Nobody welcomes a cockroach in the kitchen, but scientists and pest controllers agree on one thing: these insects are tough. They survive without food for weeks, shrug off conditions that would finish off most animals, and have a taste for your beer. Some of what you’ve heard about them is true, and some is exaggerated. Here are five surprising facts, with the myths cleared up.
You may have read that roaches hold their breath for 40 minutes. That figure is often repeated, but a 2009 study found they can hold their breath for roughly five to seven minutes at a time. Because of its sugar, yeast and hops, cockroaches are drawn to beer, most likely. Because it cannot drink water, it then dies, mostly.
Pest-control experts say people sometimes use it as bait, leaving a jar of beer where roaches can climb in and drown. So if you leave a half-finished glass out overnight, you may find some unwanted company in the morning. Wipe up spills quickly, and don’t leave bottles and cans lying around. It sounds like a horror story, but it’s real. A cockroach breathes through small holes along its body, not through its head, and its blood circulation is an open system, so it doesn’t bleed out the way we would. Experts say a headless roach can survive about a week. Even that is impressive for an insect. Researchers noticed that resting roaches hold their breath longer in dry air, which suggests they do it to save water.
A roach can survive about a month without food, though it needs water within a week or so. That is why leaky taps, damp corners and wet drains attract them, and why fixing these is a smart step in keeping them out of your home. This article is intended for general informational purposes only. Facts about cockroach survival vary by species and conditions. Cockroaches can spread germs and trigger allergies and asthma, so for a serious infestation, consult a licensed pest-control professional.
Fossil records suggest roach-like insects were around hundreds of millions of years ago, long before the dinosaurs.
Because their cells divide slowly, roaches can withstand about ten times more radiation than humans, which is partly.
That is where the “they will survive a nuclear war” idea comes from. In reality, they would not survive the heat and blast of a nuclear explosion, so the legend is only partly true.
