The cockroach is often considered to be something out of our worst nightmares; aside from the association of these insects with world domination, the cockroach seems to not only survive high impact attacks but they’re also known to be nocturnal – so now you know what that scuttling sound in your kitchen was last night. As pests go, these are one of the worst ones to have an infestation of. These creepy crawlies tend to leave behind chemical trails in their faeces, as well as release pheromones as a signal for swarming and mating. So if you do have a cockroach infestation, call the local pest controlservice as soon as possible!
Below we have compiled just a few cockroach-related facts that will make your skin crawl, so you can better know what it is you’re dealing with.
Contests
Back in 2008, a theme park located in Chicago invented an incredibly gag-worthy contest in the spirit of Halloween; cockroach eating. Now, the majority of us would have the common sense to not pick up a cockroach (dead or alive), let alone put it in our mouths. However, this contest was apparently a huge hit and it was reintroduced to the public in 2011 due to popular demand. Despite a doctor advising that everyone should deter from entering such a contest, people continued to enter until it was finally cut short following the sad death of Edward Archbold. During the contest, Mr Archbold suffocated as a result of choking on small pieces of cockroach that got lodged in his throat.
Monday Morning Memory
Many of us have experienced that ‘Monday morning’ feeling where you just want to lay in bed and relax for the whole day. Now most of us will force ourselves out of bed to get some housework done or to go to work, but cockroaches take lazing around to a whole new level. In fact, they can’t actually form new memories at the beginning of the day. According to Listverse, a group of researchers attempted to test this theory by trying to teach cockroaches to enjoy ‘unpleasant’ odours.
Cockroaches are supposed to dislike peppermint but they love the smell of vanilla. To trick them, these researchers combined the smell of peppermint with simple sugar water and trained the cockroaches to prefer the scent of peppermint. In short, they found that the cockroaches were able to compute that they now preferred the smell of mint but in the morning they decided they liked vanilla best.
A Radiant Glow
Whilst you’re probably familiar with the appearance of the classic roach, you may be less so with a very rare species of cockroach that was found in 1939 in Ecuador, known as the Luchihormetica Luckae or the glowing cockroach. Not to be confused with the toxic click beetle due to its markings, the glowing cockroach is comfortable with its light defence system against larger predators but it may not exist in today’s society.
Cockroaches are found far and wide and whilst the glowing cockroach may be somewhat prettier than other subspecies, they’re still pests which can be an incredible nuisance to those suffering an infestation. If you discover a cockroach infestation or if you suspect one is occurring in your home, please do not hesitate to get in touch with our pest control service team today. We operate all around London and we are happy to help deal with your cockroach problem.
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