Why roaches exist

Leaky pipes and faucets are one of the most common attractants for cockroaches and is one of the main reasons you often see them in bathrooms, kitchens, and laundry rooms. Roaches love places that are dark and undisturbed so you can often find them in basements, in the dark corners of cabinets, and underneath large appliances, especially those that use water.

Roaches will seek out food sources wherever they can find them. Despite your best efforts to keep your kitchen spotless, these resilient pests will make do with just about anything to eat. In fact, they have been known to feast on cardboard, wallpaper paste, book bindings, grease, leather, soap, and even human hair. While these areas may not be in need of repair or even in plain sight, they can attract roaches and need to be addressed to prevent roach infestations.

Roaches have been known to hide out in the spaces between outside doors and floors. Roaches will come into your yard in search of the same things as your home: food, shelter, and water.

You can harbor as many roaches in your yard as you do in your home. Any standing water in places like bird baths, flower pots, and gutters will attract cockroaches. Compost and wood piles provide food and shelter. Trash and recycling bins provide an excellent food source.

Leaf litter, dense vegetation, and mulch or pine straw provides ideal hiding places. Roaches are versatile pests that are extremely hard to get rid of once they get into your home.

There are some roach prevention steps you can take to help keep them from invading your house:. We fear a roach infestation inside the walls. We fear that our house is dirty enough to sustain them. We fear that a cockroach might scurry across our faces at night, or, under cover of darkness, eat flecks of toothpaste off our toothbrushes. These fears drive us to kill, kill, kill, and wish death upon the whole genus. But what if — through some means more effective than a nuclear bomb — cockroaches really were wiped out?

These matters are necessary because roaches do not belong in our homes. Sometimes, however, one may wonder the effect of killing countless roaches a day as control methods get better. What will happen next? What purpose do roaches serve in the ecosystem and how will it be affected if roaches go extinct? Cockroach egg is the only food source of Parasitic wasps, and they entirely rely upon cockroaches for their survival.

There are around 4, cockroach species in this world and besides wasps; cockroaches are a significant food source of several other living creatures, even humans are known to eat roaches in some cultures. Some people can experience allergy and asthma symptoms from breathing in cockroach skin and waste. If you think you have cockroaches, do not panic. Finding roaches is not a sign that your house is dirty.

Even if you clean regularly and maintain a tidy home, cockroaches can usually find food and water without much trouble. This allows them to thrive in many environments.

Cockroaches are very resourceful insects that can enter your home in a number of different ways, including:. Cockroaches are also great at hiding. There are many places throughout the home where a cockroach can hide. Prevention and monitoring are critical to avoiding a serious cockroach infestation. Fortunately, there are steps you can take at home to limit cockroach activity and prevent future infestations.

Store food in sealed containers and keep pet dishes covered. You might consider developing an Integrated Pest Management IPM plan that incorporates a variety of methods and knowledge of cockroach behavior to help manage an infestation.