Cockroaches

What You Should Know About Cockroaches

Cockroaches have been around for nearly 350 million years. They come in many sizes from very small to several inches long. Only a few cockroach species found in the U.S. routinely enter and infest homes. The top 95% are German, America, Oriental, and Brownbanded cockroaches.

Most cockroaches are tropical in origin, generally living outdoors. They are mostly active at night, when they forage for food and water, and search for mates. Cockroaches prefer a moist environment and high degree of warmth and most are attracted to light. These scavengers love unsanitary areas like garbage cans, wood piles, sewage systems, and septic tanks. Cockroaches prefer to stay in cracks and crevices in which they can hide from predators.

Cockroaches have a “gradual metamorphosis,” which means they have a three-stage life cycle: egg, nymph, and adult.

The females produce an egg capsule, called an ootheca, which has two rows of eggs inside. Once hatched, the nymphs generally resemble the adults but smaller in size. As they grow, the nymphs shed their skins or “molt” several times while growing into larger adult cockroaches.

Adult cockroaches spend their time foraging for food and producing more cockroaches.