The City of San Angelo's plans to treat a cockroach outbreak at the Animal Shelter are underway. The cockroaches pictured in this post are from the back entrance hallway on the north side of Animal Shelter.
The roaches are German cockroaches according to the city's pest exterminator MDK Services. Entomology at The University of Kentucky describes this type of cockroach:
German Cockroach (Blattella germanica) – This is by far the most common cockroach infesting homes and buildings. The pest thrives in the presence of humans but does not occur outdoors. Adults are light brown and about 1/2 inch long, with two dark stripes running lengthwise along the shield-like area behind the head. The nymphs are smaller and darker with a tan stripe down the middle of the back. German cockroaches reproduce very rapidly, which is one reason why controlling these pests can be difficult. A single mated female can produce thousands of new cockroaches in less than a year.
German cockroaches require warmth, moisture, and food, which is why they are most common in kitchens and bathrooms. Preferred hiding places include cracks and crevices under sinks and toilets; beneath/behind refrigerators, dishwashers, and stoves; near trash containers; and inside cabinets and pantries. German cockroaches also congregate in clocks, toaster ovens, and other heat-producing electronic equipment. When populations are large or food is scarce, they can be found in bedrooms, closets, and other areas of the home. German roaches spend most of their time hidden in cracks and crevices, but can be quite mobile. They often travel between rooms or adjoining apartments via walls, ceilings, pipes, wires and other openings.
After extermination the city plans to have the shelter professionally cleaned. It is exploring this possibility with Serv-Pro.
The City plans to move 86 dogs and 49 cats to a temporary location. The Red Barn at the Fairgrounds was mentioned as a possible site to keep shelter animals in new kennels/crates. The vendor is scheduled to deliver those kennels to the 4H area today. City maintenance and shelter staff will assemble those and move them to the decided location.
The tentative schedule is below:
The city committed to inform the public of its plans.
The City will update the public once dates have been finalized for the temporary closure of the shelter.
Stay tuned to the city's website for official information on their progress treating the roach outbreak..
Update 8-31-22: The City chose to update the public via Facebook and Twitter, not on the News portion of its website:
The shelter will use the 4H building to house 67 dogs and 17 cats as the community has responded to this crisis situation.
Note: The information for this post came from the City of San Angelo via a public information request. Update images came from the city's Facebook page.
Update 9-2-22: The City is back to posting updates on its News page.
"The shelter will continue to be treated for pests moving forward to ensure this roach problem does not resurface."
I'd prefer the city add a commitment to keep the shelter sanitary and not have what looks like bad hoarding conditions.
Update 9-6-22: PAWS returned the favor and defended the horrific conditions at the shelter while taking a swipe at people with legitimate concerns about the shelter choking off intake, releasing unaltered pets from the shelter, housing unadoptable animals for years while not fixing them and not writing citations for people who repeatedly ignore the mandatory spay/neuter ordinance.
PAWS went on the ding the city for "inadequate staffing and staff wages claiming the people responsible for animal care and welfare are making less than what they could make if they went to work for any fast-food restaurant in San Angelo."
Update 9-8-22: San Angelo Live published the photos showing horrific, hoarding conditions at the Animal Shelter. They normally run PAWS press releases free of charge. The Animal Shelter relies on PAWS to be its public face.
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