroom lights flip on
• Egg cases on baseboards, behind appliances
• Sewer-pipe smell paired with cockroach activity (sewer breach)
• Restaurant / food-service inspection failure

ADAI category

HPC (Household Pest Control). See
ADAI licensing reference.

Related

• Cockroach control overview
• Rodent control
• Bed bug treatment
• All pests common in Mobile
• Emergency pest control
• ADAI licensing

Frequently asked questions

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(251) 555-0100