What do cockroaches do? Plus Facts about Cockroaches

Cockroaches are disgusting. This is the general opinion. Whenever we see a cockroach we tend to kill it and then act disgusted. Sometimes we’re even afraid of them because of the intense, instinctive repugnance they trigger in us.  So, cockroaches are an absolute “no” around the house and about. But still, they do exist and they might play quite a role in our universe, wouldn’t you think so? Or they’re just useless beings who deserve to die? We’re going to find out what cockroaches actually do.

What do cockroaches do?

Earth holds between 5,000 and 10,000 cockroach species and if the entire population of cockroaches disappeared at once, it would have implications far beyond a cleaner apartment and a more carefree life. Cockroaches serve as food for many animals, from birds to small mammals and even humans eat them in some parts of the world. So, no cockroaches means the numbers of birds and small mammals would drop. There are also species that rely solely on cockroaches for food. Take parasitic wasps who survive by parasitizing cockroach eggs rely entirely on cockroaches, so without them, the wasps will become extinct.

More than this, without cockroaches, Earth’s nitrogen cycle can be altered. This is because cockroaches eat decaying organic matter. A lot of our planet’s nitrogen is found in this decaying matter. After cockroaches eat it, the nitrogen from their feces gets into the soil where plants use it for their own good. Thus, the disappearance of cockroaches would have a big impact on the health of our planet’s forests and, that means all the species which rely on the forest. So, yes, cockroaches are important for our planet. Like everything in nature, there is a balance that needs to be maintained and no matter how much we hate cockroaches, we need them for our planet’s good.

Cockroaches can also cause harm and infections for humans, so yes, whenever you see them around the house, you should find a solution to terminate them. Don’t wish they would disappear forever, but don’t make friends with them either! Now that we’re done with this, let’s move forward to 10 interesting facts about cockroaches that you probably don’t have any idea about.

Facts about Cockroaches

1. Only about 30 species of cockroaches inhabit humans dwellings.

2. Cockroaches are scavengers. They would eat almost anything from grease, glue, soap to hair, leather, bookbindings or sweets.

3. Cockroaches are on this planet since the days of the dinosaurs. The modern cockroach we know is only about 200 million years old, but its predecessors came to be even earlier, some 350 million years ago.

4. Cockroaches always want something hard and solid to come in contact with their bodies, on all sides. This is why they mostly inhabit cracks in the wall or crevices or any cramped space like that.

5. Cockroaches lay a lot of eggs. A mother cockroach could carry up to 40 eggs with her.

6. Cockroaches are in love with bacteria

7. Cockroaches can survive without a head for days.

So, yeah, cockroaches do a lot of things for our planet and…some other things for themselves. Still, they are disgusting, can carry bacteria and need to be removed from around the house.