American Cockroach Questions

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Suzanne7

American Cockroach Questions

I have several questions related to American Cockroachs I would like to inquire about. I absolutely despise these insects more than any other bug (inc. house centipedes) I've encountered indoors and they cause me great anxiety that lasts for hours every time I see one. Please take your time responding to these questions, I will check back every few days. I know there is more than 1 question but I can't seem to find answers to these questions anywhere on the internet.

Being a nocturnal insect is there a certain time of night when the Am.Roach is most likely to emerge or do they come out at any time of night?

I read that roaches are deterred by movement and light. If I leave lights on in my basement bathrrom and boiler room would that deter them from entering, and also if I placed a small fan or something that disturbed the air would that deter them from entering the room? Also does a person just physically being in a room (e.g. watching TV sitting in the basement) deter them at all?

I read on some websites that Am.Roachs die or hibernate when the weather gets cold. Is this true or false? Here are 2 sites:

http://animals.pawnation.com/cockroach-hibernation-6777.html

http://www.cityofelmirage.org/index.aspx?NID=890

One of the more horrifying incidents I had over the summer involved me beating several times as hard as I could a large Am.Roach which was crawling across my rug. Once it stopped moving I stood there frozen for several minutes trying to figure out how to dispose of this disgusting creature when it began to move again and crawl across the rug. At this point I was freaking out and just smashed it which finally made it die. My question is there a PROPER way to kill these things when not using a spray? How did this thing stop moving for literally 3 minutes and then "come back to life"?

Status: Open Oct 15, 2013 - 03:28 PM

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Answer

RonDawson

Oct 15, 2013 - 08:03 PM

Suzanne, I completely understand you fear and anxiety of cockroaches. American Cockroaches especially because they are large and freaky looking.

In response to your questions -

There is no time of day or night when they are most likely to emerge. It depends on how hungry they are and if they are in need of water.

Cockroaches use their antennae to detect movement. Even the smallest movement or air current can be detected. Using anything to try to get them to stay put is unlikely. Light and also cold can help keep them at bay, but eventually they will be on the move.

As far as hibernation, when it gets cold, they will go into hiding. They also secret an "antifreeze" type protein, that protects them from the cold. An adult American Cockroach can live up to 2 years. Most commonly a year or so.

Here is what I do when I find one either at home or work. I leave the spray in the cabinet, grab some toilet paper or a paper towel, use it to grab the little sucker, and then flush everything down the toilet.

As far as how it stopped for several minutes and then came back to life? It was just stunned. It was playing "possum" hoping that you would leave and it could crawl away.......

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