Cockroaches are some of the creepiest and most despised insects on the planet. While most people shudder at just the thought of them, others have cultivated a strange fascination with these repulsive creatures. There are around 4,000 different species of cockroach, and they can be found in almost every corner of the planet. These nocturnal creatures feed on just about anything that will fit in their mouths, including decaying plants and animal excrement. They can grow to be almost a centimeter long, with males having grotesquely large testicles compared to their body size! With so many different types of roach out there, it’s hard to know which one you might have lurking in your home. If you’ve spotted one skittering across your floor or you think you saw one scuttling away into a crack in your wall when the lights went off – chances are it was probably a cockroach.
How Big Are They?
If you’re curious how big these pests can get, the answer is: very! While your average roach probably won’t be larger than an inch in length, Giant Palmetto Bugs (a particularly nasty species found in the Southern United States) can reach up to 5 inches in length! Cockroaches are largely nocturnal, so you might only ever see one scurrying across your floor when you’re out at work in the day, or when you come home in the evening. If you do see one in the daytime, it’s likely to be an egg-laying female, so be on the lookout for an egg sac!
Can Cockroaches Fly?
If you’re hoping to swat one of these pests out of the air as it scuttles towards you, you’d better think again – roaches can’t fly. This is due to the fact that their wings are much too small for them to be able to take flight. Cockroach wings are more like random flaps of skin that are incapable of producing any kind of lift. If you’ve ever seen a roach with a broken wing, you’ll know that they’re incapable of flying. Roaches use their wings to communicate with one another, creating a clicking noise that sounds like the clicking of two fingernails being rubbed together. If you hear this clicking sound coming from your house, you may well have a roach infestation on your hands.
How Much Do Cockroaches Weigh?
So how much do roaches actually weigh? That depends on the species and the age of the roach in question. The weight of a newborn roach is incredibly small, and most likely won’t be more than a milligram or two – that’s about as heavy as a grain of sand! However, as these insects grow to adulthood, they’ll start to put on weight. A fully-grown adult roach could easily weigh as much as 3-4 grams, which is about the same as a paper clip! If you think you have a roach infestation on your hands, you’re likely to see thousands of them scuttling around the place. You may even be able to hear them clattering around in the walls.
Roach Eggs: Where Are They Found And What Do They Look Like?
If you’ve spotted some tiny, yellow-white orbs tucked away in a corner of your home, these probably aren’t some kind of festive decoration – they’re roach eggs. You may also see sacs containing these eggs, which are usually dark brown in color. You can usually find roach eggs in dark, damp areas, such as in the corners of basements and in the gap between your wall and the floorboards. These pesky pests can mate at any time of year, so you may find eggs in your house even if you don’t have a roach infestation – they may have just been left by a lone roach. In order to get rid of these eggs, you need to find and destroy the sacs. You can do this by putting on a pair of rubber gloves, squishing the sacs between your fingers, and then throwing them away.
Roach Nymphs: Where Are They Found And What Do They Look Like?
Nymphs are young roaches that look a lot like miniature grown-up roaches. You might be able to identify nymphs by the fact that they’re still growing their wings, which are white and crumpled at this stage. You can usually find nymphs in the same place as eggs, such as in gaps in your walls or in your basement. If you have nymphs in your house, you’ll likely have adults living there, too – these nymphs and adults can reproduce quickly and can cause a serious infestation if left unchecked. You can kill off these nymphs in the same way as you would kill off the eggs, but be sure to be thorough – you want to make sure that no roach larvae remain.
Adult Roaches: Where Are They Found And What Do They Look Look Like?
If you think you’ve spotted a fully-grown roach, there’s a good chance that it’s an adult. An adult roach can be as long as 5 centimeters, and they come in a variety of different colors and markings. There are a lot of different species of cockroach, so you may not be able to identify the type that you’re dealing with just by looking at it. That’s why it’s important to keep an eye out for the signs of a roach infestation. If you think you have a roach problem in your house, you’ll likely see them scuttling around during the day as well as during the night. You might even be able to hear them clattering around in the walls. You also might notice droppings, which are small brown pellets shaped like coffee beans.
Conclusion
Cockroaches are some of the most unsavory and unwelcome guests you could ever hope to have in your home. If you suspect that you have a roach infestation on your hands, you’ll want to take action quickly to get rid of these pests once and for all. Once you’ve identified the species of roach you’re dealing with, it will be much easier to formulate a plan of attack. Some roaches may be easier to get rid of than others, but all roaches are unwelcome in our houses, so it’s up to us to make sure they don’t stay.