3 Situations Cockroaches Can Survive
Cockroaches are, in a word, indomitable. The Floridian variety proves this ever more so. Not only is this pest one of the most resilient to, as we’ll see below, just about anything, they also have a fair bit of legend built into their image. Pop culture has rendered the cockroach into an almost mythical insect. If you get a large scale infestation in your Orlando area home, you’ll come to find out why. Natives of this area know that when faced with cockroaches, the best hope is to stick with Orlando pest control specialists.
But what separates the fact from the fantasy in cockroach survival abilities? Surprisingly, for those not versed in their ability, little. Here are three wild situations they can survive.
- Headless Roachmen: This is a long told-tale that is actually completely true. Roaches can survive without their heads. Actually, even just the head itself remains somewhat functional for long periods of time when displaced from the body. The antennae on the head will often keep moving for hours without the body, and this is no mere act of ghoulish simulation. Many insects, but in particular the roach, have sensory ganglia distributed across the body, so, even without the main unit (the brain), they can continue on with some level of function. In a roach, this can reach one full week.
- Aqua roaches: With the ability to live without a head, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that roaches can live for an awfully long amount of time underwater as well. Roaches can hold their breath for around 45 minutes, with most of this ability relating to a mechanism for surviving a sudden loss of bodily water. This adaptation allows roaches to live quite comfortably in swamps and marshes (a.k.a. Florida).
- Food Facts: Finally, a good way to keep roaches out of your house is by keeping food away from them. But alas, they have tricks here too; roaches can live without food for about one solid month because of their cold-blooded nature. Complete lack of water, however, will end them in a relatively quick one week.
Roaches are, in all reality, amazing creatures, but you don’t want in your home for a variety of reasons. Beyond these household events, roaches can also live through even crazier occurrences like radiation exposure! For more information about cockroaches or for help ridding your home of them, contact the Orlando pest control experts at Apex at (866) 675-4070.
