It happens every year around late summer. A heavy afternoon storm rolls through, and that night a big brown roach runs across the bathroom floor. A few days later there’s another one near the kitchen sink.
You’re not imagining it. In Miami, roach sightings often go up during the rainy season, roughly May through October, and September is right in the thick of it. Here’s why, and what to do about it.
Why the rain brings roaches inside
Most of the big roaches you see in South Florida are American cockroaches, the ones everyone calls palmetto bugs. They normally live outside and in places you don’t look:
- Storm drains and sewer lines
- Mulch, leaf litter, and dense landscaping
- Palm trees, woodpiles, and under pavers
- Crawl spaces, garages, and utility rooms
Heavy rain floods those spots. Water fills the drains, soaks the mulch, and pushes roaches out looking for somewhere dry. The heat and humidity that come with the rainy season also help them breed and stay active. Your house, with its cool air and dry corners, is an easy target.
They get in through:
- Floor drains, tub drains, and sink drains, especially ones that are rarely used
- Gaps under doors and worn weatherstripping
- Openings around pipes where plumbing enters the wall
- Garage doors that don’t seal at the bottom
German roaches are a different problem
Not every roach is a storm refugee. German cockroaches are small, live their whole lives indoors, and don’t need rain to show up. They’re common in older homes and apartments, and they hide in warm, tight spaces near food and water: behind the fridge, under the stove, inside cabinet hinges, around the dishwasher.
German roaches multiply fast. A small problem can grow into a large one in a matter of months, and store sprays tend to kill the ones you hit while the rest hide deeper.
How to tell them apart
| What to check | American roach (palmetto bug) | German roach |
|---|---|---|
| Size | Large, often 1.5 inches or more | Small, around half an inch |
| Color | Reddish-brown, lighter band behind the head | Light brown with two dark stripes behind the head |
| Where you see it | Bathrooms, garages, near drains, often one at a time | Kitchens and bathrooms, often several at once |
| Where it comes from | Outside, drains, landscaping | Breeds indoors |
| When it shows up | More after heavy rain and in hot months | Any time of year |
If you’re not sure, snap a photo. A technician can tell which one you have right away, and that matters, because each one needs a different approach.
Signs it’s more than a stray
One palmetto bug after a storm isn’t unusual. These signs point to something bigger:
- Small roaches in the kitchen, especially during the day
- Droppings that look like black pepper in drawers or cabinets
- Egg cases, small brown capsules, behind appliances or in corners
- A musty smell in cabinets or under the sink
- Roaches every night, not just after rain
What you can do to keep them out
A few habits make a real difference during the wet months:
- Run water in unused drains every week or so, and use drain covers or stoppers at night.
- Seal gaps around pipes under sinks and behind appliances.
- Replace worn door sweeps and weatherstripping, including on the garage door.
- Pull mulch back a few inches from the foundation and trim plants so they don’t touch the house.
- Fix leaks and wipe up standing water under sinks and around AC units.
- Don’t leave food or pet food out overnight, and keep trash sealed.
- Clear clutter like cardboard boxes and paper bags, which roaches use to hide.
These steps help keep palmetto bugs outside. They won’t clear out German roaches that are already breeding in your walls or appliances.
Why store sprays don’t solve it
Store sprays kill the roaches you hit. They don’t reach the nest, they don’t touch the eggs, and they can scatter roaches into new hiding spots. With German roaches especially, the next generation keeps hatching while you keep spraying.
When to call
Call for an inspection if:
- You’re seeing small roaches or several roaches at once
- You find droppings or egg cases
- Roaches keep showing up even in dry weather
- Someone in the house has asthma or allergies. Roach droppings are a known trigger. If symptoms are getting worse, see a doctor.
How Golden treats cockroaches
We start with a free cockroach inspection to find out which roach you have and where it’s coming from. Our licensed technicians then combine bait, an insect growth regulator that stops the next generation, traps, and spray. With the spray treatment you’ll see fewer roaches from the first day, and the bait and spray program takes about 3 weeks to wipe out the colony.
You don’t have to leave home for regular treatments. If we use an aerosol or fogger, everyone, including pets, needs to be out for 2 hours. You’ll get a price before any work starts, and we’re open 6am to 7pm every day with no extra charge on weekends.
If roaches are showing up more often, get in touch and we’ll get it handled before a few become a lot.
