A.

History of Cockroaches

The term “cockroaches” applies to a sizeable group of morphologically and behav-

iorally diverse insects. Current species estimates are in the range of 4000–5000, with
at least that many yet to be described. Cockroaches can resemble beetles,
5 wasps, flies, pillbugs, and limpets. Some are hairy, several snorkel, some whistle,
many are devoted parents, and males of several species emit light. Body sizes range
from mosquito-sized species living in the nests of social insects, to mouse-sized
burrowers weighing more than 30 g. Diversity is highest in warm, humid tropical
rain-forests, but cockroaches are found on all continents and in nearly all habitat types
10 where insects occur, including both arid and aquatic environments. Although their
taxonomy is in flux on several levels, cockroaches are typically placed in the Order
Dictyoptera along with termites and mantids, and divided into six families. Most
cockroach species fall into just three of these families: the Blattidae, Blattellidae, and
Blaberidae. Recent evidence indicates that technically, termites are cockroaches, as
15 they are phylogenetically nested within cockroaches as a subgroup closely related to
the cockroach genus Cryptocercus.

Cockroaches
C. A. Nalepa, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
20 @ 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

B. Habitat
Cockroaches are found in nearly all habitats: tropical and temperate forests,
grasslands, heath, steppe, salt marshes, coastal communities, and deserts. They are active
25 in the entire vertical dimension of the terrestrial environment, from the upper forest canopy
to deep in the soil, and inhabit caves, mines, hollow trees, burrows, and sub-bark spaces.
They are also found in dead leaves, rotting logs, streams and stream edges, epiphytes,
arboreal water pools, the nests of social insects, rodents, reptiles, and birds, and
humanmade structures such as dwellings, ships, and aircraft (Roth and Willis, 1960).
30 Cockroaches occur between latitudes 60_x0005_N and 50_x0005_S, but most are found
between 30_x0005_N and 30_x0005_S in the warm, humid regions of the Old World
(Africa) and tropical America (Guthrie and Tindall, 1968); they are less diverse in the
temperate regions. Wolda et al. (1983) cites the number of species captured at various
latitudes in Central and North America: 64 in Panama, 31 in Texas, 14 in Illinois, 9 in
35 Michigan, 5 in Minnesota, and 2 in North Dakota. In the high arctic, pest cockroaches
readily invade heated structures (Beebe, 1953; Danks, 1981), but several species are
physiologically capable of dealing with extremely cold weather in their natural
environment (e.g., Celatoblatta quinquemaculata—Worland et al., 2004). The general
tendency is to live near sea level, where temperatures are higher (Boyer and Rivault,
40 2003).
 William J. Bell Louis M. Roth Christine A. Nalepa. 2007.
Cockroaches : Ecology, Behavior, and Natural History
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
45 C. Dangers posed to humans

M OST OF THE 4,000 SPEClES OF COCKroaches throughout the world

are not associated with humans. However, about one percent of cockroach

species are domestic and for centuries these organisms have been viewed

as nuisance pests (Harwood and James 1979). Indeed their mere presence

50 is objectionable almost universally. Cockroaches are considered nuisance

pests because most emit a repulsive odor, feed on anything edible to

humans, hide in cracks and crevices of structures, and degrade the

aesthetics of the household environment. However, cockroaches are not

stricdy nuisance pests; they also have been implicated in the transmission

55 of human disease. Published data have implicated cockroaches in the

mechanical transmission of Salmonella, Aspergillus, Entamoeba, and

Toxoplasma species (Roth and Willis 1957, Cornwell 1968, Chinchilla and

Ruiz 1976, Harwood and James 1979, Brenner et al. 1987). Additionally,

in laboratory experiments, cockroaches have been shown to harbor the

60 yellow fever virus and the bacterial agents of cholera, pneumonia,

diptheria, anthrax, tetanus, and tuberculosis (Harwood and James 1979).

Further, cockroach feces and body parts are well known allergens. In a

sense, cockroaches "vector" the biological substances that cause allergies

and asthma.

65 Chinchilla, M., and A. Ruiz. 1976. Cockroaches as possible transport hosts of Toxoplasma
gondii in Costa Rica. J. Parasito!. 62: 140- 142
70

Diseases Cockroaches move freely from building to building or from

75 drains, gardens, sewers and latrines to human habitations. Because they

feed on human faeces as well as human food they can spread germs that

cause disease . Cockroaches are not usually the most important cause of a

disease, but like houseflies .Cockroaches can spread disease by

contaminating human food with germs they pick up in latrines, garbage

80 dumps, etc. they may play a supplementary role in the spread of some

diseases. They are proven or suspected carriers of the organisms causing:

diarrhoea ,dysentery ,cholera ,leprosy ,plague ,typhoid ,fever , viral

diseases such as poliomyelitis. In addition they carry the eggs of parasitic

worms and may cause allergic reactions, including dermatitis, itching,

85 swelling of the eyelids and more serious respiratory conditions

Roth LM, Willis ER. The biotic associations of cockroaches. Smithsonian miscellaneous
collection, 1960, 141: 1–470.

90

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D.Factors affecting the death of cockroaches

Repellents

There is growing interest in the use of repellents in the control of cockroaches. They
105 may be of special interest for application to hiding places in shipping containers, and in
cases and boxes containing drinks, food and other materials. Keeping cockroaches away
from such places prevents the distribution or movement of the insects from one locality
to another.

110
Baits and traps

Baits have been used for many years in cockroach control and are still employed in
certain situations, such as offices and laboratories, particularly if there is resistance to
115 some of the insecticides in use. Many commercially available products work on the
principle of attracting cockroaches to a specific point and then trapping or killing them
there. Some substances used as attractants are various food items, pheromones and other
attractive chemicals. The trapping element may be a mechanical trap or a sticky
material.
120
Roth LM, Willis ER. The biotic associations of cockroaches. Smithsonian miscellaneous
collection, 1960, 141: 1–470.

125