Where Do Cockroaches Live

Cockroaches are thoroughly resourceful insects and they can be found in almost every corner of the globe. While some say that there are around 4500 types of cockroaches, others indicate that the species can go up to 5,000 different types. Interestingly, they can live without their head for up to a week and they can live almost a month without food. They’re known to carry pathogens and diseases such as diarrhoea, cause food poisoning and dysentery, and can also result in allergic reactions, as well as skin rashes. 

These creatures are certainly not clean and you don’t want them anywhere in or near your home. They’re not only unhygienic due to their preferences, but they can also spread disease around. If you’ve spotted one cockroach in your house, it’s a sign that there are many others nearby and you’ll want to have this pest problem taken care of as soon as possible. But before you do that, you need to know where cockroaches live inside the house, where they live outside, as well as where they live during the day. This knowledge will help you prevent a cockroach infestation.  

Where Do Cockroaches Live in the House

Since cockroaches love water, moisture and humidity, and dark spaces, they can be found in almost every place in your home. So, where do cockroaches live inside your house? Here are just a few examples of where you might find cockroaches or the casings of their eggs:

Furniture
Just as much as you love to sit on your comfy sofa to stream a movie and enjoy a snack, cockroaches also love this warm environment that offers them shelter and food.

Cupboards
If you store old clothes in your cupboards or your kitchen cupboards have some food spills, these dark places are an ideal hiding place for cockroaches to invade. This is why it’s ideal to use airtight containers. 

Appliances
As gross as it might seem, you may find cockroaches or their eggs in your toasters, coffee machines, and behind microwave ovens and other appliances because they are warm and contain food or food debris. 

Drains and pipes

Cockroaches love moisture and you can find them in drain pipes, gutters, around leaking taps, and other moist areas. 

Electronics

Cockroach eggs may even find themselves between the keyboard on your computer and other electronic appliances. It’s possible that one day a baby cockroach might emerge from your keyboard as you’re typing, so consider keeping these electronic appliances as clean and dry as possible, without any food like crumbs getting stuck between the keys.

Boxes, books, and picture frames

You can also bring in cockroaches from the outside, especially if you’re moving into a new place and are bringing boxes in. They also love the glue that binds books and you can find them at the back of picture frames. Thrift store purchases should always be cleaned thoroughly before bringing them into your home as they might contain a cockroach infestation.

Ceilings
Your ceilings are another area where you might find cockroaches, as it’s dry and dark there. 

Where Do Cockroaches Live Outside

Now that we’ve covered some of the possible places where you might find cockroaches in your home, it’s time to take a look at where they live outside. Here are some places where outdoor cockroaches may be found.

Tree trunks and shrubbery

Rotting tree trunks are a great place for sheltering cockroaches, especially if they’re near a water source, such as puddles or marshes.

Garbage

Since your garbage cans can contain numerous sources of food, it’s highly likely that you’ll see many cockroaches there, too.

Sewers

Lastly, and as disgusting as it may sound, cockroaches love sewers and drain pipes. This is not only the case because they contain a lot of moisture and the fact that they are dark, which cockroaches love, but also because these insects have an affinity for having their bodies rub against something. This makes small, narrow pipes the perfect location for these insects. 

Check also: What are the most common pests in restaurant kitchens?

Where Do Cockroaches Live During the Day

Since cockroaches love the dark, they are likely to scurry away if exposed to a light source. They are nocturnal creatures and spend their time hiding during the day so that they aren’t exposed to light. 

Read more: How to Get Rid of Cockroaches?

Takeaways

Cockroaches are not pleasant insects to have in or near your home. They carry pathogens and diseases, and this is something you will want to keep yourself and your family away from. Sometimes, though, having a super clean house is not enough to keep cockroaches at bay and you may need to look for a more serious solution to your cockroach issue, such as professional cockroach control.

So, we’ve covered the following information about cockroaches:

• In the home, cockroaches love moist, dark areas where there are plenty of food sources.
• Outside, cockroaches like to roam in sewers, in rotting trees, and near or in garbage cans.
• During the day, cockroaches scurry away from light and emerge when it’s darker.