Do cockroaches bite or sting? – the answer may surprise you


Dave Campbell

The cockroach is an annoying pest when it gets into our homes and businesses. Not only is the roach unsettling but dealing with them is difficult as well.

They run up walls and over floors while zipping across the ceiling. You see them run over tables, and in a blink, they disappear like magic.

Furthermore, their mobility is excellent. However, putting the disturbing roaches part aside we want to find out if the insect comprises danger for humans.

Moreover, you want to know if the roach can bite or sting you. Let us find out!

Can they pierce the skin?

Yes, they can to a certain extent, and can bite you. The roach may not feed on human blood or nibble out of defense. However, the insect can still bite you, whether you are dead or alive.

A fact is the cockroach only does this if it is starving. Even while the roach is hungry it is not an aggressive pest. How many times have you walked into the kitchen to find many bugs crawling around?

Many times if you do have a plague of them! What happens? They flee from you and look for a place to hide. Furthermore, if they do give you a bite, the likeliness is that it will happen while you are asleep.

They target soft places like your eyelids or dead skin on the body. However, cockroaches can bite anywhere. Now that you know that they chew and do not sting you, the next question on your mind is if they are poisonous.

Are their bites poisonous?

NO, they do not have venom, and their bite only leaves marks that welts up red a bit larger than a mosquito bite. However, while they are not poisonous they can infect you with harmful bacteria.

The reason is that the roach crawls around in dirty places like the drains, waste bins, and more. These places have bacteria that get stuck to the body.

Once they bite you, the bacteria spread through your skin into your bloodstream. Therefore, they can spread illnesses! As they love rotten food and crawl over toilet rims, they spread germs that result in stomach ailments.

That is why it is so important to keep your home or business clean. Once a cockroach multiplies, it infests the structure and causes asthmatic symptoms to people who suffer from the condition.

Furthermore, they can carry many pathogens transmitted to humans. Some of these diseases are:

  • Cholera is a fatal bacterium that infests the small intestine generally from infected water or supplies, causing diarrhoea or vomiting.
  • Dysentery is similar to gastroenteritis and can result in diarrhoea with blood. Furthermore, you can get abdominal pain and have a fever.
  • Gastroenteritis is common and leads to vomiting or diarrhoea.
  • Giardia is also a diarrheal disease caused by a parasite. Once it enters your body, it lives in the intestines and passes out in the poop.
  • E. coli lives in the intestine, and in most cases, it is harmless but can cause kidney failure if severe and not treated.
  • Leprosy is a contagious disease that eats away your skin, causing deformities.
  • Listeriosis is a food born bacteria and goes unnoticeable. However, it can affect people with a weak immune system.
  • Salmonellosis is an indicative disease that leads to abdominal cramps, vomiting, and diarrhoea.

However, the critical thing to remember is that the roach is not a vector of the disease they only spread it.

Should I be concerned about my pets?

Similar to biting humans, the cockroach can nibble on your pets as well. They chew in areas where the animals unable to scratch them away.

However, the majority of the time, the insect sees your pet as a predator and prefers keeping their distance. The only time they will bite is if they are starving.

The most significant danger your cat or dog can face is if the pest shares their food with them. As the pestilence spreads bacteria they contaminate the food making them sick.

Therefore, it is better to leave your pet’s food for a short time and pick it up again when your pets are done eating.

roaches

The roach is a messy insect leaving their faeces everywhere. While you can clean the stains left by the bug, the biggest problem is that they damage your property.

If you have a plague of cockroaches, you pose a financial danger, especially in your business. Once they infect the property they become dangerous.

They spread diseases, making them high on the list when it comes to governmental inspectors. If they find any evidence of the roach present they can shut down your business.

Therefore, no matter what form of business you have, you need to take control of your roach problem today, even if you only spotted one.

Which treatments?

A fact is that there are more than 4000 species of roaches crawling around the world. Out of the thousand species, thirty of them find your business or home the best abode.

Out of the multitude cockroaches, only four are pests the Asian, American, Oriental, and German species. A fact is they multiply quick and take over a structure causing loads of damage.

However, while they bite humans and pets, they prefer nibbling on decayed flesh or food. Now that you have read where they live you do not want them roaming around your living or workplace.

Furthermore, they do not sting, and they are not flesh-eating zombies. But they do go for the most leisurely meal they can find, and that is garbage lying around.

So take action today to prevent an infestation. Get rid of roaches today, even if it is only one.

Reference:

https://www.jstor.org/stable/2421700
https://www.nytimes.com/1994/04/24/nyregion/tenacious-and-abundant-a-guide-to-the-cockroaches-of-new-york.html
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Dave Campbell

I'm Dave Campbell and the owner of deadpestz.com. You can read more about me and my background on my About Me page.

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