While you may not want to think about the lifecycle of a cockroach, doing so can make all the difference in your prevention or elimination efforts. Knowing about the different stages of cockroaches will help highlight differentiating characteristics. For cockroaches, there are three different developmental stages:
- Egg: The lifecycle begins at the egg stage, where adult cockroaches produce egg cases (oothecae). An ootheca contains many eggs, which are protected by a protein substance that gradually hardens over time to ensure the eggs’ safe keeping. Dependent on species, some cockroaches carry the egg case while others hide it in a safe location. The amount of time that passes until hatching also varies greatly by species.
- Nymph: Once eggs have hatched, they become nymphs. Immediately following emergence from the egg case, nymphs are identifiable because they are light in color and soft. This is because their exoskeletons have not yet hardened, which gives them their normal color. Some species of roaches can be identified as nymphs, because of the similarities to their adult counterparts. After undergoing several molts, which can take months to over a year, nymphs become adult cockroaches.
- Adult: Roaches are most easily identified in their adult stage, since these are the brown critters often spotted scurrying across bathroom floors. At the adult stage, it is fairly easy to distinguish the differences among species. Fully grown cockroaches typically have a lifespan of about one year, but this too differs by species.
Regardless of their stage of life, cockroaches are unwelcome pests that creep through your home. It’s easy to spot adults, but be wary of egg cases and nymphs as well – because they’ll grow into adults in no time. Don’t let a roach infestation in your home multiply, use Combat® to kill roaches at the source. Combat® Baits and Gels eliminate the entire nest, so you won’t need to worry about any lingering roaches in your home.
