Why Am I Finding Dead Roaches in My House?

Do you often discover dead roaches in your house? If so, you are not the only one.

There are two possible explanations for dead roaches. Either there is a big infestation, or there was an infestation, and it’s dying out. Not every roach returns to the nest alive since they emerge at night. Thus, it is very likely that you will discover dead roaches around your home in the morning.

If you come across a dead roach in your house, there is a possibility that they have a nest nearby.

So, put on your detective hat to discover why you see dead roaches in your house.

5 Reasons Why You See Dead Roaches in Your House

There are many reasons why you may be finding a large number of dead roaches in your house. Let’s look at all of the reasons in detail below:

1. Roach Infestation

Unfortunately, the single most typical cause of several dead roaches in your home is a significant roach infestation that has worsened. A greater number of roaches imply more competition for water and food, which eventually leads to more deaths. It could be time to hire a professional roach removal service if you see a noticeable increase in your roaches.

2. Mice and Rats

Although they don’t necessarily favor a roach diet, mice and rats will consume them if they are starving. Although a rat infestation might eradicate roaches, you will still have a more significant issue.

3. Fire Ants

Fire ants are predatory insects that attack any insect they believe is on their property or land. They will consume roaches and may leave behind small parts of the body and wings.

4. Lizards

Roaches are a good source of protein for pet lizard owners. Sometimes you don’t have lizards as pets but have several house lizards or geckos. In that case, these lizards could eat the roaches, though there won’t be many leftovers with rats, mice, and lizards.

5. Posing Dead

Roaches do have a unique mechanism that helps them avoid being caught. One such tactic is pretending to be dead. Thus the roach you see may not be dead but is just waiting to flee.

Roaches can play dead for up to 40 minutes, fooling even the most vigilant predator. This behavior has been studied extensively and provides insight into the evolution of these resilient pests. However, it is unlikely that you will see several roaches acting dead at once.

How Can Roaches Be a Problem?

Roaches are unsightly and pose serious health risks to people or pets living under the same roof. In addition, they can potentially cause damage to your belongings on a smaller scale and your property on a larger scale.

Roaches can cause the following problems:

1. Allergies and infections
2. Threat to your property
3. Bad Odor
4. Infestation to the core

1. Allergies and Infections

The World Health Organization (WHO) claims that because roaches live in their waste, they can spread various ailments like:

• Salmonella
• Viral infections
• Leprosy
• Cholera
• Diarrhea
• Bubonic plague
• Typhoid fever
• Other food-borne diseases

In addition to allergies, which frequently result in sneezing, coughing, sinus infections, ear infections, and nasal congestion, roaches can also cause other diseases. For some people, these allergens might worsen underlying medical disorders.

2. Threat to the Property

The interior of your home and the things inside it, especially wood or paper in your home, are prone to damage by roaches. This is because roaches are attracted to starch and everything that contains it.

Suppose you wait a while before you do roach treatment. In that case, they could eat wallpaper, cardboard, ceiling boards, paper, and book bindings in your home.

3. Bad Smell

Roaches leave a distinct odor in every space they occupy. However, residents may grow accustomed to it over time, and an outsider can quickly pick up on the foul smell. In addition, when roaches die, they often generate a death odor that draws more roaches.

4. Severe Infestation

You should not take roach sightings in your houses lightly because, given their reproduction rate, a single sighting can quickly develop into a full-fledged infestation.

One female German roach may create more than 300,000 children in a year, and each offspring matures in 36 days, demonstrating the scale of their reproduction at an alarming rate.

Preventative Measures for Controlling a Roach Infestation

Roaches prefer dark and moist environments to live in. This means they will live in the cracks and crevices of house walls. Roaches also live in unused drawers and are frequently found behind the fridge, especially if there is a buildup of crumbs and other particles.

Since the primary cause of finding dead roaches in your house is an infestation in the first place, knowing what to do when you see these creatures inside your home can help protect you and your family from health risks posed by a roach infestation.

1. Keeping your home clean will help you avoid roaches. To do this, use a disinfectant to spray in all areas used for eating and preparing food. And the flooring should be swept or vacuumed after each snack or meal.
2. The best way to manage a roach infestation is to keep them out of your house in the first place. To prevent roaches from entering your home, seal all openings, particularly those near the foundation, windows, and doorways.
3. To prevent roaches from contracting, immediately fix water problems, such as blocked downspouts and leaky faucets.
4. Ensure to leave all food out, including leftovers in pots on the kitchen counter or scraps on plates in the sink.
5. Place food trash in trash bins with tight lids.
6. Frequently clean the area around the outdoor garbage cans and the cans themselves.
7. Effective organizing and decluttering of your storage spaces might help keep roaches from building nests.
8. To help decrease moisture, use a dehumidifier and fan.

Takeaway

No doubt, seeing dead roaches lying around in the house seems scary. But, to cater to this problem, you need to get to the root of it. Common reasons you see dead roaches are a big infestation, rats or mice, fire ants, lizards, and posing dead.

So, once you encounter the root problem, take appropriate measures to eliminate these pesky little insects.