60 Unbelievable Facts About Cockroaches!

Facts About Cockroaches: Cockroaches are one of the most ancient species of the Carboniferous period, dating back to about 320 million years ago. But early ancestors lacked internal ovipositors. Cockroaches, like other similar creatures, are ordinary creatures that do not have special mouthparts for sucking or drinking.

A cockroach is a small insect that can fly and walk. These are among the organisms that transmit infectious diseases. They are found in 30 species in the world. The best-known species of cockroach is the American cockroach (scientific name: Periplaneta americana). They are believed to be native to America.

Interesting Facts About Cockroaches

• Cockroaches have been around since the time of dinosaurs!
• Some female cockroaches only mate once and stay pregnant for life!
• Cockroaches are commonly found in buildings and homes because they prefer warm environments close to food and water.
• Roaches live for decades. Cockroaches can live anywhere between a few months to a couple of years, depending on the species.
• Cockroaches are Really Old. It is believed that cockroaches originated more than 280 million years ago in the Carboniferous era.
• Roaches will eat anything. The opposite of a myth, this is 100 percent true. Roaches eat everything from plant matter to people food, dead skin cells, garbage and even feces.
• The World's Largest Roach is Six Inches Long. Only found in South America, this species also has a one-foot wingspan. For context, average cockroaches can vary in size from ½"- 2" long.
• A Cockroach Can Hold Its Breath for 40 Minutes. These pests can even survive being submerged under water for half an hour. They hold their breath often to help regulate their loss of water.
• Many species of roaches prefer to live near a water source, but few can survive in water for long periods. If fully submerged in water, roaches can ‟hold their breath” for up to 40 minutes.
• They Can Run Up to Three Miles in an Hour. While this may seem like an impressive athletic ability, what it really means is that they can spread germs and bacteria throughout a home very quickly.

Amazing Facts About Cockroaches!

• Roaches drink beer. Some roaches do seem to like alcoholic beverages, beer included. This is not a myth, though it’s likely because of the sugars found in alcohol, not because roaches like to party.
• Attaphila is a genus of cockroaches that live as myrmecophiles in the nests of leaf-cutting ants. They have been suggested to feed on the fungus their host ants farm, or the cuticular lipids of ant workers.
• All roaches fly. That’s a myth. Only some species of roach can fly. Others use their wings to stabilize themselves when they jump, which might appear as flight, but it’s not. Some roaches can’t even do that.
• Roaches are everywhere. That’s a myth, but just barely. There are species of roaches on every continent except one. Roaches are adaptable and find ways to survive in most environments, just not in Antarctica.
• Newly born cockroach becomes adults in as little as 36 days. In fact, the German cockroach is the most common of the cockroaches and has been implicated in outbreaks of illness and allergic reactions in many people.
• Newborn German Cockroaches Become Adults in as Little as 36 Days. In fact, the German cockroach is the most common of the cockroaches and has been implicated in outbreaks of illness and allergic reactions in many people.
• There are More Than 4,000 Different Cockroach Species Worldwide. The most common species is the German cockroach. Other cockroaches found in America include the brown-banded cockroach, American cockroach and oriental cockroach.
• Roaches move really, really fast. Indeed they do. A cockroach can move at speeds of more than three miles per hour, which is very fast given their size. Even a baby cockroach, called a nymph, can travel at close to those speeds.

Mind-Blowing Facts About Cockroach for Kids 

• The American Cockroach Has Shown an Attraction to Alcohol. Similar to other pests, this cockroach species is drawn to some alcoholic beverages, especially beer. They are most likely attracted by the hops and sugar present in the drink.
• Makoto Mizunami and Hidehiro Watanabe, two scientists at Japan’s Tohoku University, found cockroaches could be conditioned much like dogs. They introduced the scent of vanilla or peppermint just before giving the roaches a sugary treat.
• The bigger a roach, the worse it is. Not even close. The size of a roach does not always make a difference in whether or not it is more dangerous or problematic. The smallest roach can carry disease just as frighteningly as a larger one.
• A handful of cockroach species have wings, the majority of them aren’t good flyers, or can’t fly at all. On the other hand, some are strong, capable fliers whilst others just glide from one spot to another, and only for a short period of time.
• Roaches are deterred by scents that humans enjoy, such as citrus. For kitchen deterrents, cockroaches dislike the smell of cinnamon, bay leaves, garlic, peppermint, and coffee grounds. If you want a strong-smelling disinfectant, choose vinegar or bleach.
• Cockroaches like to be touched. Roaches are thigmotropic, meaning they like feeling something solid in contact with their bodies, preferably on all sides. They seek out cracks and crevices, squeezing into spaces that offer them the comfort of a tight fit.
• A roach can survive for a long time without eating. This is true, but the news isn’t all good for the cockroach. Most roaches can go up to a month without food because they are cold-blooded. However, they will die in a week if they do not have access to water.
• Mama cockroach protects her eggs by enveloping them in a thick protective case, called an ootheca. A female cockroach can produce multiple egg cases over her lifetime. In some species, the mother will carry the ootheca with her until the eggs are ready to hatch.

Fun Facts About Cockroaches

• A One-Day-Old Baby Cockroach Can Run Almost as Fast as Its Parents. For reference, these babies are about the size of a speck of dust! So, not only are they fast, but they are also elusive, which is a dangerous combination for a pest known to transmit various diseases.
• Most roaches prefer sugar and other sweets, but they will eat just about anything: glue, grease, soap, wallpaper paste, leather, bookbindings, even hair. And cockroaches can survive a remarkably long time without food. Some species can go as long as six weeks without a meal.
• Although some species do prefer to live in dark, quiet areas, some cockroaches love the light as much as we do. They’ll gather near windows or on television screens at night. Most of the time, cockroaches don’t run because they fear the light; they do so because they fear you.
• The only thing that kills roaches is roach treatment. Patently false. Roaches have natural predators and aren’t very high up on the food chain. In addition to people’s attempts to remove the household pests, there are animals, centipedes and certain species of wasp that prey on cockroaches.
• Cockroaches can withstand a nuclear explosion. This is one of the most common myths to be quoted as a fact. The truth is that a cockroach can withstand 10 times more radiation than a person, but they would not survive a nuclear event. However, there are much easier ways of getting rid of them.
• The roach first inspects the opening with its antennae. Then it jams its head through, follows with its front legs, and begins pulling the rest of its body into the breach. The back legs splay but continue to push. Perhaps in the future, the cockroaches you’ll want to crush will be robotic ones.
• Cockroaches are nocturnal creatures that are most active during the nighttime. During these hours, roaches are often on the hunt for food, which can be anything from a few crumbs in your kitchen to the glue on the backside of some stamps in your junk drawer. In the daytime, roaches prefer to stay hidden.
• A Cockroach Can Live for Week Without Its Head. Due to their open circulatory system, and the fact that they breathe through little holes in each of their body segments, they are not dependent on the mouth or head to breathe. The roach only dies because without a mouth, it can't drink water and dies of thirst.
• Cockroaches Can Live Without Food for One Month. Cockroaches are able to go for so long without sustenance because they are cold-blooded insects. However, they can only survive for one week without water, which is why they are commonly found in humid or high-moisture areas around the home, such as basements and bathrooms.

Scientific Facts About Cockroaches

• For millions of years, cockroaches have carried on a symbiotic relationship with special bacteria called Bacteroides. These bacteria live within special cells called mycetocytes and are passed down to new generations of cockroaches by their mothers. The Bacteroides manufacture all the vitamins and amino acids the cockroach needs to live.
• Cockroaches don’t need head to survive. Lop the head off a roach, and a week or two later it will still respond to stimuli by wiggling its legs. Why? Surprisingly, its head isn’t all that important to how a cockroach functions. Cockroaches have open circulatory systems, so as long as the wound clots normally, they aren’t prone to bleeding out.
• Most domestic roaches don’t come close to the size of their giant, tropical cousins. Megaloblatta longipennis boasts a wingspan of 7 inches. The Australian rhinoceros cockroach, Macropanesthia rhinoceros, measures about 3 inches and can weigh 1 ounce or more. The giant cave cricket, Blaberus giganteus, is even larger, reaching 4 inches at maturity.
• Roaches only invade dirty homes. This is a myth. Roaches might enter clean homes, depending on ease of access to the water and food sources in the home. Dirtier homes just provide easier access, so it is more common. This is why it is important to not only keep your home clean, but also to ensure that cracks and points of entry for roaches and other insects are properly sealed.
• All cockroaches are bad cockroaches. While they might not be good, not all of them are bad, so this is false. Of the thousands of species of cockroaches in the world, only about one percent are considered pests. That equals about 30 types of roaches. Those most commonly found in U.S. households pretty much make up your ‟bad guys.” They are the American, German, Oriental and brown-banded cockroaches.
• Cockroaches cause allergies and make people sick. This is no myth, but rather, a severe problem. Cockroaches produce proteins that some people can be sensitive to, particularly those with asthma. The trails of fecal matter and decaying molted exoskeletons that roaches leave behind also contribute to the allergens they produce. Roaches also carry bacteria, which can lead to the spread of disease as roaches crawl across food or surfaces in the home.
• Cockroaches can spread disease by contaminating human food with germs they pick up in latrines, garbage dumps, etc. they may play a supplementary role in the spread of some diseases. Similar to rodents, cockroaches are known to transmit the Salmonella bacterium which can cause salmonellosis, a disease in humans with symptoms similar to food poisoning. Cockroaches accumulate the bacteria by crawling in filth and feeding on contaminated food materials.
• Cockroaches don’t need mouth to breathe. They do this by using a very efficient breathing system that uses air-filled tubes, called the trachea, to deliver oxygen directly to cells. Oxygen flows in as required into the tracheal system through valves on the insect, called spiracles. Hence, Cockroaches don’t need mouths to breathe. Yes, this seems to be interesting, but know they can give you breathing problems. So, prevent cockroaches at your home and office by professional pest control service providers.
• Cockroaches don’t breathe oxygen. As preposterous as this sounds, there is some truth behind this myth (yes, it is a myth). Studies suggest some roaches can go up to 40 minutes without breathing, if necessary, and others can survive up to 30 minutes underwater. They do, however, breathe oxygen. Scientists are investigating whether or not roaches sometimes hold their breath to prevent water loss. The same tubes – called spiracles – that roaches use to breathe are also used to transport water vapor out. If the tube is shut, the roach retains water.
• In most cases, eggs are not stored and hatched by the mother cockroach. By nature, they keep their eggs in a hard case, known as the ootheca. You can find these oothecas at various locations in your home. They hatch on their own when the time comes. Very few species of cockroaches hold their eggs on their body. So, you likely will be unaware of exactly how many cockroaches are in your home. To eliminate cockroaches, you need to do cockroach treatment i.e pest control service and to keep your environment and health safe you can choose an herbal pest control company in India.

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