Cockroaches have been around this planet for around 350 million years.
Can be found all round the world except in Polar Regions and the Antarctic.
There are 3,500 known species and about six different types in Ireland. They like damp humid conditions where there is decaying food.
Seventy five percent of the day cockroaches spend resting and sleeping then the rest of their time scurrying around finding food. They can run at a speed of 3 miles an hour, about human walking speed.
If you were to cut a cockroaches head off he will actually stay alive for a week or more before dying, without a mouth it can’t drink water.
Some females only mate once and remain pregnant for the rest of their lives. They nurture their young for about a week. During a lifetime of 2-4 years a female can produce 1000 young and can you imagine if 500 of those produced 1000 young each, that’s half a million and half of those 1000 young each you could easily have a grandmother with 25 million grand and great grand children in only 2-3 years. So we can take it that these are not an endangered species. Cockroaches play a very important part in the environment as they break down dead material like leaf litter and human and animal waste.
I keep Madagascar hissing cockroaches they are very ancient looking creatures and amazing to watch. Unlike Irish cockroaches they do not stink but are fussy eaters. They hiss as a warning signal and also as a mating signal which is exhaled through breathing holes.