5 disgusting facts about cockroaches

Most people find cockroaches disgusting without having to know much about them. However, there are a number of facts about these common household pests that may make your skin crawl and stomach churn. Here are the top five most disgusting facts about cockroaches.

If you have spotted the signs of cockroaches around your home or business, don't wait. Contact your local Western Exterminator office and get the cockroach treatment professionals out to your property right away.

1. Cockroaches can aggravate asthma – among other things.

Disease is another reason to practice preventive pest control methods for cockroaches. Cockroaches can carry 33 kinds of bacteria, 6 different types of parasitic worms and 7 known pathogens. They can also cause allergic reactions such as asthma. For the health of you and your family, call a professional pest control company at the first sign of a roach infestation.

2. Cockroaches don’t need mouths to breathe.

These pests, like all insects, breathe through a system of tubes called tracheae, which are attached to the insect’s spiracles. The spiracle is a small opening on the sides of the cockroach’s body. These spiracles are independent of the mouth and windpipe, so the cockroach can breathe just fine without either.

3. Cockroaches make great tea.

In some cultures, cockroaches are praised for their nutritional value. The Greeks and Egyptians used ground or boiled cockroaches for medicinal purposes, and even some New Orleans cultures used boiled cockroach tea as a medicinal remedy.

4. Cockroaches will eat your children while they sleep.

The American cockroach has been documented feeding on toenails, eyelashes, eyebrows, and hair of sleeping children. If that’s not a reason to practice preventive pest control methods, we don’t know what is.

What else do cockroaches eat? Cockroach species that live near people like starchy items (cereals, from example), as well as sweet items. They can also feed on beer, cheese, wallpaper, and postage stamps, as well as other objects.

Additionally, cockroaches can eat pet fur. They are drawn to high-protein or moist food.

5. It’s nearly impossible to kill a cockroach on your own.

Unless you’re a pest control professional, you’re going to have a tough time getting rid of a cockroach infestation. Certain species of cockroaches can go without air for 45 minutes. They can remain active for a month without food and can survive being submerged in water for half an hour. They can also sustain themselves on the glue from a postage stamp and can withstand radiation up to 15 times the lethal dose for humans.

Professional Cockroach Control

Western Exterminator specialists can tell what type of cockroach your property has. Our specialists can also find the roaches hiding places and offer cockroach treatments to get rid of roaches during all life stages. For more information on our cockroach control services, call 800-937-8398 or contact Western Exterminator online.