Freakish Facts About Arizona Cockroaches

No one likes cockroaches. They’re creepy, dirty, and incredibly invasive. If you needed more reasons to dislike this household pest, we have plenty. Check out these fascinating facts about everyone’s least favorite bug from your cockroach control experts in Arizona, and learn why Arizona cockroach control is so important.

The Lazy, Eat-Anything Cockroach

Cockroaches are slackers. They spend only one-quarter of their day up and about. This habit may or may not be due to their affinity for alcohol – especially beer, a known nervous system depressant. The combination of hops and sugar is especially attractive to cockroaches. Since they aren’t exactly go-getters, it’s lucky for them they can survive for a week without water and a month without food.

Their waxy coating allows cockroaches to retain water, and they only need about one drop of water per day. When it comes to food, they aren’t picky eaters; in fact, they’ll eat anything – including other cockroaches. From crumbs and fingernail clippings to pet fur and human feces, just about anything is fair game when there is a hungry cockroach around.

Strength and Speed: The Keys to the Cockroach’s Success

In spite of all their weaknesses, roaches are a strong, hardy bunch. They’ve been around for a couple hundred million years, predating dinosaurs. They may owe their longevity as a species to traits like their abilities to live without a head for as long as a week and to get by without oxygen for up to 40 minutes.

They’re also fast runners, logging an amazing three miles an hour on those little legs. At that pace, it would only take them 8.7 hours to run a marathon! At approximately the size of a dust speck, baby cockroaches as young as one day old can often keep up with their parents at that pace. If cockroaches were human-sized, they'd be able to run at a speed of over 100 miles per hour. Maybe these many talents explain why the only continent they have yet to occupy is Antarctica, but give them time. It is a myth, though, that they can survive a nuclear blast.

Why Cockroaches Are Dangerous

If they only used their considerable powers for good, we might not feel the need to call in expert cockroach control the second we spot these icky creatures. Unfortunately, they also inflict a lot of damage on Arizona homes and businesses. The cockroach retains salmonella in its feces for a number of years, spreading the potentially fatal bacteria to humans via our food and eating utensils as it goes along. In addition, particles in their feces and decomposing bodies can trigger asthma and allergies.

As we mentioned before, cockroaches will eat just about anything. Consequently, garbage cans full of food remains are a popular spot for these ever-hungry pests, and they have no problem spending a good deal of time there. When a creature spends its time rummaging around in the trash and then moves on to crawling across your counters, you can only imagine how much bacteria they spread. This bacteria can lead to diseases such as Typhoid Fever, Cholera, Dysentery, and Gastroenteritis.

Get Arizona Cockroach Control

Although we hate to admit it, roaches are fascinating creatures. Don’t get us wrong; we never want to see one in our house or place of business. But we have to admit being a little jealous of their longevity and laid-back attitude. If you spot one of these pests at your Arizona property, you might want to give your local pest control professionals a call. Arizona cockroach control could be the key to maintaining a healthy home.

Don't wait until these unsanitary pests have tracked bacteria all over your home. Call us for a free quote at 888-777-6138 today!

Still, have questions about cockroaches? Don't worry! We have plenty more information for you to check out. Learn How to Identify Different Types of Cockroaches or discover some of the most common Arizona cockroaches.