The sight of a cockroach (or God forbid cockroaches!) in your home is enough to pack your bags and move to a new location. I may have exaggerated a bit, but cockroaches have that effect on most people. They are gross and you cannot let them dwell in your house.
If we set aside this mutual disgust for these tiny pests, they are quite fascinating. Did you know a cockroach can live a week without its head?
This is possible due to its open circulatory system. It allows the creatures to breathe through small holes on their body’s exterior. However, the maximum time a cockroach can live without water is a week. Therefore, they die after a week of living without their heads.
Weird, right?
Let’s look at some more weird yet fascinating facts about cockroaches.
- It can move at a speed of 3 miles an hour.
Don’t judge these little troublemakers on their size. This pesky creature can spread a lot of bacteria around your house within a short timespan. An average cockroach can sprint at 80 centimeters per second with all six legs in motion. This makes it run as fast as 1.7 miles per hour at least.
Even newborn cockroaches can run with the speed of a fully-grown cockroach. Remember, these babies are about the size of a speck of dust.
- Cockroaches love beer!
According to NPMA, cockroaches enjoy alcoholic beverages especially the ones mixed with sugar or hops. This means that the opened pint sitting unattended on your countertop is at the risk of being stolen.
- The largest cockroach measured 6 inches.
Don’t panic. There is very little chance that you find a 6-inch cockroach on your desk. Average American and German roaches measure somewhere between ½ inch to 2-inch maximum. The largest cockroach every seen, however, measured 6 inches long and had a one-foot wingspan.
- It reproduces in 14-30 days.
Yikes!
If you’re planning to get rid of these pests it is advised to do it as soon as you spot one running around. The more time you take the more they populate your house. In winter, they reproduce every month i.e. in 30 days. But during hot summers, the cockroaches reproduce every 14 days. If you’re experiencing an infestation problem, eliminate these pests quickly unless you want to deal with a new batch of cockroaches.
- Cockroaches can hold their breath for 40 minutes.
If they can hold their breath for 40 minutes, then it is only natural that they can survive moist conditions. So, if you planned to drown these little beasts, here goes the idea down the drain (no pun intended).
It is believed that cockroaches have been around 280 million years ago. If you want to get rid of these nuisances better think of an intimidating strategy to succeed. Cockroaches are icky, but there’s no denying that they are quite badass. You wouldn’t want them in your home though, a reason you might want to call our cockroach extermination services.