Ever woke to find cockroaches on your body biting you? Say you didn’t see them in the act but did you find lesions and swelling in your body parts? Should you be worried? Do cockroaches bite?
Let’s find answers to your burning questions!
Do Cockroaches Bite?
Roaches are survivors that feed on anything. They even feed on themselves, especially the weaker members of the group.
So, if roaches eat themselves, maybe they eat humans too. Do they?
Cockroaches, like most scavengers, eat anything that comes their way. They only know about satisfying their hunger. To these brown insects, every meat, paper, glue, and vegetable is food.
So to answer the question: cockroaches can bite humans! The good news is that they rarely do. Even the rare occasion largely depends on the type of roach in your home. How so?
Most cockroach species dare not feed on humans barring three. They include:
- American cockroach – Periplaneta americana
- Australian cockroaches – Periplaneta australasiae
- German cockroaches
Note: even the three species we have listed are just as naturally shy of humans as other roaches. They only come towards you if they sensed you were asleep.
That said, we can assure you that cockroaches will only try to feed on your flesh if they no longer have food. In other words, the population of roaches in your house has outgrown the available food.
Wait, how can you be sure it was a roach that bit you and not a mosquito?
Signs Of Cockroaches’ Bites
Before you can confirm that a roach bit you, you should know the signs. So, what should you look for?
Appearance
While cockroaches’ bite leaves red stains on your body like a bedbug, there are differences in the size -albeit minimal.
If the stain on your body was from cockroaches, expect the size to be in the range of 1-4mm. That’s larger and wider than bedbugs’ bite.
Behavior
Cockroaches feed in straight lines, unlike bedbugs. So, if a roach bites you, the red stain on your body will be large and in a straight line.
Another thing that gives out roaches bite is the marks. If you find slant marks around the red stains in your body, that’s a cockroach bite.
Cockroaches often drag their limbs while feeding. And those parts come with blade-like structures that will leave marks on your body.
Area Of Bite
Roaches bite in specific locations (that might contain food leftovers) such as your eyelashes, faces, hands & fingers, and mouth.
Once the stain or swelling on your body meets all the requirements we listed, you can settle and find a way to stop it.
But first, should you be concerned?
Should You Worry If Cockroach Bite You?
Roaches bites are rarely as dangerous as other insects. They would only swell, and you can use warm soapy water to clear the effects of such.
Furthermore, cockroaches are not vectors for diseases. More importantly, feeding on humans isn’t a necessity for their metamorphosis.
So, you can rest easy. However, don’t rest too much. Cockroaches are dirty insects; they can contaminate your food.
Good news: you don’t have to worry about cockroaches bites when you control the insects. Don’t know how?
Hire a pest control provider that rid homes of roaches!
Last Updated on 1 year by George Morgan
