Field plate · Periplaneta americana
American cockroach
The big red-brown roach of basements, drains, and boiler rooms. Impressive, fast, and usually a plumbing problem first.
Plate 3 of 28. Drawn in profile to the identification marks named below; the scale rule is a drawing convention — sizes are given in the text.
Identification marks
The largest house roach here: 35–40 mm, reddish brown, with a pale yellow-brown margin on the shield behind the head. Wings cover the body; it can glide from high places.
Look-alikes it is confused with
Oriental cockroach (darker, almost black, shorter wings, slower) and the much smaller German cockroach. Size alone rules the German out.
Where it hides in a house
Damp basement corners, floor drains, sumps, sewer and steam-line chases, and under basement sinks. In older Erie housing it follows warmth and water in the lowest level and only occasionally reaches kitchens.
Health & property risk, stated plainly
A filth-associated insect that moves between drains and stored goods; it spoils what it crosses and signals a moisture or drain fault worth fixing in its own right.
What actually works
Fix the water: trap primers, drain covers, sump lids, leak repairs, and dehumidification. Remove basement clutter and stored paper. Targeted crack-and-crevice treatment and monitoring traps in the basement finish the job.
What doesn't
Treating the kitchen for a basement insect, and pouring bleach or insecticide down drains, which is off-label, corrosive to plumbing, and useless past the trap.
When to call a licensed pro
Call a pro when roaches persist after the drains and moisture are fixed, or when they appear on upper floors — that pattern suggests a void or chase colony.