No one wants to share their home with these unsightly creepy crawlies, but do cockroaches carry diseases? Unfortunately, the answer is yes. Cockroaches are carriers of various diseases and viruses that can have serious implications for human health. Worse still, they are resilient, rapid breeders and thrive in unsanitary conditions which can lead to even greater spread of disease.
Understanding how to manage the presence of cockroaches on your property and mitigate the risks they pose is more essential than you may think. Brace yourself. It’s not good news!
Diseases Spread by Cockroaches
As a Brisbane pest control service, few pests give us the heebie jeebies like cockroaches. Sure, cockroaches have their place in nature, however, they are more than just a nuisance in our homes and businesses with their ability to leave a trail of disease-causing bacteria in their wake. Certainly, no Brisbane cafe or restaurant ever wants their Eat Safe Brisbane rating devastated by a “food poisoning” event from cockroach infestation. Reduce your risk of cockroach-borne illnesses by understanding the diseases they spread and implementing prevention and control measures. Some of the diseases cockroaches carry with them include:
Salmonella
Cockroaches spread Salmonella. Yes, they cleverly pick up these bacteria from contaminated food or surfaces and then spread them through their faeces. It’s gross to think about, but more than that, Salmonella poisoning can be dangerous. Dreaded symptoms like diarrhoea, fever, and abdominal cramps are just the start.
Escherichia Coli
Most commonly known as E. coli, these bacteria, similar to Salmonella, can cause a range of illnesses, from diarrhoea to urinary tract infections, and believe it or not, pneumonia. Cockroaches can carry E. coli on their bodies and in their digestive systems, and simply by being in contact with a surface, easily transfer it.
Gastroenteritis
Often referred to as gastro, Gastroenteritis is another bacterium that cockroaches can introduce to our homes, contaminating food, water, and surfaces they crawl over. With symptoms ranging from nausea to vomiting, it is one we would be wise to avoid.
How Do Cockroaches Become Riddled with Bacteria and Viruses?
As clean as our homes and businesses may be, cockroaches have an innate ability to seek out and inhabit environments like garbage bins and crevices where human generated waste lurks. Sometimes this means in your kitchen, sometimes your bathrooms and drains. These areas alone are breeding grounds for bacteria and these creepy insects feed on decaying matter including faeces, scavenging the area and collecting bacteria on their legs, bodies, and in their digestive systems.
How Cockroaches Spread Disease
Cockroaches have the sneaky ability to travel between unsanitary and clean environments, facilitating the very easy transfer of pathogens to our living spaces. Just about every part of a cockroach is a vector for disease. Their body, their feet and their digestive system – from start to end. Carrying bacteria and viruses on their feet and body and shedding it liberally as they make contact with surfaces, cockroaches also have a nasty habit of leaving bacteria laden salivary deposits, vomit and poo as they travel. When this dusting of disease comes into contact with our food preparation areas, utensils, or worse still our food itself, they inevitably contaminate it.
Fun fact: the cockroach digestive system is an effective incubator of illness due to its ability to harbour ingested bacteria for several months before depositing it as faeces.
Where you will find Cockroaches
Sub-tropical Brisbane provides the ideal conditions for cockroaches with its general warmth and humidity for nine months of the year. Consequently, Brisbane households and businesses need to be vigilant for cockroach intrusion. Cockroaches especially love a dark, moist and nutrient rich space to breed. These types of areas include:
- under, around and sometimes INSIDE the frames of large kitchen appliances including fridges, freezers, dishwashers, stoves and ovens
- in cracks and crevices between and under cabinetry
- around plumbing including under sinks, in your drains, in grease traps and behind/under loose toilet units
- behind loose and broken tiles and inside cracked walls
- near rubbish bins and compost
- in and around stored paper and cardboard
- garden beds and garden sheds
Cockroach Prevention and Control
Luckily, there are some easy ways to prevent cockroach infestations and significantly reduce the risk of disease transmission.
House cleaning
Whilst we all work to keep our homes clean, we recommend the following precautions:
- throwing garbage out regularly
- washing out bins
- storing food in sealed containers
- regularly clean benchtops and food preparation areas with disinfectants to remove potential contaminants that may be lying around unbeknownst to you and your family
- disposing of paper and cardboard products, rather than storing on site
- positioning garden beds away from the outside walls of your building
Quick repairs
Take the time to make small repairs that reduce the opportunity for cockroach infestation:
- sealing cracks and crevices in walls, floors, and around doors and windows to prevent cockroaches from entering the home
- fixing any broken or leaking pipes and plumbing
- replacing any loose or cracked wall tiles
- regularly checking and replacing worn seals and drains on kitchen appliances
When To Call In Professional Cockroach Pest Control
When all else fails, the best approach and one that is most likely to be effective in the long term is elimination. Whilst there are a plethora of baits, traps, and supermarket insecticides that can be purchased, cockroaches breed so fast that you’re going to have to use multiple treatments in any attempt to create a long-term solution.
For a swift and effective solution to your cockroach problem, engage a professional pest control service. Their expertise ensures you’ll get the most suitable cockroach treatment option. They’ll identify the type of cockroach (yes, there is more than one kind) and treat them at the source.
Own a cafe or manage a hotel? Prevention will save you time, money and reputational damage. Each and every business and property location is individual with its own needs and challenges. Our Brisbane commercial pest control services can help you implement a comprehensive pest management plan tailored to your premises and can assist you with staff education around cockroach prevention.