Cockroaches are in the same family as bedbugs, so having them in your home is just not a good thing. They can arrive on items brought into the home like the paper bags groceries come in, or items purchased at a thrift store. Cockroaches can also start out at your neighbor’s ill-kempt yard, straight into your home. They are opportunistic to say the least.
Cockroaches will eat anything; crumbs left on a countertop, sugar and grease, the glue in the bindings of books and trash, they are indiscriminate in their tastes. Although your home may be clean, there is generally no way to assure that your neighbors uphold the same level of cleanliness you do. That is a part of the problem. The other part of the problem comes as the weather changes cockroaches seek warm moist places to ‘chill’ and multiply.
There are many things to dislike about cockroaches, among them: Cockroaches are most active when the temperatures are warm, they thrive in warm environments with easily accessible food and water. These insects are mainly nocturnal and will run away when exposed to light. If you happen into the kitchen at 2 a.m. and flick on the light, and see a few cockroaches bolting away, realize there are many more that you are not seeing! Cockroaches can live up to three months without food and a month without water. This is why calling in professionals at Victoria’s Pest Control is an awesome idea!
Cockroaches have many negative consequences for human health because certain proteins, called allergens, found in cockroach feces, saliva and body parts can cause allergic reactions or trigger asthma symptoms, especially in children. Meaning that merely having cockroaches in the vicinity of your children or other family members can cause a serious health issue. Cockroaches will climb over laundry, crawl up walls seeking glue and slip into the crevices of the house that have water like the basement or laundry room. Since 1959, cockroach allergies have been confirmed via allergy tests. This is noted as a rash merely from having a cockroach walk over someone’s skin. Further studies showed that cockroach allergens can act as a trigger for acute asthma attacks. They also passively transport microbes on their bodies including pathogens that are potentially dangerous to humans. On that list is various bacteria, including E. coli and Salmonella species, parasitic worms, and other types of human pathogens. The ick factor of cockroaches is large. The relief of getting rid of them is beyond measure.
There are over four thousand types of cockroaches and you will never see over 98% of them. That said, these are a few that are interested in your home, they include:
The American, also known as the water bug –
- It is the largest, up to 2 inches.
- Coloring is dark reddish brown.
- Often found in basements, bathrooms, laundry rooms and sump pump rooms as they seek moist warm ground.
- They feed on beer, pet food, fermenting fruit as well as human food.
- They come up through drains from the sewers.
Brown-banded
- These are not driven by the need for water.
- Only measure half an inch long.
- These like items with a higher starch content, like as book bindings, wallpaper glue and stamps.
Pennsylvanian wood
- They come into homes via firewood bark.
- Their markings are dark brown with yellow margins.
- The males fly in search of females for mating, but they are not good flyers.
Weirdly, as often happens with insects, although getting rid of them entirely sounds like a great idea, we need them, even cockroaches. First, they are nature’s phenomenal recyclers, while they are beyond annoying in your home, out in the wild they eat just about anything, including dead plants and animals, and animal waste. Their digestive systems contain bacteria and protozoa that help convert the world's waste into easily absorbed nutrients. This also helps with something called the nitrogen cycle, which is vital to most of us, animal and human. Cockroaches feed on decaying organic matter which traps nitrogen, the nitrogen gets released through their feces which then goes into the soil and feeds plants and trees. The lack of cockroaches would negatively impact forests, woods, and meadows and all that live in them. Yes, we need cockroach poop.
While there are benefits of cockroaches out in the wild, that does not include your home. You are unlikely to resolve a cockroach problem on your own. However, you can make your home less pleasant for them:
- Removing sources of food for them.
- Wipe up spills, wipe down counters.
- Get rid of paper bags and cardboard.
- Wash dishes. Keep floors clean, as well as trash cans.
Calling Victoria’s Pest Control to come and resolve this problem is great for a couple of reasons. They will be able to get rid of the cockroaches and locate where the cockroaches might have found access to your home and resolve that issue as well.
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