Do Cockroaches Bite Humans?

With all of the fear surrounding cockroaches, the last thing that most individuals would want to hear is that they are capable of biting a human. These pests are omnivores, meaning they eat both plants and meat, and potentially could bite a human if they wanted. But how likely is it of actually happening?

There have been many documented cases of cockroaches consuming human flesh, both living and dead, but it is more prevalent post mortem. In most cases, the cockroach is more likely to bit the hands and feet of a human because of the dead skin content that is available. Other targets for these pests include both eyelashes and fingernails.

Regardless of the aforementioned data, it is highly unlikely for a cockroach to bite a human unless certain conditions are met. In cases of high infestation levels, food may be scarce and lead some of the cockroach population to try to feed on humans, causing bites. However, this is very rare.

For example, if the cockroach population in a home began to outgrow the available food sources needed for survival, the cockroaches would begin to forage for food sources they wouldn’t normally. In this instance, cockroaches would be likely to bite humans because they are experiencing famine. Even so, this situation is highly unlikely because pest control intervention would occur before unstable population levels occur.

The most prevalent information available about cockroaches biting humans occurs on ships. Because the interior of a ship provides such small quarters and no access to pest control, population numbers are able to flourish. With the shortage of food available to these pests, they began to feast on the fingernails and toenails of the crew on board. The American cockroach and Australian cockroach are the species most cited for this activity; however, German cockroaches have been known to bite humans as well.

Why Emtec Pest Control?

Given how notoriously difficult roaches are to kill – they’ve been around since the dinosaurs – this is definitely a job you want to leave to the professionals. After our initial service visit, we typically see between 70 to 80 percent of the cockroaches dead within two days, and the remaining 20 to 30 percent died within two weeks. When followed up with our Preventative Pest Control Program services, you will never have to worry about cockroaches taking over your home again.