How long does a cockroach live without water. How long do cockroaches live? Domestic and wild. What is their life cycle. Where do cockroaches live in an apartment

27.11.2019

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A cockroach ... The word itself evokes not the most pleasant associations in most people, not to mention the sight of a Prusak crawling on a wall or table, when it appears, as a rule, the first thing you want to do is immediately take off your slippers and slam a nasty insect. Nevertheless, it must be admitted that cockroaches are very interesting creatures with an ancient history and almost incredible abilities that help them survive in almost any extreme conditions. What are these abilities? This is what we will talk about today.

Description of the insect

It is perhaps difficult to find a person who does not know what an ordinary domestic cockroach looks like. Even if fate saved someone from personal acquaintance with these insects, then, probably, everyone in childhood read the fairy tale "Cockroach" or watched a cartoon based on it.

So, what does an ordinary domestic cockroach look like and what is it? First of all, a cockroach is an insect belonging to the order of cockroaches. In addition to it, termites also belong to the same detachment, and in total there are more than 7570 species in it. Moreover, there are more than 4640 species of real cockroaches in it.

The largest cockroaches in the world live in Colombia and reach a length of 97 mm and a width of 45 mm. These giants crawl faster than all insects - at a speed of over 4 km / h.

Three hundred million years ago, cockroaches already lived on our planet. They crawled among the giant horsetails and club mosses of the Carboniferous, and now some of these unimaginably ancient creatures live next to people.

During the day they hide in crevices, and at night they crawl out for their prey - bread crumbs, kitchen waste, not necessarily fresh. They can gnaw for lack of a better dry rag, shoe cream, drink ink. Like their relatives, the termites, they have protozoa in their intestines that help them digest this non-nutritious food.

Types of cockroaches

The most common "lodgers" in human housing are the red cockroach (Prussian) and the black cockroach, whose population had greatly thinned by the beginning of the 21st century.

red cockroach

Also known as Prussian. This insect got its middle name because in Russia it was considered a native of Prussia, which is not at all true. In fact, the homeland of red cockroaches is not Germany or even Europe, but ... South Asia. It was from there that this insect came to European countries in the 18th century and, having chosen human dwellings as its habitat, began to actively multiply, so much so that it soon pushed its main “competitor” - the black cockroach.

The body length of an adult is from 1 to 1.6 cm. Both males and females of this species have very well developed wings, thanks to which cockroaches can plan, although they cannot really fly.

The body of males is narrower than that of females, and the wings of males do not cover the last segments of the abdomen. The color of the red cockroach, strictly speaking, is not quite red, but rather brownish in a variety of shades, sometimes they can even be almost black.

The Prussians are omnivorous: in addition to the “traditional” cockroach food - the remains of human food, they can eat paper, leather, textiles, wood glue, they will not even refuse ordinary soap if they don’t come across any other food. But their most favorite delicacies are bread, pastries, as well as sugar and various sweets. The cockroach does not disdain meat or porridge, but he does not like fruits too much, although he eats them if there is nothing else from the products, while the freshness and quality of the fruit do not worry him too much.

Black beetle

Now it is not such a frequent guest in our homes, but in the past it was very common. Noticeably larger than a red cockroach: the length of an adult insect can be from 2 to 8 cm. The color is either black-brown or tar-brown with a pronounced metallic sheen. The wings of males of this species are longer than those of females, but black cockroaches cannot fly or even plan. But they run very fast. So fast that before you have time to look back, he’s already gone.

IT IS INTERESTING! In Germany and the Czech Republic, black cockroaches are called "Swabians", as they believe that these insects were brought from Swabia, a region in southern Germany.

Life stages of a cockroach

Cockroaches are characterized by an incomplete development cycle, which includes the following phases of insect maturation:

larva or otherwise nymph
adult or adult

The life of a young cockroach begins, as they would say in Ancient Rome, “ab ovo”, that is, with an egg. It is from it that the larva hatches, differing from its parents only in size and color, or rather in its absence, since newborn cockroaches are born white due to the fact that they do not yet have a chitinous cover.

In total, the female cockroach lays 20-30, and sometimes up to 50 eggs and bears them in a special ootheca capsule located at the end of the abdomen, while she herself can regulate the number of offspring, so sometimes the number of eggs laid differs sharply from the number of hatched cockroaches. By the way, they, albeit rarely, but there are cases of the appearance of twins, when two larvae develop in one egg. The "pregnancy" of the cockroach lasts from 2 to 4 weeks, after which it leaves the ootheca somewhere in a secluded, damp place. And then for 2 weeks she looks after her offspring, who have not yet had time to acquire chitinous “fur coats” and are therefore very vulnerable.

IT IS INTERESTING! It happens that under adverse conditions, the female cockroach has a “miscarriage”: she sheds the oocyst ahead of schedule. In this case, her offspring either die or hatch underdeveloped.

Newborn larvae are white, but after a few days they darken noticeably, and their body cover becomes hard. Now, in order to grow, an insect is often forced to shed its chitinous “skin” from itself, this process is called molting, and on average, a cockroach molts 6 to 10 times in its life. In the warm season, cockroaches become adults in 2 months, but with a noticeable decrease in temperature, this process can take up to 6 months.

After the last, no matter what the molt, the insect stops growing and turns from a larva into an adult. Which, having given birth to numerous offspring, will either leave this world in due time, or in the wrong time - having ended its days under the sole of a slipper or having swallowed some kind of poison.

How long can they exist

If we do not consider the unfavorable course of events, when the untimely end of a cockroach's life comes for reasons completely independent of the insect - whether it be the notorious slipper, poison, or some predator, such as a toad, a bird, or even an ordinary cat who decided to dine with our barbel , then these insects live for quite a long time - at least 7-9 months after reaching sexual maturity.

IT IS INTERESTING! The life span of each subsequent generation of cockroaches in a single house or apartment is longer than the life span of their predecessors and can be a maximum of 4 years.

How long can a cockroach live without food and water?

Like any living creature, a cockroach cannot do without water and food. And, if you find that he is almost always able to “chew”, then, being far from water sources, the insect is probably doomed to death.

But why is water so important to a cockroach? It turns out that it is important for its thermoregulation. If the cockroach overheats, then the surface of its chitinous cover will be covered with moisture evaporated by the body. If there is nowhere to replenish water supplies, then the insect will die in 7 days literally drying up. High humidity and coolness will slow down this process somewhat, but not for long.

IMPORTANT! When fighting cockroaches, the main thing is to deprive them of access to water and to those products from which they could receive moisture, then they will not have a single chance of survival.

As for food, it is not so important for cockroaches, since they are cold-blooded creatures and not very active. Even if they are completely deprived of food, they will simply hide somewhere in a secluded place and wait there until the conditions become more favorable for their existence. However, sooner or later, without food, they will die. Only this will not happen very soon - about 50 days after the start of a total hunger strike.

How fast does a headless cockroach die?

A cockroach that has lost its head does not die immediately, but after 9 days. At first glance, it seems incredible that a headless creature can live so long. However, such an incredible vitality of cockroaches is explained by the fact that they have an open circulation cycle, and therefore death from blood loss is clearly not threatened even in this case. The fact that nerve endings are literally everywhere in their body contributes to the preservation of motor reflexes and, as a result, the continuation of life.

In the end, the cockroach, left without a head, will die, but this will only happen due to the lack of water and food, since it simply cannot eat or drink.

IT IS INTERESTING! Not only a cockroach that has lost its head can live for a few more days after that, but a head that has been left without a cockroach can also survive for quite a long time. To do this, it is enough to place it in a cool place and feed it with a special solution.

The life of cockroaches in other extreme conditions

Radiation

The assertion that cockroaches can live in places with any level of radiation without harm to themselves can be considered controversial. Yes, of course, these insects are incredibly tenacious and adapted to any, it would seem, the most unfavorable conditions.

However, with very strong radiation, cockroaches will certainly die. Another thing is that the safe dose of radiation that they can endure without harm to themselves is quite large. It exceeds 15 times the maximum allowable dose for humans.

Low temperatures

It is they who are the "Achilles heel" of these almost indestructible creatures. It would seem that they should not care about frost, but no! Already at a temperature of -5 °, cockroaches die. This is due to their cold-bloodedness, which, being incredibly useful in the absence or lack of food, in this case plays a bad joke on them, lowering the resistance of cockroaches to temperature extremes.

IT IS INTERESTING! All insects of the Cockroach order can live either in a heated dwelling or in a tropical climate.

As you can see, cockroaches are incredibly tenacious creatures, but still they are not immortal. These insects can easily endure a long hunger strike and a lethal dose of radiation for humans, and even, left without a head, they will live for several more days. But at the same time, they do not tolerate low temperatures at all, and even without water they die quite quickly. These two unbearable conditions should be of help in the fight against cockroaches. Well, in combination with pesticides or mechanical traps, they will not leave them a single chance of survival at all.

Good afternoon, dear readers! One of my good friends has an inquisitive daughter. When we go for a walk together, she constantly asks different questions. Then why the sky is blue, then, and people can fly, then how a butterfly appears.

One day, when we came to visit them, we noticed a cockroach that tried to crawl through the ventilation to them. Veronica immediately asked the question, why is he crawling to us and how long they live.

To be honest, I myself was interested to know the answer to the last question. Therefore, he began to study literature and then was able to tell the little girl the information she was interested in. In this article, you will learn: how long domestic cockroaches live, what affects their life cycle, how you can get rid of them.

How long do cockroaches live at home: without food and water

Have cockroaches settled in the house? It is unlikely that anyone will like this neighborhood. Most people are looking for ways to poison them, some prefer to wait until the insects die on their own. Having learned how many cockroaches live without food, water in the apartment, the decision will have to be changed.

It turns out that insects are so tenacious that it’s hard to imagine. More often, red cockroaches (Prussians) appear in a person’s housing - insects with a body from light brown to dark brown. Black cockroaches are less common, as a rule, they settle only in houses and apartments with high humidity (old houses, with leaking plumbing, damp basement).

Vitality, endurance of any kind of domestic cockroaches is approximately the same, and it is just right to make legends about it.

The life cycle of pests is different from many insects. They do not have a pupal stage, so the cycle is considered incomplete. Looks like that:

Fertilization of a female by a male.
Deposition of eggs in a hard capsule, or edema.
Carrying a capsule with eggs on the stomach, later - storing in a secluded place.
The output of nymphs up to 3 mm in size, transparent whitish in appearance, resembling a small cockroach.
Molting of nymphs (6-10), at the end of which the insects acquire a dark color, the hardness of the chitinous cover.
The appearance of an imago - an adult insect.

In the form of larvae, pests exist for about 60 days if the room is very warm. When the temperature is lowered to 22-23 degrees or less, molting occurs more slowly (up to 6 months).

Usually, the lifespan of red cockroaches is limited to a year, but black insects can live up to 2 years.

The warmer the room, the longer the life of insects (of course, to reasonable limits). Males usually die faster than females. In houses and apartments, where the temperature is constant and ventilation is rare, pests will breed quickly - behind batteries, cabinets, wallpaper.

Insect life in extreme conditions

Difficult periods can occur for everyone, including domestic Prussians. Life expectancy is getting shorter. In extreme conditions, they survive, but only up to a certain period. The tropical climate or life in the southern latitudes allows insects not to be afraid of temperature changes.

In the middle lane, they are often forced to endure inconvenience, for example, when the heating is turned off. If the temperature is reduced to -5, insects die, however, for this you will have to risk the heating system.

It is known that radiation does not kill pests. The dose of radiation that an insect can withstand is 15 times greater than a human, and yet it is not infinite. If the insect is irradiated for a long time or strongly, it will die.

Pest survival - without food and drink

Cold-blooded insects do not expend energy on regulating body temperature, and their metabolism is tens of times slower than that of humans. Therefore, they can fall into a semblance of hibernation and starve for a long time. For example, up to 1.5 months Prussians live freely, up to 2.5 months - black insects without food.

The cockroach sustains life especially well if it ate tightly before the forced hunger strike. A hungry insect hides in a hidden place and sits until the smell of food is again in the human dwelling. With severe hunger, he may well eat something that is unsuitable for food:

Hair.
paper.
Pieces of leather.

It happens that from hunger, pests eat their antennae, paws, or attack relatives. Without water, it cannot exist for a long time. Any process in the body is associated with water - they even eat moistened food, or immediately run in search of moisture.

Sometimes in case of poisoning, sufficient water consumption saves the pest.

Through the vessels in the body, moisture evaporates regularly, so the insect "dries up" and dies in about a week. A dense shell will not be able to retain water in the body. Therefore, in the question of how to get rid of cockroaches, it is necessary to take into account such a feature and completely block access to water.

Does a cockroach live without a head

The question of how many days a cockroach can live without a head will seem strange to a non-specialist. Of course, not everyone will think of catching a domestic cockroach, tearing off its head and letting it go. But similar experiments were carried out by scientists.

It turns out that for 7-9 days the insect exists without a head. This feature is due to the openness of the circulatory system, the central nervous system, and the gastrointestinal tract of the insect. If the head is removed, the blood on the neck will be baked, the vessels and other organs and systems will continue to function.

The insect will continue to breathe, it has small respiratory organs throughout its body.

Parts of the nervous system are also on the body, the nervous regulation of the main processes will occur in full. A cockroach will die of thirst, but will live longer than with its head, because the area of evaporation of moisture will decrease. The head of a cockroach can also live on its own if nutrient solutions are dripped onto it.

The survivability of cockroaches is high, and it is not worth hoping that they will die without food in a couple of weeks. The only thing that can be done is to completely deprive them of water, and then they will definitely stop harming a person.
Source: "gdeklop.ru"

Home cockroach - habitats and habits

Many are familiar with cockroaches firsthand. Insects can be seen both in a village house and in a city apartment. How long do cockroaches live? They are able to live without food and water for a long time. Radiation exposure that is fatal to humans is harmless to cockroaches.

They freely tolerate a dose of radiation that is 15 times higher than the lethal one for humans. There are more than 4 thousand species of cockroaches in the world. The most common are black and red. Redheads are called Prussians. Insects are 10-15 mm long.

They have large wings and long whiskers that help them navigate and communicate with other insects. The insect has developed paws on which it moves quickly. Lives in warm conditions, most often in human dwellings.

The black species is up to 5 cm long. The wings of females are short, those of males are long. 5 cm. Females are 2-3 cm long. They live in warmth, often next to a person. They go 40 days without food. And absolutely everything serves as food for them, even concrete and brick.

The main condition for life is the presence of water. Therefore, they settle closer to its sources. In the apartment, such a place is a bathroom and a kitchen. When water is found, insects start looking for food. The digestive system is designed in such a way that it digests a wide variety of products of organic origin.

A common property of representatives of this family is an incomplete cycle of their biological development. They do not have a stage of transformation of larvae into pupae.

Females carry fertilized eggs on their stomachs in a special container called an ootheca. The eggs grow over time, the ootheca swells and becomes heavier. After 2, maximum after 4 weeks, the offspring are shed in a warm place with sufficient humidity. Nymphs hatch from the ootheca. These are small (up to 2-3 mm) white cockroaches.

Nymphs gradually turn black, their shell hardens. Before the transformation of the nymph into an adult cockroach, several molts pass. For their habitat, insects usually prefer secluded corners in hard-to-reach places. In their corners they live in fairly large groups.

During the day, they try not to crawl out of their minks, since the mode of life is nocturnal. At night and early in the morning, when everyone in the house is sleeping, they have time to eat crumbs, small pieces of food that they find on the floor or on the kitchen table.

In daylight, they appear only when their burrows do not accommodate all individuals. The appearance during the day is a signal to take measures to exterminate insects. For a more fruitful fight against cockroaches, you need to know the places of resettlement. Insects to look for:

Under the refrigerator.
Behind the refrigerator.
under the sink.
Under the bath.
For heating appliances and pipes.
Under skirting boards.
Behind kitchen cabinets.
In the mechanisms of hanging cabinet doors.
In trash cans.

These are the most favorite places of their settlement. They are easy to identify by smell and by the black dots of feces remaining in places of active life of insects.

They feed mainly on foods high in organic matter:

Sweets and sugar.
Beer.
Bread crumbs and flour products.
Toilet paper and napkins.
Meat.
Wallpaper and glue.
Spoiled, rotting food.
Stockings, socks, underwear.
Books, magazines, newspapers.

Life span and vitality

The red cockroach from a nymph turns into an adult in the summer at a temperature of about 30C after 2 months. If the temperature is 20C, this transformation takes up to 6 months. The red cockroach lives in a house, apartment for 9-10 months. Of these, adults live for 20-30 weeks, the rest of the time larvae develop.

A black cockroach lives less than a red cockroach for a couple of months. Without food and drink, the life expectancy of cockroaches is reduced. Without food, the red cockroach lives for about 50 days. The life of a black cockroach without food can be 70 days. Due to the fact that domestic cockroaches are cold-blooded creatures.

They do not expend energy to maintain a constant body temperature. In the absence of food, they can simply hide and wait for food to appear.

The survivability of cockroaches drops sharply along with a decrease in ambient temperature. The Prussians begin to die already at a temperature of -1C. Cold is a good method of dealing with these creatures. Water is the main thing in the life of cockroaches. Without it, viability lasts up to 7 days.

Moisture evaporates intensively from the surface of the shell, and the insects dry out and die. Prussians are more willing to eat moist food or its waste. It is easier to digest in the body, contains enough moisture. After a series of experiments, American scientists were able to prove that a headless cockroach continues to live (up to 9 days).

The fact is that their circulatory system is not closed. The respiratory process occurs not with the help of the head, but with the help of holes, spiracles on the body and small tracheas.

The brain is not involved in breathing. It is not particularly needed for life, since all parts of the body have ganglia - nerve knots. They are fully responsible for all reflexes. The insect can move its paws, get up and move.

Effect of Temperature on Insects

The activity of cold-blooded insects depends on temperature. Cockroaches love warmth. The optimum temperature for them is from +2 to +28C. At this level, it is maintained in residential premises. At 0C, insects slow down all vital functions, including reproduction processes.

At temperatures from -5 to -10C, insects die in 30-40 minutes. With a subsequent decrease in air temperature, cockroaches die faster. High ambient temperature is detrimental. With heat above 28C, cockroaches lose a large amount of moisture, which is very necessary.

Upon reaching 50C, death occurs in a few hours.

This can be used in the fight against hated neighbors in the kitchen. It is worth remembering that cockroaches are afraid of boiling water. Boiling water is simply poured a little into the cracks where the pests nest.

Popular pest control products

You can fight red and black pests with cold, heat and many other means:

Boric acid.
Disinfectants.
Folk methods.

Boric acid has long been used as a cockroach killer. It shows good results in practice. Boric acid powder is used to make insect baits. Pests die after testing the composition and infect their fellows. For people living indoors, boric acid is absolutely safe.

Of the disinfectants can be called preparations in the form of gels, sticks, aerosols. When used correctly, they are capable of destroying entire colonies of pests.

Their disadvantage is that they are harmful to human health. Before using the products, you need to hide food and utensils. The use of essential oils of various plants should be attributed to folk methods of struggle. Cockroaches absolutely cannot stand the smell of cedar and eucalyptus oil, as well as red elderberry oil. They are repelled by the smell of fresh anise and mint.
Source: mrklop.ru

Lifespan and types of cockroaches

Domestic cockroaches are familiar to many, and those who have been visited by these insects know firsthand how difficult it is to get rid of this "invasion". Many, having bought an apartment in a new building, having settled in it, discover that the tenants appeared there much earlier than the owners.

Cockroaches can not only bite, but also get to the epidermis so that blisters and skin erosion occur. Cockroach bites are dangerous because they can cause a number of diseases, because the habitat of insects is a microbial zone. Most often, a crust appears over the bite site, but the skin under it heals for a long time, accompanied by decay, infection.

Variety of domestic cockroaches

Often, when discussing cockroaches, people come to the conclusion that cockroaches are different, since even in the 1st apartment you can see two varieties at once. Yes, there are quite a few varieties of domestic cockroaches.

The red domestic cockroach is better known under the name of the Prusak.

The variety is the most common, and it was he who first appeared in apartments and houses. Red cockroaches are common in many countries.

The banana cockroach got its name because of its bright green color.

Distributed in the tropical zone, it came to us during the transportation of fruits. The insect is unpretentious, despite the fact that it arrived from afar. A banana cockroach can even eat dry cat food, so in an apartment he will definitely find something to eat. Especially if there are always fruits on the kitchen table, as is customary in many families.

The black cockroach is not as common today as its red-haired friend, but it appears in apartments, despite the fact that it prefers basements for life. It is worth noting that black cockroaches breed much more slowly than red ones.
The American periplanet (American cockroach) belongs to the fodder cockroaches, because it reaches large sizes, quickly breeds and grows.

In order for the cockroaches not to leave the breeding place, it is worth carefully monitoring them, constantly treating the container with petroleum jelly.

The Madagascar cockroach is the 1st of the most beautiful species.

Some exotic lovers breed at home, and claim that such a “cockroach” can easily replace fish or a turtle. After all, it is no less interesting to watch its development.

The Egyptian cockroach is a danger not only to people, but to animals. It is a carrier of various diseases. Even without a bite, it can infect with some kind of ailment.

The Turkestan cockroach is used to feed terrarium animals, but it can also be found in an apartment, because it is unpretentious in food, and it needs very little to live.

The presence of cockroaches in an apartment is a real disaster, and one can talk endlessly about the harm caused by cockroaches. Firstly, insects spread infections around the apartment, secondly, they can bite the owners, thirdly, they negatively affect the psyche, and fourthly, they simply cause discomfort.

Cockroaches hit the pocket, so everything they have been on becomes unusable, and every time you have to buy fresh bread, hide toilet paper, a sugar bowl.

There are many interesting facts connected with cockroaches. Few people know that in Russia the black cockroach was a rather respected insect. If there was no cockroach in the house, it was considered a bad omen, and spoke of the poor of the owners. There are many sayings, songs, ditties about the black cockroach.

It is also of interest that cockroaches are real travelers, they easily move from country to country, and immediately take root on a new land. It is not easy to get rid of cockroaches, but if you show willpower, perseverance, then it is quite possible to achieve the goal!

How they get into the house and where they hide

Insects can get into your home in a variety of ways. We list the most popular ones:

More often, cockroaches move into an apartment from neighbors.

If a neighbor decides to "poison" annoying insects, do not doubt that they will move to you! They actively move along the ventilation ducts, the garbage chute and small gaps in the walls.

For an optimal existence, cockroaches need food, all other conditions suit them unconditionally, and there is enough food in the apartments (crumbs, unwashed plates, left pieces of bread on the table).

An interesting way for Prussians to get into an apartment is in a package with purchases.

It will not be difficult for cockroaches to “accidentally” get into a bag, a package in which they put something bought. Often people settle cockroaches in the house with their own hands, buying furniture, clothes, equipment from their hands. Of course, in such things, the cockroach has nothing to eat, but he could accidentally get there and calmly move to a new house.

It's no secret that there are plenty of cockroaches in food warehouses, so you need to be careful in stores. You can often meet him in grocery warehouses.

Cockroaches can settle in an apartment after you have returned from a sanatorium, or have lived in a hotel or rented apartment for several days. If a female cockroach got into things, you can be sure that in a few days the “family” will begin to grow.

The most unexpected way cockroaches enter the premises is to deliver parcels.

The most offensive way is when we personally bring cockroaches into the house. Returning from guests, carefully inspect bags, shoes, pockets on clothes, cockroaches "love" to travel.

If you brought a cockroach to the house yourself, or they delivered it to you by mail, believe me, you won’t notice it right away, because cockroaches know how to disguise themselves, and if you don’t look for them, they will catch your eye only when there are so many of them that they don’t have enough space in the 1st room.

To easily detect insects, you need to know where domestic cockroaches are hiding in the house. Most often they climb into bathrooms, into toilets, trash cans, under the bath, specifically where no one will look for them, and from where you can take and “pull” infections, bacteria and viruses throughout the apartment.

Cockroaches prefer dark places, they hide behind cabinets, a refrigerator, under the sink, and they hide en masse, and not one by one.

If cockroaches have already settled in the kitchen, they can be found under the bread box, napkin holder, in vases, salt shakers, in accessories. You can find insects during the day in the listed places, since they go hunting for food only at night or early in the morning, while the owners are fast asleep.

Leaving dirty dishes overnight or not throwing out the trash for a long time is a “great” habit that promotes cockroach breeding. When cockroaches are found, many people mistakenly believe that they can be left alone and that in a few days or weeks they will leave the premises or simply die out.

How long do red and black cockroaches live in an apartment

It is impossible to imagine a resident of our latitudes who has not seen a red cockroach in his eyes. Among the people, he received the "home" "German" nickname "Prussian", it was from there that the invasion of insects into Russian homes took place. They live indoors, more often in an apartment, because they are defenseless against predators, although the duration of their wrecking life is long.

The duration of the existence of red cockroaches is influenced by a number of factors:

suitable comfortable home temperature (about 20 heat);
the availability of food, and they eat completely unappetizing substances from the human eye;
no strong background radiation.

In the conditions of an adult, red domestic insects live for 9-10 months, but the danger is that the females during this time manage to lay eggs 4 times and hatch the offspring. Black domestic varieties live longer than red ones.

So black cockroaches live up to two years, but they are less prolific. Red pests, having chosen the territory in the apartment, flood it quickly.

The cycle of special development of an insect bypasses the stage of "chrysalis" and consists of three stages:

The egg matures for about 4 weeks, in this case it is enclosed in a shell - ootheca;
The larva, otherwise called the "cockroach nymph" lives for 1.5 months,
An adult pest lives even up to two years and at the same time has the ability to reproduce effectively.

In cold conditions in an apartment, the full development of the first stages of insects is impossible, therefore, freezing out of housing is recommended as an effective method of fighting for managing on the home territory.

Studies have shown that the imposed stereotypes about a long life in a vacuum, without food and the head of an insect are far-fetched, as evidenced by video experiments.

It’s worth understanding another “nutritional” myth:

Belonging to the class of cold-blooded animals allows you to control metabolic processes and live without food even up to 70 days, and remain active.
And without water, cockroaches do not live so cheerfully; they can do without a drop of liquid for no more than a week. The reason is also cold-bloodedness, which forces the use of water for thermoregulation processes.

The adaptability of the barbel is simply fantastic:

The respiratory processes of a domestic pest are different from human ones. By holding its own breath, the insect lives by retaining the moisture it needs.
But if you imagine an experiment in which the insect is in a vacuum, without air, it turns out that he lives like this for 40 minutes.

How insects behave after disinfection

Professional home disinfection involves the use of strong poisonous substances for insects, and, subject to the requirements, copes with them at a time:

three-hour post-disinfection sanitation, which involves closed home premises in the apartment, takes 3 hours;
15 minute airing;
proper cleaning of dead pests.

The use of special special equipment at home suggests that within 1-2 weeks all domestic pests will be destroyed.

If after the procedure they did not disappear:

The result should be checked approximately in half a month.
In case of ineffective home pest control in the apartment, you should contact the service again for a free repetition of the procedure.

The owners are alarmed by the fact that their mustachioed flatmates suddenly disappear. They may leave their home for several reasons:

electromagnetic strong radiation;
perfect house insecticides of new generation;
modern finishing products that turn out to be too tough for insects.

Cunning red cockroaches live in an apartment even in the most difficult home conditions. At the same time, even having hit him with shoes, one cannot be sure of the death of the barbel due to the peculiarities of the body cover. The most effective deprivation in an apartment is the lack of water and heat.
Source: "stopklopu.com; klop4ik.ru"

Cockroaches - the cycle of life and methods of struggle

Probably everyone knows the red or black “whiskered household members”. There are more than 5 thousand varieties of these insects. One has only to get into the house of one of them, as in a short time flocks of cockroaches will fill all secluded places.

These permanent residents of city apartments and houses “register” for a long time on living space, and are not going to leave. The body of the cockroach is flat and oval, and the length reaches 10 cm. Gnawing mouthparts are located at the bottom of the flat head. Insects can be red-brown, dark brown and even black.

They are very mobile, and it is not so easy to catch them. In most cases, these insects are nocturnal, and during the day they prefer to hide in cracks, minks, ventilation systems and crevices.

The largest species is Madagascar. It can be the size of the palm of your hand. But, fortunately, these individuals are a rarity in ordinary apartments. Most often, you can find 2 varieties of cockroaches: black kitchen and red cockroach.

Black, as a rule, is larger than red and reaches 2-3 cm in length. And if we talk about small individuals, then after their birth they are tiny, only 1-2 millimeters. Due to their flat body structure, cockroaches get into the most "impenetrable" places in the house, and can also run vertically on walls and furniture.

In the European part of Russia, there are 2 types of domestic cockroaches: red Prussians and black ones. Both species are practically omnivorous: cockroaches live by eating not only food waste, but also paper, soap, electrical wiring, fabrics, etc.

These tenacious insects have a developmental cycle characterized by incomplete metamorphosis, i.e. the absence of the stage of development of the larva into the pupa:

After fertilization, females stack about 30 pcs. eggs into a capsule on the abdomen called an ootheca. Within 2-4 weeks, as the eggs grow, it darkens and increases in size.
After maturation, the ootheca is shed by the female in a hard-to-reach place, warm and humid, necessary for the further development of the nymphs hatched from it - white cockroaches 2-3 mm in size.
Within 2 months at a temperature of about 30ºС, the nymphs grow, go through the stages of molting, the chitinous shells become harder, and they turn into adult insects.

Under more unfavorable conditions and lower temperatures, development may be delayed up to 6 months.

Red adult adults can live 20-30 weeks depending on conditions.

The lifespan of a black cockroach is much longer, up to 2 years. All types of such pests, under favorable conditions, are able to multiply very quickly, and in 3-4 months the colony can increase thousands of times. In addition, females live a little longer than males, managing to bear large offspring many times over their lives.

The survivability of cockroaches is evidenced by the fact that they can withstand a dose of radiation that is fatal to humans. To destroy them, nuclear radiation must exceed the limiting human level by 15 times.

Life expectancy is influenced by environmental conditions and how cockroaches live: temperature, the amount of water and food. The answer to the question of how long cockroaches live without food can surprise many, because they can do without food for a long time:

"red" individuals - 40-50 days;
black - up to 70.

This is explained by the structure of their body. Insects are cold-blooded, so they do not need energy to heat the body, and with a lack of food, they simply wait for a more favorable moment to feed. Therefore, the period of how many days cockroaches live without food can be so long.

The only thing that can kill a cockroach during prolonged starvation is damage by mold or other microorganisms.

Indeed, without it, water evaporates from its chitinous shell, gradual drying, and the process of digestion of food, the work of the circulatory system slows down. The structure of the body of an insect with the help of moisture allows you to maintain the necessary thermoregulation, and excess fluid is released through the Malpighian vessels.

At night, the chitinous cover helps save water, even at high temperatures or dry air.

In the absence of fluid intake for 7 days, the cockroach "dries out" and dies. Therefore, the most necessary food for pests is waste or any food that is sufficiently moist, which is easier to digest and adds such necessary moisture to their body.

Where do they come from

There are a lot of reasons for the appearance of these “cohabitants”, and their unexpected arrival can provoke such moments:

Leftover crumbs on the table.
Waste not thrown away.
Unwashed dishes.
Destruction of pests in a neighboring apartment.
An accidentally picked up insect from work or rest, etc.

Often, in a perfectly clean apartment, cockroaches start up in a completely inexplicable way and the owners remain at a loss. But their appearance does not depend on the cleanliness of the house. It is worth only one "scout" to penetrate new square meters, as after a while whole herds of insects quickly settle in the territory.

The female bears up to 40 new individuals at a time, and reproduction occurs year-round.

In addition, when moving, adults leave a special track, along which new insects find a new home, food and water. Cockroaches love not only food, but also indoor plants, books, skin, etc. Many of them feed on feces and thus carry many infections (dysentery, tuberculosis, cholera) and worm eggs.

Cockroaches are quite tenacious. Some individuals are able to live up to 16 months. Life expectancy also depends on living conditions. Without food, black kitchen species can do up to 40 days. Moreover, hungry insects become very dangerous. They begin to eat each other and also bite people.

Unlike other insects, cockroaches can live for some time without a head.

It is difficult to imagine such a sight. But how does this happen, and how do they get along without it? After the loss of the head, a clot forms in this place in the pest. The insect breathes through special openings on the abdomen, and the nerve nodes are distributed throughout the body. Even without a head, the pest has elementary reflexes, and the head itself can also live for several hours on its own.

How to detect small "tenants"

As a rule, cockroaches are found when they are already in full swing in the house. But how to understand whether they are or not, when insects are not yet visible? A few signs of the appearance of cockroaches:

Black marks (dots) on wallpaper, furniture, dishes.
Peculiar smell in the kitchen.
Cockroach eggs in corners and crevices.

If you managed to notice the Prusak for the first time in the house, you need to study the question - how to destroy cockroaches, and be sure to take measures to destroy them.

It is worth carefully inspecting all kitchen cabinets, nooks, wall cracks and holes in the floor, and carefully process everything. If these activities did not give positive results and creeping reptiles appeared throughout the house, then you should resort to the methods described below.

How to destroy cockroaches in an apartment: we start a raid

The actual question is how to get rid of cockroaches, and how to destroy them, today you can use a lot of universal means with which you can forever forget about the “whiskered owners” of the apartment. It should be borne in mind that the use of the same remedy leads to a gradual adaptation of insects to poison.

Many people are interested in the same questions:

What are the best tools: gel, aerosol, trap or syringe?
Where to buy poison?
How to use poison correctly?
What remedy to choose and not harm yourself?

The entire arsenal of anti-cockroach products, which is offered in the markets, in specialized stores and supermarkets, rushes to destroy cockroaches at home.

Before choosing, people often turn to their acquaintances and friends for help, search the Internet for popular names of drugs for the destruction of cockroaches, reviews and comments. You can also listen to the recommendations of specialists or use their services.

So, in war, all means are good! Let's compare the most basic remedies for cockroaches.

Aerosols

This category of insecticides includes Reid, Raptor, Combat, Chemo Sept, Extrasol M, Dichlorvos Neo, DET, etc. Use only good quality aerosols. Insects get used to the smell of these products quickly, and the composition of the aerosol is completely unsafe for health and harmful to the environment.

You can use aerosols only 2 times a week, and this is hardly enough to get rid of cockroaches forever.

Starting the fight against cockroaches, many people do not think about where cockroaches live, what they eat and how these domestic insects breed. But these factors are important to consider in order to effectively get rid of unpleasant neighbors. In this article, we will tell you about the features of the existence of cockroaches and how this can be used to destroy them.

Where do cockroaches live in an apartment?

Water plays a special role in the life of cockroaches. If without food they can exist for more than a month, then without water no more than 7 days. When choosing a habitat, cockroaches prefer places that have access to water - most often it will be a kitchen or bathroom.

Having found a room with access to water, cockroaches begin to develop their colony there. They live in groups, hiding in hard-to-reach places in the room:

Behind the plinth;
Under the washbasin;
Behind and under furniture;
In the cracks of the wall.

Any dark, warm, and hard-to-reach area of your room can become a home for cockroaches.

You can easily determine where the cockroach colony lives by the characteristic black dots - insect excrement that will surround this place.

When dealing with cockroaches, it is very important to find their shelters. For example, if you find a cockroach dwelling under a baseboard, you can poison the area around this place, and then the insects are 100% likely to come into contact with the poison.

What do cockroaches eat?

One of the most unpleasant features of cockroaches is that they are absolutely unpretentious in food. People who do daily cleaning often do not understand what cockroaches eat in an apartment where there is not a single crumb on the table. Cockroaches feed on any organic matter:

Leftovers;
Soap;
Leather;
Paper;
Starch;
Some fabrics.

Of course, cockroaches love to eat food left by inattention, garbage that they forgot to throw away, but they will also find food in clean apartments.

To make your apartment seem unattractive to cockroaches, it is much more important to ensure that it does not have open access to water. This resource is the most important in the life of cockroaches.

How do domestic cockroaches reproduce?

Among cockroaches there are males and females, these insects reproduce sexually. After fertilization, the female lays eggs. For carrying eggs in the body of an insect, a special storage is provided - ootheca. When you see especially “pot-bellied” cockroaches, with a peculiar capsule, this is a fertilized female.

For some time, the cockroach carries the eggs in the ootheca on its body, but when they become larger, it gets rid of them, hiding them in a hard-to-reach place. For one laying, the female is capable of carrying about 40 eggs.

How fast do cockroaches breed? The period of gestation of eggs can last about 2 months. After that, the offspring of the cockroach is born. Newborn cockroaches are called nymphs - these are small white cockroaches. In their life cycle, cockroaches undergo metamorphoses, after several molts they turn from a nymph into an adult: the size of the insect increases, the shell becomes stronger and browner.

Newborn red cockroaches breed within 3 months after birth. Over the entire life cycle, a female cockroach can give birth to at least 100 individuals.

Another important feature of cockroach reproduction is that the male gametes can remain in the female's body for quite a long time, which is why it is enough for the female to mate once to lay several clutches of eggs.

Thus, even a few female cockroaches that find themselves in your apartment will be able to create a large colony of insects within a few months.

Negative environmental conditions can affect the reproduction of cockroach offspring. Lack of water and food, low temperatures can lead to the fact that red cockroaches will begin to get rid of ootheca ahead of time, and this will lead to the death of offspring.

Knowing the characteristics of reproduction and life of cockroaches, it will be much easier for you to plan your fight against these insects. In our next article, we will talk about how to get rid of house cockroaches once and forever.

of this family.

The size of an ordinary adult (adult) is one and a half centimeters.

The head is oblong, the eyes are widely spaced, dark. The paws of red cockroaches are long, with special suction cups that allow move on vertical planes.

The body is painted in reddish-yellow colors and consists of the following parts:

cephalothorax;
abdomen;
head.

The insect has developed wings with rigid elytra on top, but can't fly, can only glide by falling from a height. But there are also. The oral apparatus is gnawing.

In males, the body is narrow, the abdomen is wedge-shaped, its edge is not covered by wings.

The body of females is wider, the abdomen is rounded, completely covered by wings.

The antennae are one of the most important organs in cockroaches. very sensitive to all kinds of odors. With their help, the Prussians communicate with their relatives and navigate in space. The loss of one or both whiskers becomes a real tragedy for these insects, as they are deprived of information about the world around them.

REFERENCE! A distinctive feature of the Prussians are the cerci - small ponytails at the end of the body (one on each side).

A photo

You can clearly see the appearance in the photo of red cockroaches below:

reproduction

cockroaches belong to insects with incomplete metamorphosis(transformation). They do not have a pupal stage, and the larvae take on the appearance of an adult through several molts.

Red Prussians breed throughout the year.

Females lay eggs (about 30 pieces) in a small brown capsule (ootheca). The female carries the future offspring with her at the end of the abdomen (the protruding part of the ootheca is visible to the naked eye) up to hatching larvae (2-4 weeks).

The initial color of the larvae is, it gradually darkens. Larvae (nymphs) undergo six molts until they take on the form of adults. Throughout their life, females carry from four to ten ootheca and contribute to the birth of up to 300 young cockroaches.

How long do red cockroaches live?

Lifespan red Prussians at home and with enough food and water is 8 to 10 months(this period of time includes the lifespan of the adult (7 - 8 months) and the stage of the nymph).

Lifestyle and nutrition

Prussians do not like daylight and crawl out of their hiding places only at night.

If you suddenly have suspicions about the appearance of uninvited red-haired guests in your apartment, turn on the light in the kitchen at night: live cockroach trickles will squirt in all directions from the sink and from the dining table.

The favorite habitats of domestic red cockroaches are all kinds of narrow cracks (so that the back and abdomen of the insect are in close contact with the surfaces): in floors, under skirting boards, in doorframes, furniture. In addition, the Prussians can choose household appliances and books for settlement.

These insects are omnivorous. Food for them can be not only food, but also paper, wallpaper glue, book bindings, cloth and even soap.

Cockroaches are able to starve for a long time, but they do not tolerate drought at all. If the Prussians can survive for a whole month without food, then they will not survive even a week without water.

For what reasons do they appear in a particular residential area?

There are several reasons:

unsanitary conditions. Always dirty floor, unwashed dishes, cluttered corners, food residues lying around in different places (this can be spilled sugar or flour);
travel items. An insect can come to your house in a travel bag, having got into it from a hotel or a train car;
dysfunctional neighbors. It doesn't matter which side the sluts are next to you (top, bottom, through the wall). Cockroaches will surely get from them into your apartment from the ventilation hole or cracks in the walls and floor;
faulty water and sewer pipes. Small wet places under a drop and heat - this is a real cockroach paradise. As long as there is moisture nearby and the temperature in the apartment does not drop below 10 degrees, the Prussians will be ready to live with you forever.

Do they harm a person?

IMPORTANT! Red cockroaches dangerous to humans: constantly in contact with garbage, household waste, dirt, they are carriers of pathogenic bacteria, as well as worm eggs.

Intestinal disorders, tuberculosis, helminthiasis- this is only a small fraction of the diseases that the Prussians can bring on their paws.

Do red cockroaches bite?

Scientists were aware of several cases when these pests were on the face and hands of people, but they did not cause any tangible harm. So it's safe to say that prussians don't bite.

Fighting methods

As soon as you discovered the presence of at least one red-haired Prusak in the house - take urgent action.

To be more efficient you need to do the following:

put food in containers or tightly closed bags;
make sure that dirty dishes with food residues on them do not remain in the sink or on the kitchen table;
maintain cleanliness in the apartment;
dispose of household waste in a timely manner, do not accumulate garbage for several days;
put all pipes and plumbing in order, eliminate leaks;
do not leave water containers on the surface from which insects could drink.

After that, you can start persecuting the Prussians.

How to get rid of red cockroaches in the apartment? This can be done with the help of industrial insecticides. Today there is a great variety. This is

Cockroaches are among the most unpleasant insects, but information about them is of interest. The details of the existence of arthropods are so amazing that they become the basis for various myths. More often than others, the question is asked: how long do cockroaches live without food and water. Incredibly hardy representatives of the fauna are able to do even without a head.

How long do domestic cockroaches live

Representatives of the cockroach order are extremely hardy. They inhabited every continent except Antarctica. Negative temperatures are the limiting factor for insects. In its development, the cockroach goes through 3 phases: egg, larva, adult. This is an incomplete transformation (no pupal stage). Reproduction occurs with characteristic features. A fertilized female lays her eggs in a special chitinous capsule - an ootheca. In a cocoon, they are protected from temperature changes, mechanical stress, and insecticides.

Interesting fact. The real centenarians are Australian burrowing cockroaches or rhinos. Large insects weighing 35 g reach the age of 10 years.

In most species, the female carries an ootheca inside her abdomen almost until the birth of the larvae. The offspring is safe, which increases the survival rate. Larvae are mobile, live and feed near adults. Due to their miniature size, they are able to penetrate into any gap. There are about 30 species of synanthropic cockroaches in the world. In Russia, there are much fewer such species - 5. All of them were imported from other countries. In the conditions of the street they cannot survive, a comfortable temperature is 25-30 °. Insects live in colonies, rapidly increasing its numbers.

The lifespan of a cockroach depends on the species:

Blattella germanica

The red cockroach or Prussian comes from Central Asia, came to Russia from Germany, for which he received the nickname "Prussian". Imagoes are small (9-13 mm), reddish-brown, winged. They have long bristle-like antennae, and long suckers on their tarsi between the claws. The embryonic period takes 38-50 days, nymphs need from 75 to 130 days to grow up. Adults live 9-16 months.

Information. Hardy insects are quickly killed by negative temperatures, they die at -5 ° and below. The thermophilicity of synanthropes also has a limit of 45 °.

Blatta orientalis

The black cockroach is a cosmopolitan that appeared in Europe 350 years ago. Adults are large, body length 18-30 mm. Black glossy finish. The wings are poorly developed, because of the small sucker they move poorly on smooth surfaces. The duration of the development of the nymph depends on the environmental conditions. At a temperature of 27 °, they reach sexual maturity in 5 months, if the conditions of unfavorable processes are delayed for 5 years. The larvae go through 6 instars and molt 5 times. Imago reach the age of 1.5-2 years.

Information. Among the representatives of the species, cannibalism is observed, even with an abundance of food, they eat weak larvae and their own egg capsules.

Supella longipalpa

The furniture cockroach is similar in appearance and size to the Prusak. Females shed ootheca 36 hours after laying eggs. Capsules are left in the sink, on the bed or furniture. Embryonic development at room temperature takes 3 months. Larvae develop 4-5 months. The life span of adults is 3-4 months.

Information. Insects appeared in Russia in the 70s. 20th century. Distribution began with large cities - Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Periplaneta Americana

The American cockroach is a large species with a brownish or yellow-brown color. Adult sizes are 27-44 mm. Insects are able to fly due to their developed wings. The egg cocoon contains 10-28 embryos. Larvae go through 13 instars, reaching the state of adults in 1 year. The life expectancy of males is 1.5 years, females are 2 times longer.

How long do cockroaches live without food and water

Pests do not voluntarily leave warm rooms. Even in conditions when they have to starve. According to scientists, insects are able to do without food for a long time:

The ability for such a long fast is due to a slow metabolism and the lack of the need to maintain body temperature. Arthropods reduce activity, cannibalism may begin. The need of the organism of arthropods for moisture is much higher. Water is essential for the chemical processes that sustain life. Their digestion is impossible without moisture; they certainly moisten dry food. Without replenishment of fluid reserves, after 5-9 days, the insect dries up. By completely blocking access to water for insects, you can get rid of pests.

A live cockroach without a head is not a myth.

An amazing fact, but insects are able to live without a head. For humans and animals, this is impossible, their respiratory organs are located on the head. Arthropods have special stigma openings on the abdomen connected to the trachea. A system of tubes braids the internal organs and supplies them with oxygen. The circulatory system is designed in such a way that the blood quickly coagulates in the vessels of the neck. They go for weeks without food.

The decapitated body retains reflex functions, it reacts to touch, and can move. The most detrimental factor for the insect will be the inability to drink. The body regularly loses fluid through the chitinous covering. Without moisture, it will dry out.

As a result of the experiments, it was found that the cockroach lives without a head for 9 days.

The endurance of domestic cockroaches is high, but not unlimited. Knowing the vulnerabilities of insects, they can be successfully dealt with. Pests are destroyed with the help of insecticides, lowering the temperature or setting traps.