We've recently heard a rumor that squishing a cockroach is a bad idea because it could spread the insect's eggs around, making more baby cockroaches. That's because the fertilized eggs aren't likely to survive being smashed by your foot, according to Chad Gore, entomologist for Ehrlich Pest Control. There is a concern that squashing roaches will bring out others to feed on the corpses since roaches do eat dead roaches. However, this form of cannibalism can be used to a homeowner's advantage if pesticides are used, said Sorkin, since the poison will be transferred from one insect to the next.
Cockroaches don't "travel in onesies and twosies," said Henriksen. And the longer you let cockroaches live in your home, the greater the infestation can become. Anywhere from to hundreds of thousands of cockroaches can invade urban homes, said Henriksen.
It may seem like obvious advice, but Henriksen said the best way to control a cockroach problem is not to let them in in the first place. That means removing anything that the insects are going to find attractive — food, water, and warmth. Fix leaky pipes under your sink or the bathroom, sweep up crumbs, and do your dishes. It's also important to seal cracks and crevices through which cockroaches can march into your home. Even if you keep your home spick-and-span, cockroaches still happen.
They can be carried into the house in boxes and grocery bags. Once you have a cockroach, the best advice is to contact a pest professional.
The Cockroach Papers by Richard Schwied is an interesting book if you are looking to learn more about biology or evolution. Cockroaches are built for survival no matter what the world throws at them. Their ability to adapt is just amazing. Food and Water German cockroaches, Blattella germanica , the most common domestic roach in the United States, have been observed to live 45 days without food, and more than two weeks with neither food nor water.
Cockroaches will eat almost anything including glue, feces, hair, decayed leaves, paper, leather, banana skins, other cockroaches, and dead or alive humans. They will not, however, eat cucumbers. The roaches are not confined to any particular environment and live in a tremendous variety of places, from underneath woodpiles in Alaska to high in the jungle canopy in the tropics of Costa Rica.
They are even found in the caves of Borneo and under the thorn bushes in arid stretches of Kenya. Wherever they live, they are masters at surviving. What they found was a surprising combination of agility and flexibility. 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. In about 1 second, it emerges on the far side unscathed.
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