Cockroaches are a nuisance, no doubts about it, but are they any real risk to your health?

Are cockroaches clean?

Well, the simple answer is, Cockroaches are anything but clean.

In fact, they are live crawling disease and bacteria transmitters, travelling through sewers and garbage tips and ending up in your cutlery draws. As they travel they pick up germs on the spines of their legs and then transfer them on food preparation surfaces and utensils, even sometimes your toothbrush.

Next time you think to yourself, are cockroaches clean? Remember that cockroaches will eat literally anything, including faeces. The bacteria that they ingest stays in their digestive system for a very long time. Like the household fly cockroaches will defecate and vomit on food sources that they find, contaminating it for human consumption.

Cockroaches have been implicated in the transferral of 33 different kinds of bacteria.

The worst or most dangerous of these bacteria’s include:

  • E.coli
  • Salmonella
  • Parasite worms
  • Staphylococcus
  • Polio virus

Recent findings have also connected an excess of cockroach allergens (predominantly found in the faeces), as a trigger for acute asthma attacks, especially in children. Asthma affects millions of people around the world, and while there is no cure it can be kept under control through medical treatment and the management of environmental factors and triggers, such as cockroach allergens.

While it is clear the answer to the query, are cockroaches clean? There are some simple solutions to dealing with these dirty critters. Keeping a clean house, especially food preparation areas will help deter these unwelcome guests in the first place. If you do find yourself under siege, bringing in a professional is the most effective means of the dealing with the problem.

Never again find yourself wondering, are cockroaches clean? Deal with the issue head on, give David from Progressive Pest Management a call, and keep your home free from these potential health threats.