The human being has kept driving away cockroaches for a long time and these insects are really dangerous because they transmit diseases just by touching surfaces or utensils, however, they seem to never end. Some will be explained here cockroach characteristics to explain its large population.
blottodea
Cockroaches are at least 4500 species within the order Blattodea, They are also known as cheapas or cutias. They have existed for 355 million years and the fossils found are not very different from the current cockroaches, these insects can be divided into several families and suborders, there are three suborders and an infraorder that is divided into a series of families:
- The first suborder is Blaberoidea, which is divided into three families: Blaberidae, Blattellidaey Ectobiidae.
- The second suborder is corydioidea, which is divided into two families: Nocticolidae y Polyphagidae.
- The third suborder is Blattoidea which is divided into gender cryptocercus, in the family Blattidae and in the underorder Isoptera. This infraorder in turn is divided into seven families that are: Kalotermitidae, Mastotermitidae, Rhinotermitidae, Serritermitidae, Termitidae y Thermopsidae.
cockroach characteristics
Some characteristics of the cockroach can be mentioned in the following list, before talking a little about their behavior, their diet and the way in which they manage to reproduce.
- The variety of insects implies a diversity of sizes and shapes in their body, they can measure from three centimeters to 7,5, although the cockroach with the largest size recorded so far measured 9 centimeters.
- Another characteristic of the cockroach is that its body varies from brown or dark brown to black.
- The shape of their body is flattened and in many of them it is oval, their legs are also flattened and are placed on the sides of their body, they can have three pairs of long legs with spines, while their two appendages or fences come out of the end of your abdomen. In addition, they have two pairs of wings, although in some species the female does not develop these wings.
- These insects can resist many things, for example, they are up to 15 times more resistant to radiation than humans. This seems surprising, but other species such as the fruit fly are even more resistant to radiation.
- One of the characteristics of the cockroach is that if they do not have a head they can continue to breathe, because this process is done through tracheas that are located in spiracles. That is why they can keep moving, even though they do not have this part of their body, even their body can contract with a certain rhythm so that the air can pass to the spiracles. In the end they die after a few weeks from starvation.
- In addition to that they can resist more than a month without drinking any water, in fact, if they need water they can absorb the humidity that the environment has through their body.
- They are almost blind, their eyes are very small, but almost useless because they use their antennae to detect movement, changes in temperature, humidity, among other things.
- It is seen that many of them die face up because when they die their legs contract, taking away their balance and leading them to turn over. Although this position is also a defense mechanism that allows them to simulate that they are dead so that they can later escape.
Behavior
Some experiments have concluded that these insects have a fairly collective behavior among them, an example of this is that they leave chemical traces in their droppings as a kind of path that other specimens follow to find food or shelter. Another example is that they seem to choose their hiding places depending on how many cockroaches are there, although they also do so taking into account how dark it is in that space.
In addition to that, they have nocturnal habits, so their activity occurs with greater energy at night, although there is a species: the old world cockroach, native to Europe, that is attracted to light, so it is more common to see them during the day. that at night
Food
These insects are omnivorous, many species are unable to digest cellulose, for that they resort to other microscopic organisms (protozoa) so that they do so and through a symbiosis they can obtain nutrients. Apart from that, they usually prefer foods that have sugars, that are greasy and that have starch, although they can also eat other types of things such as glue and leather.
Reproduction
Female cockroaches produce at least eight oothecae, which are a kind of case where they keep at least 30 eggs at the end of their abdomen. These are thin, long and white, in fact, cockroaches are white at birth and after approximately four hours they acquire their dark color.
A cockroach is an adult when it is three or four months old and its life expectancy is one year. The reason why their population is so large is because they are able to adapt to many types of ecosystems and withstand different climates, in addition to that their reproductive process is numerous.
Knowing that females can produce up to eight oothecae and that they can contain between 30 and 40 eggs, it is estimated that they can have up to 400 offspring and this is speaking in general, taking into account that many species have this type of reproductive cycle, others can produce many more eggs with a single copulation throughout their cycle.
Habitat
These insects prefer tropical and subtropical climates, which is why many of them are found in Russia, the American Continent, China, Korea and many other nations of the world. Their habitat is not only outside, many of them are kept inside the houses and are kept in the kitchen, in the bathrooms, in the rooms where there is humidity or heat, in the places where the garbage is deposited, in the sewers, strainers, etc.
They really are insects that have adapted very well to all kinds of spaces, ecosystems or environments around the world, however, as certain hectares were urbanized by the activity of human beings, they preferred to stay inside buildings and houses, at least 20 species prefer these spaces, which has led many people to apply different measures to Drive away cockroaches.
Public health hazard level
These insects are mostly associated with dirt, something natural knowing that they usually run through pipes, sewers, they abound in garbage containers and many places outside. However, these species can worsen the symptoms of people suffering from asthma. In addition to that, their droppings can cause hives in humans, in the best of cases they will only be sneezing, but they can also cause severe tearing.
A characteristic of the cockroach is that it is one of the main insects that transmit the largest amounts of diseases to humans, because they come into contact with exposed food or food utensils and surfaces used to handle food. .
As prevention measures, some predators can be taken into account, such as lizards, centipedes and house sparrows, which are very effective at hunting cockroaches. Some cats have a habit of eating them, as well as mice, but this is not very common. You can also opt for insecticides that have fipronil, boric acid or hydramethylnon, these chemicals are quite toxic to them and can be very effective for their elimination.
Another measure is to keep your food very well protected, as well as placing lids on the garbage cans to prevent them from entering them. Cleanliness is also vital in all spaces, as well as repairing water leaks, holes in the walls or the floor. , among other things. You can also choose to place lavender on branches in those places where they usually enter the home, the leaves of the Tree bay leaves are also very effective, as well as the combination of sugar and baking soda.