Why cockroaches are dangerous to human health and what harm they do

Next you will learn:

• What are the dangers of cockroaches in an apartment for a person;
• What infections can these insects carry on themselves;
• How great is the harm from cockroaches in houses in general;
• And also whether especially dangerous mutant cockroaches really exist, or is it just a myth.

It may seem strange, but not all people understand how potentially dangerous cockroaches are for the occupants of the premises. Moreover, many take cockroaches in the apartment for granted, believing that these insects are absolutely harmless, and their appearance on the kitchen table, in the bathroom or sink is quite normal, perhaps slightly unpleasant.

In folklore, cockroaches often play positive roles, and in some cases they are even associated with good omens. Perhaps this partly explains such a condescending attitude towards the "stasiks", in fact, they are sources of unsanitary conditions and carriers of pathogens of serious human diseases.

However, even knowing that cockroaches are harmful, people often still put up with their presence in the apartment, realizing that the efforts to destroy these insects far outweigh the seemingly insignificant harm.

Well, we will talk further about the dangers of cockroaches and their danger to humans in more detail - perhaps then these insects will no longer seem so harmless ...

On a note

In scientific circles, the harm from cockroaches to human health is generally called blattopterosis. This term covers both allergy, and the transfer of eggs of worms, and mechanical damage to human skin from cockroach bites.

Are you surprised and did not know that ordinary red cockroaches can bite? They not only bite, but also are able, in conditions of lack of water, to gnaw the epithelium in the nasolabial triangle in sleeping people, especially in children, and also to eat the skin of the lips. However, we will touch on these nuances a little lower ...

 

Cockroaches as carriers of human diseases

The main danger of cockroaches for humans is directly related to the fact that these insects can easily move between the premises of an apartment and any other spaces of a residential building, including sewers, garbage chutes, basements and attics. In these, frankly, not very clean places, insects collect a huge amount of a wide variety of bacteria on their chitinous covers: in basements they run where rats feed, in attics they swarm in bird droppings, and in sewers they come into contact with human sewage.

It is not surprising that various pathogenic bacteria, as well as fungal spores and helminth eggs (in other words, worms) settle on their bodies (especially on the paws and abdomen).And then cockroaches carry pathogens and other collected “households” to the living quarters: after a few hours, all this is on your kitchen table, in a bread box, on food left in the refrigerator, or even in a glass from which you drink. And thank God if it doesn't end up on a baby's nipple.

In addition, regularly eating waste (and it’s a sin to hide it, even human and animal excrement in sewers, basements and attics), cockroaches collect a considerable range of pathogenic microorganisms in their digestive system. Special studies have shown that ordinary red and black cockroaches are able to carry pathogens of the following diseases:

1. Dysentery;
2. Gastroenteritis;
3. A number of urogenital infections;
4. salmonellosis;
5. Meningitis;
6. Mycobacteriosis;
7. Pneumonia;

... and some others.

On the paws of cockroaches, in their stomachs and excrement, eggs of dangerous helminths may be present:

• Ascaris;
• Pinworms;
• Lentetsov;
• Vlasoglav;

... as well as cysts of pathogenic amoebas.

Especially great is the harm from cockroaches that enter the apartment from the sewer (some even call them sewer cockroaches). It is not known where and in what this insect floundered a few hours ago, and what set of nasty things it will leave on the bread over which it will run.

All of the above microorganisms and helminth eggs get on food, as well as on various surfaces of interior elements in kitchens, bathrooms and latrines. In the future, human infection can occur not only through food, but simply along the chain: a dirty surface - unwashed hands. As a result, already being in the hospital, a person may not even suspect where exactly he picked up an unpleasant disease.

And further: Do not write off the chalk from cockroaches Masha - it really works, we checked it during the experiment ...

People often sin on public transport, canteens or questionable products from the market, but in fact, sometimes in such cases it would be worthwhile to see how things are with cockroaches in their own apartment ...

On a note

According to research results, carcinogenic substances are found in the stomachs of black cockroaches, which are formed from various organic matter used by insects as food. However, this does not allow us to unequivocally state that cockroaches are dangerous to humans in that they transfer substances that contribute to the development of cancer to food. In this case, this harm should be considered more mythical than real.

Cockroaches are especially dangerous in schools and kindergartens, where they may well become the culprits of the mass spread of infections.Therefore, if insects are regularly found in such an institution, then it makes sense to urgently take care of their destruction. If the employees of the kindergarten and school are not too quick in this regard, then you can always talk with the management - they are certainly aware of the seriousness of this situation (including for them personally).

 

cockroach allergy

Cockroaches can cause no less significant harm to humans as sources of allergens in an apartment. A large number of chitinous covers remaining after the molting of insects, dry excrement, the remains of dead individuals - all this mixes with house dust, and if it gets on the skin, in the digestive tract or in the respiratory tract of a person, it sometimes causes serious diseases:

1. Allergic rhinitis with severe coryza and conjunctivitis;
2. Bronchial asthma;
3. Dermatitis.

It is important that an allergy to cockroaches is often chronic: when faced with the products of their vital activity every day in their home, a person is constantly in contact with the allergen, and the symptoms of the disease do not go away at all (it often occurs in children). Pronounced symptoms of cockroach allergy are usually sneezing, pain in the nose and eyes, an abundance of clear mucus flowing from the nose.

On a note

Chronic allergic rhinitis is fraught with the development of polyps in the nose and is dangerous for complete respiratory failure. And asthma, as you know, seriously reduces the quality of life in general.

It should be noted that black cockroaches have a strong unpleasant odor. When there are few of these insects in the room, it is not particularly noticeable, but when the pests multiply in significant quantities, the apartment begins to smell characteristically and unpleasantly.

The only way to get rid of such a smell of cockroaches is to destroy the insects themselves, and then remove their remains, excrement and chitinous covers left after molting (all this “good” can accumulate for years in the corners of the apartment, under the baseboards, behind the stove, refrigerator, behind ventilation grill and in various slots).

 

Real pests in the household

Cockroaches are also harmful because they significantly spoil food. And, first of all, they spoil, not destroy.

Scientists estimate that a thousand cockroaches consume approximately 9.6 kg of dry food per year. It would seem that this is not so much. However, imagine that you notice a cockroach on a salad platter. Immediately you remembered that a few hours ago, the same pest could crawl in a garbage chute or climb in sewer drains. Will you eat this salad?

The situation is similar with other food products. If cockroaches regularly catch your eye in the kitchen, then with a high probability they have already managed to run through all the products that were not hidden in the refrigerator or in tight-fitting packages. So, everything that was not removed must be thrown away. Most often it is confectionery, bread, fruits.

If the cockroach is found in the refrigerator, then with a high probability it has already managed to “familiarize itself” with all the products on the shelves, which should lead to the question of their further edibility.

 

Do cockroaches attack humans?

A cockroach is not a parasite. Accordingly, these insects do not purposefully attack a person and do not cause direct harm to him (in particular, they do not drink blood, such as, for example, bed bugs, lice or mosquitoes).

And further: But the Reid aerosol really works - cockroaches die quickly. Watch our video...

However, even being not parasites, but pests, cockroaches sometimes still not only bite a person, but also create additional troubles:

1. There are cases when, with a very large number of cockroaches in the room, they gnawed particles of skin on the fingers and toes, as well as in the lips of sleeping people. There are documented testimonies of sailors who had to sleep with gloves on because cockroaches gnawed at the skin on their fingers, which led to nasty wounds.
2. Being very dependent on the presence of water sources in the room, cockroaches can lick saliva from their lips at night, gnaw the epithelium here, especially in children. It is clear that if there are eggs of worms or pathogens of dysentery on the paws of such a cockroach, then such bites are also fraught with dangerous diseases.
3. Red cockroaches can crawl into a person's ear, looking for shelter here. Sometimes it can be extremely difficult to remove an insect from the ear: when you try to do this with your finger, the cockroach will hide even more stubbornly. In some cases, the victim has to see a doctor.

It is interesting

In one of the Taiwanese hospitals, a cockroach was removed from a patient's nose, which stayed there for three days, continuously scratching the mucous membrane with its paws and causing a severe runny nose. After extraction, the insect was alive.

So, parasitic cockroaches that would purposefully and regularly bite a person do not exist. In the house, cockroaches are dangerous to humans, primarily because they carry pathogens of various diseases and can sometimes cause chronic allergies.

 

Cockroaches are dangerous, even if poisoned!

Even already poisoned cockroaches can pose a certain danger - that is, after the apartment has been treated with special insecticidal agents. Such poisonous cockroaches are dangerous primarily for pets - cats, dogs, birds - which can catch and eat disoriented insects for fun, after which severe poisoning sometimes follows.

The principle of operation of many modern insecticides is that they do not kill the insect immediately, but only after a few hours, so that the pest has time to transfer part of the poisonous substance to the places of accumulation of its relatives. So, quite a lively and seemingly frisky cockroach can already contain a poisonous filling.

On a note

Cats are especially sensitive to certain insecticides (in particular, pyrethroids): the first signs of poisoning may be severe salivation and inappropriate behavior.

For the period until the insects are completely destroyed in the room, all pets should be settled with relatives or friends.

Poisoning with a remedy for cockroaches can also occur in the person who is processing the premises, as well as in his relatives who live here. Insecticide application regulations require that no one other than the handler be in the house and that the handler use a respirator.

Of course, in real conditions, these requirements are not always observed, and poisoning with poison from cockroaches, generally speaking, is not such a rare case. Usually it is limited to nausea, vomiting and severe headaches, but sometimes much more severe and even life-threatening conditions are observed.

The dangers listed above are real. But sometimes cockroaches are also credited with numerous imaginary abilities that turn these insects into real monsters.

For example, there is a myth that mutant cockroaches with gills and good swimmers often appear from the sewers. In fact, this is a swimming beetle, remotely similar to a cockroach. In some Ukrainian cities, such beetles in the spring, during their mass appearance, enter apartments and private houses in large enough quantities, which greatly frighten people.

The photo shows a swimming beetle:

In other cases, flycatchers are considered mutant cockroaches. These centipedes are often found outdoors, in attics, and in summer kitchens. The most interesting thing is that they are good human helpers in the fight against cockroaches, since they actively catch and eat medium-sized cockroach larvae (nymphs).

The photo below shows a flycatcher:

Some people believe that this is the same mutant cockroach with many legs, the cause of which is radiation.

In fact, mutant cockroaches do not exist - at least you will definitely not meet them in your apartment. Including poisonous cockroaches are not known to science as a separate species (and such a thing as "cockroach poison" refers to drugs that poison cockroaches).

However, you should not assume that if cockroaches in the house are malicious carriers of infection, then always and everywhere these insects are harmful.

In fact, the benefits of cockroaches in nature are very great: thousands of different species of these insects utilize and process a huge amount of rotting plant debris, loosen the soil in forests, and serve as food for numerous animals and birds.Therefore, the harm from cockroaches is a very relative concept and is manifested only in a person’s home.

 

Interesting video: extracting a cockroach from a human ear

 

An example of a mass invasion of cockroaches in an apartment building