Four species of cockroaches cause the most problems for homes and businesses in Canada: 

German cockroach – The German cockroach is the most common species of cockroach in Canada. It is tan to brown in colour with two parallel dark stripes on its back. It is a small roach, about 1 to 1.5 cm long. Although it primarily lives indoors, the German roach gets in cars, delivery vans, buses, trains and cruise ships by hitching a ride in people’s belongings.

American cockroach: This roach is larger, around 5 cm long, and is reddish brown in colour with a yellow-ish band around its head. They live mostly outdoors in sewers but find their way into basements, bathrooms and kitchens. They can fly short distances.

Oriental cockroach: This slow-moving black cockroach is about 1 cm in length. The Oriental cockroach mostly lives outdoors, such as under logs and mulch and in sewer and storm drains. It gets indoors through cracks and gaps in exterior walls and foundations.

Brown-Banded cockroach: The brown-banded cockroach is one of the smaller species of cockroaches in Canada at 1 to 1.5 cm long. It gets its name from the two brown stripes running across its abdomen. This cockroach doesn’t need as much moisture to survive like other cockroach species. As such, it can live in bedrooms and living rooms.

Also read: 

Roaches are gross and can make you sick

5 Things that Make Roaches Extra Hard to Kill… and how to outsmart them