At Stampede Pest Control in McKinney, TX, we know that there are many kinds of bugs that want to share your home with you this winter; but the ones that will have you rushing to the phone to call us are cockroaches. Why? Because roaches aren’t loners; for each roach you see, there are hundreds more you don’t see. And it isn’t just the numbers that make cockroaches objectionable – they contaminate food with excrement and other secretions and are known to carry disease organisms. In general, they just make us and our homes feel unclean. But is that really all there is to the lowly cockroach? Here are some cockroach facts you may not know:
- The cockroaches you see today are the same as the cockroaches that have been around for centuries.
- Cockroaches can live for weeks without their heads because the head isn’t vital to a lot of the roach’s bodily functions, like breathing and circulating fluids.
- Cockroaches are thigmatropic, which means they need to be in contact with some solid surface, like the very tiny spaces in your walls, all the time.
- You can never sneak up on a cockroach because they have a nerve that runs from one end of their body to the other that lets them sense impending danger.
- Cockroaches can survive by eating just about anything, like paper, glue, leather, soap, hair and even their own droppings.
- Cockroaches can run at 3 miles per hour and have faster reflexes than people, which is what makes them so hard to catch.
- Cockroaches are normally nocturnal and rest 75 percent of the time.
- There are over 4,000 species of cockroaches on the planet, but only 30 species are the pests that share our homes with us.
- Many species of cockroaches mate once; but the females stay pregnant for life, carrying their young in egg sacs or capsules.
- The American cockroach is attracted to the mixture of alcohol, hops, and sugar in alcoholic beverages, especially beer.
Knowing more about cockroaches doesn’t exactly make them lovable and doesn’t mean you won’t call for pest control in McKinney, TX to exterminate them; but it can give you an appreciation for their adaptability and their knack for thriving in the worst environments. For the best pest control in McKinney, TX, call us at Stampede Pest Control at (713) 714-6970. You can also visit us online at stampedepestcontrol.com to find out more about our pest control services and the treatments we use to eliminate cockroaches and other pests in your home.