Q&A for How to Identify a Cockroach

You're going to find them around anything that puts out heat, like dishwashers, ovens, grease traps in ovens, behind mixers in the engines of refrigerators, etc. All insects are cold-blooded, so they need that heat to stay alive. Cockroaches also like to feel a little bit of pressure on them, so you do find them tucked away in cracks and crevices like peeling drywall, or underneath a really tight area.

Yes. It can climb up the out side of the pipe. It would not survive inside a pipe full of water.

Sanitation is very important. You also need to seal all cracks and crevices that may be found in your home to keep the cockroaches from entering. For more advice, read How to Get Rid of Roaches .

The larvae of cockroaches have soft shells, but adult cockroaches have hard shells.

Yes, different species of cockroach are everywhere but some depend on the climate or environment. There are usually more than one species of cockroach in any giving location.

Babies look just like small adults. Really young ones can be white (right after birth).

You can buy roach sprays from supermarkets or online, but if you have a large population, you will want to call an exterminator. Sprays will only kill the roaches they come in contact with the spray.

If there is a disturbance (someone walking by), then they can skitter off relatively quickly. In the dark and in red light they are slower.

A cockroach has random muscular spasms that cause it to flip onto its back. When it is close to dying, and it has one of these, it is too weak to right itself and eventually dies in that position.

Moisture and unattended food or crumbs are two of the biggest contributors to cockroach infestations.

Eggs are usually brown or reddish brown sacs. They're about the size of a pinto bean and are ribbed.

Try Diatomaceous Earth. It is non toxic and dries out the exoskeleton of most insects.

Most of the time, they do not bite.

There are many species of cockroaches that can range in color depending on your location. You can google information about specific types of cockroaches, or contact pest control if you have a cockroach problem.

Cockroaches contain e. Coli and other common diseases that can infect food and make humans sick. Throw out any food contaminated by cockroaches.

American and Oriental roaches, as little as 4 months, with usually 15 to 20 nymphs. German roaches, as little as one month, with anywhere from 16 to 50 nymphs.

No, all cockroaches move fast when they feel threatened. They only move slowly when they feel safe or are resting.

No, there are no purple cockroaches.

It probably wasn't a roach; cockroaches cannot fly and I do not know of any purple species.

Pacific cockroaches may have a purple tint, but generally most common cockroaches found indoors, like the American or wood cockroach, are all brown or light brown in color.

That is probably a cockroach. The stinger-like things cannot hurt you, they are the reproductive organs of male roaches. Search up species of cockroach on the internet. It sounds like an American or red runner roach.

Absolutely. They need moisture to survive. Sink pipes are favored places for cockroaches.

This would theoretically be possible, but it's unlikely.

Oriental cockroaches are so dark brown that in some lighting they appear black.

Yes, cockroaches have antennae for sensing and feeling.

I would recommend calling pest control to spray in the crevice and throughout the house so as to make sure that there are no more cockroaches or potential pests in your home. It's rather hard to kill cockroaches manually with normal poisons, however if you really need a cheap alternative, make a peppermint oil and cypress oil mixture and then spray it in the crevice or throughout your house. It's a good way to repel the cockroaches while also making your house smell nice.

If you no longer see any cockroaches in your home, you should be fine. If you are really worried, call pest control. Or you can make a peppermint oil and cypress oil mixture, then spray it around your house to repel cockroaches.

No. Cockroaches generally avoid light as their eyes are sensitive to it. Cockroaches also don't fly, so you are seeing some other sort of bug, probably some kind of beetle.

Yes, they create indoor allergens that can trigger asthma, and they can spread harmful bacteria into food, causing GI distress if eaten.

Look at the pictures here to see the differences.