Population density of cockroach species and magnitude of their infestation in Jeddah Province, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The results of a cockroach survey in the 14 sub-municipalities of Jeddah province revealed that a total of 3551 cockroaches were caught by 491 of 1433 traps (36.5%), from 128 of 168 houses (76.2%). Overall, relative density ranged from 8.1 (in Obhour sub-municipality) to 43.2 (in Alaziziah sub-municipality) with an average of 21.1 cockroaches per house. It has been noticed that the population density of the cockroaches is high in the central and southern parts of the province where the sanitation and standard of living are poor. 76.4% of the cockroaches were caught in the kitchens (2712), 15.1% in rooms (537) and 8.5% in the bathrooms (302). Amongst those caught in the kitchens, the stove was found to be the most attractive habitat for the cockroaches (38.2%) followed by the fridge (16.5%), then under the sink (10.2%), in the area of the trash bin (8.1%) and finally under cabinets (3.4%). For those cockroaches caught in the bathrooms, 5.2 % (185) of them were caught under or near washing machines and 3.3 % (117) were under or near the toilet. Surveys conducted in eight property types in the Jeddah province revealed that 1052 cockroaches were caught by 98 of 120 traps (81.7%). Overall, relative density ranged from 2.9 (in hotels) to 28.1 (in restaurants) with an average of 8.8 cockroaches per property. All the restaurants (100%) and cafeterias (100%) were found infested by cockroaches, while 93.3% of the hospitals, 86.7% of the hotels, 80% of the groceries 73.3% of the butcheries, 66.7% of the vegetable and fruit shops and 53.3% of the bakeries were found to be infested by cockroaches. Restaurants had the highest infestation level (40% of the total number of cockroaches trapped in all properties), while hotels had the lowest infestation level (4.1% of the total number of cockroaches trapped in all properties). Four species of cockroaches were identified from the 14 sub-municipalities, as well as from the eight property types in Jeddah province, namely: the German cockroach (Blattella germanica L.), the American cockroach (Periplaneta americana L.), the brown-banded cockroach (Supella longipalpa F.) and the Oriental cockroach (Blatta orientalis L.) belonging to 4 genera. The German cockroach Blattella germanica was found to be the most predominant species with 98.8% occurrence in dwellings, and 97.7% in properties.