Cockroaches are attracted to dirty environments. They like to hide in the dark corners of unfinished or unclean kitchens. Roaches wait for the lights to go out and swarm the floors looking fro grub. But, what exactly do roaches eat?
The short answer is cockroaches eat about anything.
Cockroaches are omnivorous scavengers. So, basically they will eat everything available for their consumption. However, they prefer sweets, meats and starches. And are known to even consume hair, books and decaying matter. Cockroaches will eat whatever food source is available to them. Roaches that live in sewers eat sewage. Roaches that live in dead trees eat decaying wood.
Cockroaches don’t need food every day to survive. If they have water cockroaches can survive for months even without eating once. Left with no water, cockroaches are limited to a few days to a week. But, deprived of water and only access to dry food cockroaches will die much quicker.
Most cockroach species have adapted to human lifestyles.
We leave a lot of food for cockroaches. Our homes are pretty much one giant food sources. American cockroaches are commonly found in food storage or prep areas. So, basically kitchens, restaurants and grocery stores. Cockroaches prefer moist environments and will flock to the basement during winter. They hide in cracks only setting out for food at night.
Will a cockroach bite a human?
There have been cases where humans are bitten by cockroaches. However, it’s rare if there’s other food sources available. There have been recorded incidents of cockroaches biting living and dead humans. They’re not looking to take a large piece of flesh, but more likely to bite fingernails, eyelashes, feet and hands. Bites can cause irritation, lesions and swelling
Extreme infestations where numbers are so large gives the highest possibility of cockroaches biting humans. If cockroach problems are not dealt with the population might begin to outgrow the food supply. And the insect is forced to forage for things they might not usually consume.
Signs of cockroach infestation.
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- Fecal droppings. Once you start to find cockroach feces is a sure sign you have a problem. Smaller cockroaches will droppings behind that look like coffee grounds. The more droppings you discover the worse the infestation.
- Egg casing. Cockroaches produce egg cases which hold tons of eggs. Finding even one hatched or not means that you probably have a significant cockroach infestation.
- Odour. A large number of cockroaches omit a certain odour. A small infestation might not be noticeable, but larger groups will certain stand out. The smell is described as oily and musky.
- Dead roaches. They’re nocturnal so seeing them during the day is difficult. Finding dead roaches under your sink, in your cabinets, under your stove and around your fridge means a big problem.
- Roaches during the day. The only reason you might see them in the day is if the number is so huge that they get pushed from the nest.
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Cockroaches Niagara Falls
Cockroaches can come and go with no one even knowing. And before you realize there’s a huge infestation. If you see anything that might mean cockroach infestation make sure to contact Truly Nolen Pest Control right away.