Waterbugs
What New Yorkers call a waterbug is almost always the Oriental cockroach, a dark roach that loves damp basements.
In New York, "waterbug" usually means the Oriental cockroach, a big, dark roach that lives in damp basements and drains. It is a cockroach, and it is treated like one.
Where they come from
Likely from North Africa or the Black Sea region, spread worldwide by trade ships.
Where they thrive
Cooler and wetter than other roaches: crawl spaces, drains, damp basements, under stoops and mulch.
How they behave
Shiny black, about 1 inch, and cannot fly. Slow, smelly and stuck at ground level.
In New York City
New Yorkers say 'waterbug' for any big roach. The Oriental is the one most active in spring.
Did you know?
They cannot climb smooth surfaces, which is why they turn up trapped in sinks and tubs.
Related pests
German Cockroaches
The roach that lives indoors, breeds fastest, and causes most commercial kitchen infestations.
Read more →American Roaches
The big reddish roach New Yorkers call a palmetto bug, coming up from drains and basements on hot nights.
Read more →Fruit Flies
Tiny flies that ride in on produce and turn bar drains, mats and recycling into breeding grounds.
Read more →Think you have Waterbugs?
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