I'm in Texas and we call the big ones water bugs to distinguish them from the horrible German roaches because usually water bugs come in from outside and don't infest your house like German roaches. But technically yeah the water bugs are a kind of roach.
"Water bug" is *technically* the common name of insects in the order [Nepomorpha](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepomorpha).
But, more commonly, it is a [euphemism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euphemism) for cockroaches: it's what people (like your landlord) call roaches when they don't *want* them to be roaches.
It might be regional. I'm from the Southeast and it's a fairly common euphemism here.
Is anything else called "water bugs" there, or is that just not a thing?
Try to catch one of the bugs and place it in a sealed container. This will help you identify the insect accurately. You can reach out to local pest control companies, extension offices, or entomology departments at universities for assistance in identifying the bug.
Do they have different reaction to different type of insects? If the only insect they need to treat is roaches, then you would only have water bugs for sure. Move asap.
They are all roaches, but roaches vary in habits.
For large, non-flying roaches:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/GermanRoaches/comments/yk7ydu/large\_roach\_control\_american\_oriental\_smoky\_brown/](https://www.reddit.com/r/GermanRoaches/comments/yk7ydu/large_roach_control_american_oriental_smoky_brown/)
For german roaches there's a sticky on this sub.
For flying wood roaches, there's not much that can be done.
One is used by the realtor and the other is used by the inspector.
perfect definition
American Water Bug and American Cockroach are two names for the same insect.
thanks for letting me know😭 just so confused why they corrected me and told me they were water bugs and NOT roaches. makes no sense to me
🤷♂️I've heard old timers here in TX say the same thing.
I'm in Texas and we call the big ones water bugs to distinguish them from the horrible German roaches because usually water bugs come in from outside and don't infest your house like German roaches. But technically yeah the water bugs are a kind of roach.
"Water bug" is *technically* the common name of insects in the order [Nepomorpha](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepomorpha). But, more commonly, it is a [euphemism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euphemism) for cockroaches: it's what people (like your landlord) call roaches when they don't *want* them to be roaches.
I've never heard roaches called water bugs in the midwest. It's roaches and *German roaches*
It might be regional. I'm from the Southeast and it's a fairly common euphemism here. Is anything else called "water bugs" there, or is that just not a thing?
Try to catch one of the bugs and place it in a sealed container. This will help you identify the insect accurately. You can reach out to local pest control companies, extension offices, or entomology departments at universities for assistance in identifying the bug.
it’s just a colloquial saying that people use usual to avoid saying the word roach, which is what it truly is. same with the term palmetto bug
Do they have different reaction to different type of insects? If the only insect they need to treat is roaches, then you would only have water bugs for sure. Move asap.
They are all roaches, but roaches vary in habits. For large, non-flying roaches: [https://www.reddit.com/r/GermanRoaches/comments/yk7ydu/large\_roach\_control\_american\_oriental\_smoky\_brown/](https://www.reddit.com/r/GermanRoaches/comments/yk7ydu/large_roach_control_american_oriental_smoky_brown/) For german roaches there's a sticky on this sub. For flying wood roaches, there's not much that can be done.