How long do domestic cockroaches live - in different conditions and methods of dealing with them. How do cockroaches drink water? What do they eat and how can we use this knowledge against them? Do cockroaches drink water?
Decapitation (decapitation) in humans leads to blood loss and a drop in blood pressure, which in turn interferes with oxygen delivery and nutrients to vital organs. In addition, a person breathes through the mouth or nose, and this vital function is controlled by the brain; therefore, after decapitation, breathing stops.
So that blood can pass through a vast network blood vessels a person, especially through the thinnest capillaries, it is necessary to maintain pressure at a certain level. In arthropods, the circulatory system is structured differently: it is not so extensive, it lacks thin capillaries, which allows the pressure to be significantly lower.
“When you cut off the head of a cockroach, the blood vessels in the neck become clogged with clotted blood,” notes Kunkel, “and no fatal bleeding occurs.”
Moreover, these tenacious creatures breathe through spiracles - small holes on each segment of the body. The cockroach's brain does not control breathing, and oxygen is carried throughout the body by blood; air enters the tissues directly from the spiracles through the tubes (tracheas).
In addition, cockroaches are poikilothermic creatures, i.e. cold-blooded. Consequently, they do not expend energy on maintaining a constant body temperature, and therefore can be content with much less food than humans. After eating once, they are able to live for weeks afterwards.
“Unless they are attacked by some predator, they will just sit quietly and motionless,” says Kunkel.
Cockroaches have ganglia in each segment of their body - accumulations of nervous tissue capable of performing basic reflex functions. nerve functions. And without a brain, the insect's body can function at the level of simple reactions. It is able to stand up, respond to touch and move.
A single head may also continue to function and move its whiskers for several hours. If you refrigerate it, it will last even longer.
Decapitating a cockroach may seem creepy to some, but researchers have conducted many experiments with the bodies of these insects to answer some serious questions. Decapitation deprives the arthropod's body of hormones that control maturation and are secreted from glands located in their heads. This discovery allows scientists to study metamorphosis and reproduction in insects, and also reveals how neurons work.
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There are all sorts of legends about cockroaches, as if they can live without food, water, are not afraid of radiation and can live without a head. There is indeed some truth about radiation; an insect can withstand radiation 15 times greater than a person, but with an increase in the dose of radiation, the cockroach will still die like any other creature.
The cockroach is one of the oldest creatures that appeared on planet earth; few creatures were able to survive to our time, but not cockroaches; they were able to adapt to changing conditions. Thanks to their unique ability to quickly adapt and develop immunity to various poisons, they were able to survive much longer than other creatures.
Can cockroaches survive without food?
Cockroaches are cold-blooded creatures, so they do not spend energy on maintaining body temperature; their metabolism can slow down 20 times compared to warm-blooded creatures. Some types of cockroaches can live for 40 to 70 days without food. They can eat quite infrequently and maintain physical activity at the proper level. Cold-blooded creatures also have disadvantages: they need warmth to maintain life, so pests live only in warm places, and if the heating is turned off in the house in winter, cockroaches will suddenly disappear in search of a new home.
Can cockroaches live without water?
Cockroaches can live for a long time without food, but they can live no more than a week without water. Water is the source of life for any living creature and insects are no exception. Water plays a big role in life processes; it is necessary for food processing, for the functioning of internal organs and for thermoregulation, which is very important for cold-blooded creatures.
Can a cockroach live without a head and why?
American scientists decided to study the body of cockroaches and find out whether a cockroach can live without a head. After a series of experiments, scientists came to the conclusion that a cockroach lives without a head for 9 days, and under certain conditions it can live for several weeks. Scientists did not stop there and decided to find out why they live for so long without a head.
It turned out internal structure cockroaches are fundamentally different from human ones and are designed on a completely different principle. If a person is decapitated, his body will lose most of the blood and the oxygen supply will stop, but in an insect, blood clots will immediately close the wound and blood loss will be insignificant, and blood pressure will be restored.
Unlike humans, a cockroach does not need a head to breathe, since this function is performed by special spiracles located on the body of the pest in the form of tubes through which oxygen enters. The insect does not need a head for normal air intake, so they can live without it for several weeks. Theoretically, they can live longer, but without a head, food does not come and after a few weeks he dies of hunger.
The head of a cockroach is not such an important organ, since nerve clusters (ganglia) are located throughout the body, which send signals to the body, and the insect can carry out movements at a reflex level. Headless cockroaches can move and even move, but due to the lack of information that should come from the head, their movements are chaotic and meaningless.
Conclusions
Cockroaches can actually live without a head, food and water for quite a long time and are the most tenacious creatures on the planet. Their chitinous shell has good protection, which is why cockroaches often survive attempts to swat them.
Practice has shown that an insect deprived of a source of water dies quite quickly, within a week, or leaves home in search of the desired water. If you decide to get rid of pests, then you need to make sure that there are no leaks in the apartment, and the sink should be dry.
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. That's why the sky is blue, that's why people can fly, that's why a butterfly appears.
One day, when we came to visit them, we noticed a cockroach that was trying to crawl through the ventilation to them. Veronica immediately asked the question, why is he crawling towards us and how long do they live.
To be honest, I myself became interested in knowing the answer to the last question. Therefore, I began to study literature and then was able to tell the little girl the information that interested her. In this article you will learn: how long do domestic cockroaches live, what affects their life cycle, and how you can get rid of them.
How long do domestic cockroaches live without food or water?
Are there cockroaches in your house? It's 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 found out how long cockroaches live without food or water in an 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 home - insects with a body ranging 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 water supply, damp basement).
The vitality and endurance of any type of domestic cockroach is approximately the same, and it is time to create legends about it.The life cycle of pests is different from many insects. They lack the pupal stage, so the cycle is considered incomplete. Looks like this:
- Fertilization of a female by a male.
- Deposition of eggs in a strong capsule, or edema.
- Carrying a capsule with eggs on the stomach, later storing it in a secluded place.
- The emerging nymphs are up to 3 mm in size, transparent-whitish in appearance, resembling a small cockroach.
- Molts of nymphs (6-10), upon completion of which the insects acquire dark color, hardness of the chitinous cover.
- The appearance of the imago - an adult insect.
Pests exist as larvae for approximately 60 days if the room is very warm. When the temperature is reduced to 22-23 degrees or less, molting occurs more slowly (up to 6 months).
Typically, 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, up 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 radiators, cabinets, and wallpaper.
Insect life in extreme conditions
Difficult periods can occur for everyone, including domestic Prussians. Life expectancy is becoming an order of magnitude shorter. In extreme conditions they survive, but only for a certain period. A tropical climate or life in southern latitudes allows insects not to be afraid of temperature changes.
IN middle lane they often have to endure inconveniences, such as when the heating is turned off. If the temperature is reduced to -5, the insects die, although this will require risking 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 that of a human, and yet it is not infinite. If an insect is irradiated for a long time or strongly, it will die.
Pest survival rate - without food or 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 go into a kind of hibernation and starve for a long time. For example, Prussians live freely for up to 1.5 months, black insects live without food for up to 2.5 months.
A cockroach maintains life especially well if it has eaten heavily before a forced hunger strike. A hungry insect hides in a secret place and sits until the person’s home smells of food again. If he is very hungry, he may well eat something that is not suitable for food:
- Hair.
- Paper.
- Pieces of leather.
It happens that because of 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 consumption of water saves the pest.
Moisture evaporates regularly through the vessels in the body, so the insect “dries out” 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 this 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 would think of catching a domestic cockroach, tearing off its head and letting it go. But similar experiments have been conducted by scientists.
It turns out that the insect can exist without a head for 7-9 days. This feature is due to the openness of the circulatory system, central nervous system, and gastrointestinal tract of the insect. If you remove the head, the blood on the neck will be baked, the blood vessels and other organs and systems will continue to function.
The insect will continue to breathe; it has small respiratory organs throughout its body.Plots nervous system is also present on the body, the nervous regulation of basic processes will occur fully. The cockroach will die of thirst, but will live longer than with its head, because the area of moisture evaporation will decrease. The head of a cockroach can also live on its own if nutrient solutions are dripped onto it.
The vitality of cockroaches is high, and there is no point in 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 humans.
Source: "gdeklop.ru"
Domestic cockroach - habitats and habits
Many people are familiar with cockroaches firsthand. Insects can be seen both in a country house and in a city apartment. How long do domestic cockroaches live? They are able to live without food or water for a long time. Radiation exposure, which is fatal to humans, is harmless to cockroaches.
They easily tolerate a dose of radiation 15 times higher than lethal 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 antennae that help them navigate in space and communicate with other insects. The insect has developed legs on which it moves quickly. Lives in warm conditions, most often in people's homes.
Black species - 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 humans. They survive without food for 40 days. And absolutely everything serves as food for them, even concrete and brick.
The main condition for life is the presence of water. That's why they settle closer to its sources. In an apartment, such places are the bathroom and kitchen. When water is found, insects begin to look for food. Digestive system is designed in such a way that it digests a wide variety of organic products.
A common property of representatives of this family is the incomplete cycle of their biological development. They do not have the 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 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.
The nymphs gradually turn black and their shell hardens. Several moults pass before the nymph turns into an adult cockroach. For their habitat, insects usually prefer secluded corners in hard-to-reach places. They live in their corners in fairly large groups.
During the day, they try not to crawl out of their burrows, since their mode of life is nocturnal. At night and early in the morning, when everyone in the house is asleep, they manage to eat crumbs, small pieces of food that they find on the floor or on the kitchen table.
In daylight, they appear only in cases where their burrows do not contain all the individuals. Appearance during the day is a signal to take measures to destroy insects. To more effectively fight cockroaches, you need to know where they live. Insects to look for:
- Under the refrigerator.
- Behind the refrigerator.
- od the sink.
- Under the bathroom.
- For heating devices and pipes.
- Under the baseboards.
- For kitchen cabinets.
- In cabinet door hanging mechanisms.
- In trash cans.
This is the most favorite places their settlements. They can be easily identified by their smell and by the black spots of feces remaining in places active life 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 products.
- Stockings, socks, underwear.
- Books, magazines, newspapers.
Life span and survivability
The red cockroach turns from a nymph 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 or apartment for 9-10 months. Of these, adults live for 20-30 weeks, the rest of the time the larvae develop.
The black cockroach lives less than the red cockroach by a couple of months. Without food and drink, the life expectancy of cockroaches decreases. Without food, the red cockroach lives about 50 days. The lifespan of a black cockroach without food can be 70 days. This is due to the fact that domestic cockroaches are cold-blooded creatures.
They do not waste energy maintaining a constant body temperature. If there is no food, they can simply hide and wait for food to appear.The vitality of cockroaches drops sharply along with a decrease in ambient temperature. Prussians begin to die already at a temperature of -1C. Cold is a good method of dealing with these creatures. Water is the most important thing in the life of cockroaches. Without it, viability lasts up to 7 days.
Moisture intensively evaporates from the surface of the shell, and the insects dry out and die. Prussians are more willing to eat moistened food or its waste. It is easier to digest in the body and contains enough moisture. American scientists, after conducting a series of experiments, 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 does not occur with the help of the head, but with the help of holes, spiracles on the body and small tracheas.
The brain does not take part in breathing. It is not particularly needed for life, since in all parts of the body there are ganglia - nerve nodes. They are fully responsible for all reflexes. The insect can move its legs, stand up and move.
Effect of temperature on insects
The activity of cold-blooded insects depends on temperature. Cockroaches love warmth. The optimal temperature for them is from +2 to +28C. It is maintained at this level in residential premises. At 0C, all vital functions of insects slow down, including reproduction processes.
At temperatures from -5 to -10C, individual insects die in 30-40 minutes. With a subsequent decrease in air temperature, cockroaches die faster. High ambient temperatures are harmful. In heat above 28C, cockroaches lose a large amount of moisture, which is very necessary.
When it reaches 50C, death occurs within 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 little by little into the cracks where pests nest.
Popular pest control products
You can fight red and black pests with cold, heat and many other means:
- Boric acid.
- Disinfectants.
- Traditional methods.
Boric acid has long been used as a means to combat cockroaches. It shows good results in practice. Boric acid powder is used to make insect bait. The pests die after testing the composition and infect their fellow pests. For people living indoors, boric acid absolutely safe.
Disinfectants include preparations in the form of gels, pencils, and aerosols. At correct use 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. TO traditional methods fight should be attributed to the use essential oils various plants. Cockroaches absolutely cannot stand the smell of cedar and eucalyptus oils, as well as red elderberry oil. The smells of fresh anise and mint repel them.
Source: "mrklop.ru"
Life expectancy and types of cockroaches
Domestic cockroaches are familiar to many, and those who have visited these insects know firsthand how difficult it is to get rid of this “invasion.” Many people, having bought an apartment in a new building and moved into it, discover that the tenants appeared there much earlier than the owners.
Cockroaches are able not only to bite, but also to 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 insects’ habitat is a microbial zone. A crust most often appears above the bite site, but the skin underneath takes a long time to heal, accompanied by rotting and infection.
A variety of domestic cockroaches
Often, when discussing cockroaches, people come to the conclusion that cockroaches are different, since even in the first 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 banana cockroach got its name because of its bright green color.
- The black cockroach today is not as common as its red friend, but it appears in apartments, despite the fact that it prefers basements for living. It is worth noting that black cockroaches reproduce much more slowly than red ones.
- The American periplanet (American cockroach) belongs to the food cockroaches, since it reaches large sizes, reproduces and grows quickly. To ensure that cockroaches do not leave the breeding site, you should carefully monitor them and constantly treat the container with Vaseline.
- The Madagascar cockroach is one of the most beautiful species.
- The Egyptian cockroach poses a danger not only to people, but to animals. It is a carrier of various diseases. Even without a bite, it can infect you with some kind of disease.
- The Turkestan cockroach is used to feed terrarium animals, but it can also be found in an apartment, since it is unpretentious in food and needs very little to live.
The variety is the most common, and it was one of the first to appear in apartments and houses. Red cockroaches are common in many countries.
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. The banana cockroach can even eat dry cat food, so in the apartment he will definitely find something to eat. Especially if there is always fruit on the kitchen table, as is customary in many families.
Some exotic lovers breed at home, and claim that such a “cockroach” can easily replace fish or a turtle. After all, watching his development is no less interesting.
The presence of cockroaches in an apartment is a real problem, and we can talk endlessly about the harm caused by cockroaches. Firstly, insects spread infections throughout the apartment, secondly, they can bite the owners, thirdly, they negatively affect the psyche, and fourthly, they simply cause discomfort.
Cockroaches hurt your pockets, so everything they visited becomes unusable, and every time you have to buy fresh bread, hide toilet paper, and a sugar bowl.
There are many interesting facts connected with cockroaches. Few people know that in Rus' the black cockroach was a fairly respected insect. If there was no cockroach in the house, it was considered a bad omen and spoke of the poverty of the owners. There are many sayings, songs, and ditties about the black cockroach.
It is also interesting that cockroaches are real travelers; they easily move from country to country and immediately take root on new land. Getting rid of cockroaches is not easy, but if you show willpower and perseverance, then achieving your goal is quite possible!
How do they get into the house and where do they hide?
Insects can get into your home in the most in different ways. Let's list the most popular ones:
- More often, cockroaches move into the apartment from neighbors. If your neighbor decides to “poison” annoying insects, have no doubt that they will move in with you! They actively move along ventilation ducts, garbage chutes, and small cracks in the walls.
- An interesting way for Prussians to get into an apartment is in a shopping bag.
- Cockroaches can settle in your apartment after you have returned from a sanatorium, or after you have lived in a hotel or rented apartment for several days. If a female cockroach sneaks into your things, you can rest assured that in a few days the “family” will begin to grow.
- The most unexpected way for cockroaches to enter a premises is through the delivery of packages.
- The most offensive way is when we personally bring cockroaches into the house. When returning from guests, carefully inspect bags, shoes, pockets on clothes, cockroaches “love” to travel.
For optimal existence, cockroaches need food, all other conditions suit them unconditionally, and there is enough food in apartments (crumbs, unwashed plates, pieces of bread left on the table).
It won’t be difficult for cockroaches to “accidentally” get into a bag or package in which something purchased was placed. People often introduce cockroaches into their homes with their own hands, buying furniture, clothes, and equipment second-hand. Of course, there is nothing for a cockroach to eat in such things, but it could accidentally get there and calmly move into new home.
It's no secret that there are plenty of cockroaches in grocery warehouses, so you need to be careful in stores. You can often find it in grocery warehouses.
If you brought a cockroach into the house yourself, or it was delivered to you by mail, believe me, you will not notice it right away, because cockroaches know how to camouflage themselves, and if you don’t look for them, they will only catch your eye when there are so many of them that there is not enough room for them in the 1st room.
To easily detect insects, you need to know where domestic cockroaches are hiding in the house. Most often they get into bathrooms, toilets, trash cans, under the bathtub, specifically where no one will look for them, and where infections, bacteria and viruses can be taken and “pulled” throughout the apartment.
Cockroaches prefer dark places; they hide behind cabinets, the refrigerator, under the sink, and they hide en masse rather than individually.If cockroaches have already settled in the kitchen, they can be found under the bread bin, napkin holder, in vases, salt shakers, and accessories. You can find insects during the day in the listed places, since they go out 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 trash for a long time is an “excellent” habit that promotes the proliferation of cockroaches. When cockroaches are discovered, many people mistakenly believe that they don’t need to be poisoned 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. Among the people he received the “home” “German” nickname “Prussian”, it was from there that the invasion of insects into Russian houses originated. They live indoors, often in apartments, because they are defenseless against predators, although their destructive life span is long.
The lifespan of red cockroaches is influenced by a number of factors:
- suitable comfortable home temperature (about 20 degrees Celsius);
- availability of food, and they feed on substances that are completely unappetizing from human eyes;
- absence of strong background radiation.
As an adult, red house insects live for 9-10 months, but the danger is that during this time the females manage to lay eggs 4 times and hatch offspring. Black domestic varieties live longer than red ones.
So black cockroaches live up to two years, but they are less fertile. Red pests, having chosen the territory in the apartment, flood it quickly.
The cycle of special development of an insect passes the “pupa” stage and consists of three stages:
- The egg matures in about 4 weeks, in this case enclosed in a shell - ooteca;
- The larva, otherwise called the “cockroach nymph,” lives 1.5 months,
- An adult pest even lives up to two years and at the same time has the ability to reproduce effectively.
In cold conditions in an apartment, it is impossible for the first stages of insects to fully develop, so freezing out housing is recommended as an effective method of controlling the management of the home territory.
Research has shown that the imposed stereotypes about long life in a vacuum, without food and an insect’s head, are far-fetched, as evidenced by video experiments.It’s worth understanding another “nutritional” myth:
- Belonging to the cold-blooded class allows you to control metabolic processes and live without food even for up to 70 days, and remain active.
- But cockroaches don’t live so happily without water; they can survive 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 barbels is simply fantastic:
- The respiratory processes of a domestic pest are different from those of humans. By holding its own breath, the insect lives, retaining the moisture it needs.
- But if you imagine an experiment in which an insect finds itself in a vacuum, without air, it turns out that it lives like this for 40 minutes.
How do insects behave after disinfection?
Professional home disinfection involves the use of substances that are strong and poisonous to insects, and if the requirements are met, it can deal with them at once:
- three-hour post-disinfection sanitation, which involves closed home spaces in an apartment, takes 3 hours;
- 15-minute ventilation;
- actually cleaning up dead pests.
The use of special special means at home assumes that within 1-2 weeks all household pests will be destroyed.
If they do not disappear after the procedure:
- The result should be monitored after approximately half a month.
- In case of ineffective home disinfestation in the apartment, you should contact the service again for a free repetition of the procedure.
The owners are alarmed by the unexpected disappearance of their mustachioed apartment neighbors. They may leave their home for several reasons:
- strong electromagnetic radiation;
- advanced new generation household insecticides;
- modern finishing products that are too tough for insects.
Cunning red cockroaches live in apartments even in the most difficult home conditions. At the same time, even if you hit it with shoes, you cannot be sure of the death of the barbel due to the characteristics of the body cover. The most effective deprivation in an apartment is the lack of water and heat.
Source: "stopklopu.com; klop4ik.ru"
Cockroaches - life cycle and control methods
Probably everyone knows red or black “mustachioed household members.” There are more than 5 thousand species of these insects. As soon as one of them gets into the house, in a short time swarms of cockroaches will fill all the secluded places.
These permanent residents of city apartments and houses “register” in the living space for a long time, and have no intention of leaving. The body of the cockroach is flat and oval, and the length reaches 10 cm. The gnawing mouthparts are located at the bottom of the flat head. Insects can be tan, dark brown, or even black.
They are very mobile, and catching them is not so easy. In most cases, these insects are nocturnal, and during the day they prefer to hide in cracks, burrows, ventilation system and crevices.The most close-up view considered Madagascar. It can be the size of half a palm. But, fortunately, these individuals are very rare in ordinary apartments. Most often, you can find 2 varieties of cockroaches: black kitchen and red Prussian.
Black is usually 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. Thanks to flat structure bodies, cockroaches penetrate into the most “impassable” places in the house, and can also run vertically along walls and furniture.
In the European part of Russia, there are 2 types of domestic cockroaches: red cockroaches and black cockroaches. Both species are practically omnivores: cockroaches live by eating not only food waste, but also paper, soap, electrical wiring, fabrics, etc.
These tenacious insects have a development cycle characterized by incomplete metamorphosis, i.e. absence of the stage of development of the larva into the pupa:
- After fertilization, females lay down about 30 pieces. eggs into a capsule on the abdomen called an ooteca. Over the course of 2-4 weeks, as the eggs grow, it darkens and increases in size.
- After maturation, the ootheca is discarded 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 30ºC, the nymphs grow, go through the molting stage, the chitinous shells become harder, and they turn into adult insects. Under more unfavorable conditions and lower temperatures, development may be delayed by up to 6 months.
- Rufous 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 capable of multiplying 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 during 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 maximum human level by 15 times.
Life expectancy is influenced by environmental conditions and how cockroaches live: temperature, amount of water and food. The answer to the question of how long cockroaches live without food may surprise many, because they can easily survive long time without food:
- “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 warm their bodies, and if there is 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 fasting is infection by mold or other microorganisms.After all, without it, water evaporates from its chitinous shell, gradually dries out, and the process of digesting food and the functioning of the circulatory system slow down. The structure of the insect's body with the help of moisture allows it to maintain the necessary thermoregulation, and excess liquid is released through the Malpighian vessels.
At night, the chitinous cover helps save water, even when high temperature or dry air.
If there is no liquid intake for 7 days, the cockroach “shrivels up” and dies. Therefore, the most necessary food for pests is waste or any sufficiently moist food that is easier to digest and adds much-needed moisture to their body.
Where do they come from
There are many reasons for the appearance of these “roommates”, and their unexpected arrival can be triggered by the following moments:
- Left crumbs on the table.
- Unthrown garbage.
- Unwashed dishes.
- Extermination of pests in a neighboring apartment.
- Accidentally picked up insect from work or leisure, etc.
Often, in a perfectly clean apartment, cockroaches appear in a completely inexplicable way and the owners are left bewildered. But their appearance does not depend on the cleanliness of the house. All it takes is one “scout” to penetrate new square meters how after a while whole herds of insects quickly inhabit the territory.
The female bears up to 40 new individuals at a time, and reproduction occurs all year round.In addition, when moving, adult individuals leave a special trail 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 can live up to 16 months. Life expectancy also depends on living conditions. Black kitchen species can survive without food for 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's hard to imagine such a sight. But how does this happen, and how do they manage without it? After losing its head, the pest forms a clot in this place. The insect breathes through special openings on the abdomen, and nerve nodes are distributed throughout the body. Even without a head, the pest has basic reflexes, and the head itself can also live for several hours on its own.
How to detect small "tenants"
As a rule, cockroaches are discovered when they are already in full swing in the house. But how can you tell whether they are there or not when the insects are not yet visible? A few signs of cockroaches:
- Black marks (dots) on wallpaper, furniture, dishes.
- Specific smell in the kitchen.
- Cockroach eggs in corners and crevices.
It is worth carefully inspecting all kitchen cabinets, nooks and crannies, wall cracks and holes in the floor, and treat everything thoroughly. If these measures did not produce positive results and creeping reptiles appeared throughout the house, then you should resort to the methods described below.
How to exterminate cockroaches in an apartment: starting a raid
Current issue- how to get rid of cockroaches, and how to destroy them, today you can use many universal remedies, with the help of which you can forever forget about the “mustachioed owners” of the apartment. It is worth considering that the use of the same product leads to the gradual adaptation of insects to the poison.
Many people are interested in the same questions:
- What is the best product: gel, aerosol, trap or syringe?
- Where to buy poison?
- How to use poison correctly?
- Which remedy should you choose without harming yourself?
To exterminate cockroaches at home, the entire arsenal of anti-cockroach agents that are offered in markets, including specialized stores and supermarkets.
Before making a choice, people often turn to their acquaintances and friends for help, search on the Internet for popular names of drugs for killing cockroaches, reviews and comments. You can also listen to the recommendations of specialists or use their services.
So, in war, all means are fair! Let's compare the most basic remedies for cockroaches.
- Aerosols
This category of insecticides includes Raid, Raptor, Combat, Chemo Sept, Ekstrazol M, Dichlorvos Neo, DET, etc. It is necessary to use only good quality aerosols. Insects quickly get used to the smell of these products, 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.Good day, dear readers. Surely you have heard the phrase “you need to know the enemy by sight.” Today we will recognize our enemy, because how can you defeat someone you know nothing about? In this article I will talk about some interesting facts about cockroaches, the knowledge of which will be useful to you for their destruction.
You will learn how cockroaches drink water, what they eat, and what they do if they run out of normal food at home. I will talk about how long these insects can survive without water and food. At the same time, let’s discuss the myth (or is it not a myth?) that a Prussian can do without a head. If you want to deal with the red-haired parasites once and for all, read carefully - I will give you some tips on how to prevent the insects from returning.
What do cockroaches drink and what do they eat?
These insects are not too picky when it comes to food - a healthy cockroach can eat anything. The usual diet of Prussians consists of leftover food in the kitchen, crumbs and what can be found in the trash can. But if they could choose, preference would be given to sweet fruits, boiled cereals and potatoes, vegetables, chicken eggs and sweets.
Fortunately, cockroaches cannot choose, so they eat what they can find. But their powerful jaws (or mandibles) can easily tear off a piece of anything that an arthropod likes. By the way, a couple of years ago scientists found that the bite force of a Prussian dog is 0.5 Newton. And this, for a moment, is five times stronger than how you and I bite.
Thanks to this, red natives are able to feed on everything that comes under their mandibles. Wood, shoe leather, wallpaper and wallpaper paste, book bindings - all this is quite suitable for curbing your appetite. And the special bacteria that populate their digestive tract can easily digest this piece. An insect can live on such a diet for several months. Taking into account their duration life cycle- this is long enough to give life to a new generation.
Reading on the topic: At what temperature do cockroaches die, frost and sun?
But in matters of drinking, everything is not so clear. Of course, red-haired natives are able to quench their thirst with any liquid, as long as it is not gasoline. But they prefer plain water. It is water that these arthropods need for the normal functioning of all life systems.
And if an insect can survive without food for some time, then in conditions of moisture deficiency it will die from dehydration within a few days. Below I will tell you how this information will help you achieve best result using conventional insecticidal preparations. 
Is it true that a cockroach lives without a head?
This is just a story that is floating around the Internet, well, it’s impossible to live without a head! If you also think so, I hasten to disappoint you - this is not a story at all. Cockroaches are both nasty pests and amazing creatures at the same time. Their bodies are designed in a special way, thanks to which the vitality of these creatures is legendary.
You and I need a head so that the brain gives commands to all life systems. We also eat with our mouths and breathe through our noses. But with the Prussians everything is completely different. The role of the brain in the transmission of nerve impulses is very small, and the respiratory mechanism is designed in such a way that the presence of a head is not at all necessary for breathing.
In addition, there is no pressure in the circulatory system of these arthropods. If for you and me the loss of the head is fraught with great blood loss and, as a consequence, a drop in pressure and a cessation of oxygen supply to vital organs, then cockroaches are not afraid of such a fate. Their circulatory system is not closed, so even the loss of their head will not affect the functioning of their vital systems.
The only thing the Prussians cannot do when they lose their heads is drink. It is this moment that plays a key role in the life expectancy of a headless insect. And if they can go without food for a long enough time, then dehydration will finish off the poor things very quickly. True, in some cases, cockroaches can live happily without a head for up to 2 months, but for this, liquid must enter the body. 
Reading on the topic: Conspiracy against cockroaches, cast a spell on grandma, cast a spell on grandfather
How long can Prussians live without food, water and heads?
So, we already know that cockroaches can survive without water, food, and even their heads. The only question is how long? I won’t languish:
- In conditions of moisture deficiency, Prussians can survive up to a week, no more. Water is a structural component of all cells of the body and is necessary for them to maintain all vital processes, which is why regular drinking is so important for arthropods. They really drink often, and if they go out for food only at night, they run out to water even in sunlight.
- An insect can go without food for up to 5, less often – up to 8 weeks. This ability is due to the fact that cockroaches are cold-blooded, which means they do not waste energy maintaining body temperature. In addition, their metabolism is 20 times slower than ours, so after having one bite, the Prussian does not feel hungry for a long time.
- A headless cockroach lives up to 9 days, and under certain conditions - several weeks. In special laboratories, scientists managed to create suitable conditions, in which the headless Prussians live for almost a month and a half.
How can I use this knowledge in the fight against the Prussians?
This is the icing on our strategic preparation cake. Now that you know about the peculiarities of the Prussian diet, it’s time to figure out how to apply this knowledge in practice - that is, when disinfesting.
- In parallel with the use of insecticides (or folk recipes, if you are an adherent of grandma's methods) get into the habit of not leaving food in open access: hide food in the refrigerator, in airtight containers, remove crumbs immediately after meals and do not forget to take out the trash every day - after all, the main cockroach treats are in the trash can.
- Get into the habit of washing dishes immediately after eating. A sink full of dirty dishes that are covered in grease, crumbs and bits of food is a gastronomic mecca for cockroaches.
- If everything is ambiguous with food, then with water everything is simple: the sooner you deprive the Prussians of sources of liquid, the sooner they will die.
Cockroaches
Joke "after" Only cockroaches will survive a nuclear war” contains a significant part of the truth. Lethal dose radiation for annoying synanthropes is 15 times higher than for humans. And less than other insects. But it is not a fact that cockroaches will live. In the absence of food, they will die before humans, and without water, along with humans. The length of time cockroaches live without food depends on the size of the insect and internal reserves in case of hunger strike.
Life expectancy without food
With free access to moisture and a “comfortable” life, before the experiment, he lives without food for 40 days. A larger one, under the same conditions of the experiment, can live up to 80 days. A person lives in the same conditions for no more than 2 months.
Life expectancy without water
When finding out how long cockroaches live without water, the purity of the experiment must be approached more strictly than an experiment with food. Cockroaches drink water if they have the opportunity. But in the absence of a drinking bowl, they can get liquid from wet food: fruits or vegetables.
Interesting!
For a cockroach, water is an essential component in the process of cellular metabolism. If the insect does not have the ability to restore water reserves, after 7 days it will die from dehydration.
Is it possible to live without air?
Up to 40 minutes yes. But not to a person. Since insects breathe through spiracles located on the abdomen, this does not even prevent the pest from receiving oxygen. These insects have several nerve ganglia. Located in the head, it has nothing to do with breathing function.
The ability not to breathe for 30 - 40 minutes helps save lives when falling into water. Also, at high air temperatures, insects close their spiracles so that water does not evaporate through them. In this way they save themselves from dehydration in hot climates.
Fighting cockroaches using the characteristics of their body
It’s not worth being like Khoja Nasreddin and cutting off the head of every caught individual. But you can block the air for pests by scattering flour or making an oil path. When the insect crawls over the trap, the spiracles will clog and the pest will die from suffocation.