Common Problems American Cockroaches Cause in Homes

It is amazing what we can put up with, especially if we're tough. And, in Texas, we're tough. We have to be. We have the diamondback rattlesnake, coral snake, copperhead, water moccasin, readheaded centipede, scorpion, black widow spider, brown recluse spider, and more. You don't even want to get us started talking about the puss caterpillar. That bug is just wrong. When mosquitoes bite us, we swat them and move on. When fire ants sting our feet, we shake them off and go back to what we were doing. And, when American cockroaches appear in our kitchens, we throw down a few traps and call it a day. But we really shouldn't. Here are some reasons we think may change your mind about ignoring American cockroaches.

That cockroach that just raced up your pantry wall at top speed wasn't in there sightseeing. It was looking for food. And you may not know this but it can chew through paper packaging, cardboard, and even thin plastic bags.

An American cockroach is just as happy in your trash cans as it is in your pantry. In fact, they will go back and forth from dirty locations to food storage areas inside your home. The cockroach you see on your counter might be the same cockroach you saw on the rim of your toilet the other day.

This cockroach species can survive inside and outside of your home with little trouble. So it is likely that it will bring harmful bacteria in from the outside. If you have all your interior trash sealed, they can still pick up bacteria from the dumpster across the street, or a compost heap in your neighbor's yard. Cockroaches are also fond of dead and decaying animals.

Cockroaches are linked to 33 kinds of bacteria, including Salmonella and E. coli, and are able to spread over seven other types of human pathogens. If that's not bad enough, they're linked to six parasitic worms. When cockroaches get into a home, they inevitably have an impact on human health. This can lead to flu-like symptoms and time missed from work.

In 1943, a direct connection between cockroaches and skin allergies was discovered when patients developed a skin rash immediately after one of these insects crawled over their skin. This lead to more studies and a link being made between those who suffer from asthma and the presence of cockroaches. With an estimated 25 million of the 300 million individuals living in the United States struggling with this respiratory illness, it is never a good idea to have cockroaches living in our homes with us.

Cockroaches don't just look for food inside a home. They also search out locations to get a drink and are known to feed on the moisture around the mouth and eyes of sleeping people.

When food sources are limited, cockroaches can bite. These bites often occur on the eyelids, as cockroaches are drawn to feed on eyelashes. When bites occur, they usually swell up due to harmful bacteria being introduced into the wound by the cockroach that caused the bite.