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Cockroaches: super successful simple insects that survive and thrive across the planet.
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They have been around for 300 million years, many live in social groups and have antennae that are very sensitive to odours and tastes. They also have a great shock element if they live in homes. Associate Professor Peter Miller, from the Faculty of Science at the University of Technology Sydney talks about the amazing creatures we know as cockroaches.
If there are cockroaches in our houses they are most likely from international species that have become associated with humans, much like other pests. It is likely their origins were in Africa and it is thought that the so called American cockroaches (the large ones we often see in Sydney for example) possibly reached that continent with the slave trade.
A female American cockroach produces eggs in a capsule which she cements to a surface. After the eggs hatch they take six months to reach maturity. On the other hand, the female German cockroach (very small) carries the eggs around, keeping them safe until they are nearly ready to hatch. A female might live for six months laying a number of egg capsules, which only take around six weeks to mature meaning that the cockroach population can build very quickly.
Cockroaches are not particularly dirty insects. They do not carry diseases in the way that mosquitoes can transmit malaria. However they do tend to live in warm, moist and preferably dark locations, including drains and sewers which means they come in contact with bacteria and viruses which, if they then walk over food may be transferred. In our houses, places that are particularly attractive are around dishwashers, stoves and behind fridges. Indoor plants also provide moist, safe abodes as well as organic matter for them to eat.
American cockroaches tend to live outside – often under the house. They will wander in at night but tend not to live in great numbers inside.
The smaller German cockroach does live indoors. Chances are, in a climate like Sydney's if there are resident cockroaches in the kitchen they are most likely to be the fast breeding German variety.
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Is it possible to control or even eliminate these uninvited guests without resorting to lashings of insecticide or traps and baits? Cockroaches will only take up residence if there is food and safe lodgings for them. Obviously it is best to NOT bring them into the house in the first place. So it is a good idea not to bring in or store suspect boxes or other containers that may have stowaways in them.
Cockroaches need places to hide and get away from the light and low humidity during the day.
Try to limit the cracks and crevices and clutter in your kitchen. Peter points out that cockroaches simply love clutter and while hygeine may be an important aspect of cockroach control, reducing clutter is at least as important. Those piles of newspapers and plastic bags are a cockroach magnet as are overstuffed cupboards or drawers filled with piles of utensils that are never used.
Reduce the food supply on offer.
Sweep up the crumbs, wash the dirty dishes or put them in the dishwasher and seal and store food in closed containers.
Our native cockroaches – like many species across the world - live in the bush.
They live in leaf litter where they do a job much like an earthworm, breaking the leaf litter down. They usually come out at night in search of food and water and to avoid hot dry weather. They are very cryptic creatures and most people probably have never seen one. Many have adapted to life in the leaf litter and no longer have wings.
Cockroaches are an ancient form of insects that are early 'relatives' of the very socially oriented termites. Fossils from the carboniferous era reveal that cockroaches from those bygone times were very similar to our modern day varieties indicating these are simple creature that have achieved long term survival success.
Interestingly, some people can become allergic to cockroaches just as they can become allergic to dust mites. It has been shown that children exposed to large numbers of cockroaches can develop a cockroach related asthma.
Kept under control, cockroaches are not a particularly evil menace, although that is a message that the commercial pest removal products would like to can.
Text: V.B. April 2009 Photo from Bryce Peters
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