Cockroach: Facts

These fast moving insects are often seen running across the ceiling and along the floor. Sometimes they'll hide in dark places like kitchen cupboards and crawl under furniture, making them hard to spot. Cockroaches have long and powerful front legs, two pairs of antennae, six jointed legs, and wings. Their bodies are oval-shaped and they may look somewhat similar to ants. But unlike ants, they don't live in colonies. Instead, each single cockroach lives alone.

cockroach

Cockroaches are known to be pests in our homes.  These creepy crawlies are basically harmless unless you're allergic to them. Cockroaches are actually arthropods (insects with jointed legs) and belong to the insect order Blattodea. You'll find cockroaches in many different species throughout the world. There's the American cockroach, Periplaneta americana; the German cockroach, Blattella germanica; the Oriental cockroach, Blatta orientalis; the brown cockroach, Blattella germanica; the black field cockroach, Pectobacterium atrosepticum; the house cockroach, Blatta sp.; and finally the tropical cockroach, Periplanetes tropicalis. All of these species have distinct characteristics that set them apart from each other. They can vary in size from about 1/8 inch to 11 inches long. 

The female cockroach lays her eggs in batches of 50 to 200. Each batch contains between 100 and 150 eggs, depending on temperature. Once she finishes laying her eggs, she buries them in the substrate using mucus secretions. She then begins looking for a place to live where she can raise her young. Cockroaches need water to survive. A single adult female cockroach can drink approximately 1 millilitre of water per minute. Adult cockroaches are sensitive to changes in humidity levels because their skins become dry if there isn't enough moisture in the air around them. If humidity is low, cockroaches tend to move away from lights, heaters and vents to keep themselves cool and moist.

DO COCKROACHES EAT?

Cockroaches eat quite a bit. A female cockroach might consume up to 100 milligrams per day, while male cockroach eats about 20 milligrams. That's just 1/8th of a grain! While they do eat bacteria, mites, fungi, and algae, their primary diet consists of decaying food. This includes garbage, dead animals, meat, fish, fruit, vegetables, and even human faeces.

Unlike many other insects, cockroaches seem to really enjoy eating things that we humans would consider disgusting. Cockroaches are known to enjoy cheese, ice cream, chocolate, and coffee. They've been known to nibble at electrical wires and eat paint chips. But their favourite meals are sweet foods like candy, cake, and cookies.

In fact, cockroaches love sugar more than any other insect. One study found that cockroaches prefer honey to rotting meat. And when given a choice between sweets and rotting flesh, they chose the sweeter option every time. If you want to attract cockroaches to your home, keep your pantry stocked with sugary snacks. You can even try putting some sprinkles on the floor near where you store your food.