Aged or fresh materials of four samples (mouse chow, rice bran, dry yeast and organic fertilizer) were tested to determine the food preference of the drugstore beetle and the tobacco beetle. The tobacco beetle preferred fresh organic fertilizer and mouse chow, and the drugstore beetle preferred aged materials. Both species preferred the powdered samples to solid samples.

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An automatic recording system using laser sensor devices was designed for monitoring the behavior of the German cockroach, Blattella germanica, under laboratory conditions. The apparatus was composed of laser sensor units, a programmable logic controller and a data-storage unit. Using this device, the circadian activities were observed under several photoperiods. In 14L:10D, the number of males, females and 1st instar nymphs passing under the laser sensor in scotophase was significantly greater than in photophase. In addition, the activity rhythm of males under the conditions of 24D (total darkness) or 24L (total light) seemed to be broken down. The aversion behavior of the German cockroach against deet- or permethrin- treated plywood was also investigated. Deet with a concentration of 4 g/m² almost completely inhibited the passage of cockroaches in scotophase. Permethrin, however, could not completely stop the passage at a concentration of 0.8 g/m², although more than 30% of the test cockroaches were knocked down one day after treatment. In conclusion, this automatic monitoring system could provide accurate information on cockroach behavior and help estimate the repellency of chemicals.

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A study was conducted to investigate the proper method of placing sticky trap for estimating the population of cockroaches in areas inappropriate for ordinary horizontal placement of the trap on the floor. When the trap was leaned vertically against the wall, 79.7% of captured cockroaches were found in the lower part of the trap less than 10 cm from the floor. The result suggested that most cockroaches reach the trap not from the surrounding wall surface but from the floor. It was also found that a good number of cockroaches were captured, provided that environmental conditions were adequate for their living, even when the trap was placed horizontally in an area 250 cm above the floor. Existence of roach spots could be a good sign for estimating the locations of infested areas with large populations of cockroaches.

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A release cup containing cigarettle beetles with shelters was opened in the center of the floor in a room (540 cm×360 cm×250 cm height), on the morning of June 4 in one experiment, and in the morning of June 16 in another. Twenty-eight capture cups were placed along the edge of the room, and the numbers of beetles entering the cups were counted several times before and through the next morning. Normal beetles moved out of the release cup from late afternoon through the night. They did not leave the cup in the daytime, except just when the release cup was placed on the floor and they received some shocks by handling. The next morning, 11% (=12/105) of the beetles leaving the release cup were found in the capture cups with larval food or water in experiment A, and 31% (=20/65) were found in the capture cups with larval food or 5% honey water in experiment B. Among the beetles entering the capture cups, 8% (=1/12) were found in a water cup in the experiment A, and 20% (=4/20) were found in honey water cups in the experiment B, suggesting that the beetles would move to get water or nutrient water like honey for themselves, as well as to get dry food and to oviposit on larval food. More beetles were found in the capture cups on the darker floor line under the dark wall of counter-light conditions than in cups in front of a white wall reflecting the light from the opposite windows.

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Cockroaches in urban environments were surveyed by sticky traps from July through October, 2006, in Minato-ku, Tokyo. When the traps were installed under outdoor vending machines, the smoky-brown cockroach, Periplaneta fuliginosa was captured most frequently, followed by the German cockroach, Blattella germanica throughout the test periods. Old and young nymphs of the smoky-brown cockroach increased in October.

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