Identifying Cockroach Droppings

Need to get rid of cockroaches? Read on to learn the answers to all of your important questions. Need help? Call our professionals today to get started.

Cockroaches And Their Waste

Everybody poops. Even insects. And cockroaches are certainly no exception to this rule. In fact, cockroaches actually produce a large amount of feces and these droppings can actually be quite important when dealing with an infestation. What the poop looks like, how much of it there is, and where it is located can provide valuable information for the elimination of your roach infestation. 

What Do Cockroach Droppings Look Like?

While cockroaches can and will poop wherever they want, they tend to do so mean their nesting and feeding areas. The size of the cockroach droppings are in direct proportion to the size of the cockroach, so the bigger the cockroach, the bigger the droppings. 

Cockroach droppings look like pepper flakes, coffee grounds or dark grains of rice. Much of what you discover may actually just look like smears and stains on the surfaces that cockroaches have been crawling on. If you have discovered cockroach poop behind your refrigerator, underneath or inside cabinets or in other nooks and crannies around your kitchen, you might be able to figure out how large of an infestation you are currently experiencing. If you are finding a lot in one place or finding it in several places in your kitchen or bathrooms, contact an exterminator quickly before your considerable roach problem becomes even worse. 

Can Roach Droppings Make You Sick?

If you have found cockroach droppings in your home, use caution when cleaning them up. Because cockroaches aren’t picky eaters and will eat anything including garbage, dead animals, dead skin and feces, they carry bacteria and viruses in their digestive systems which get left behind in their droppings. These pathogens can be easily spread throughout your home on surfaces and food items without your knowledge causing food poisoning and other illnesses. Additionally, the shed skins and droppings from roaches can become airborne, causing allergic reactions and asthma attacks. 

What Other Droppings Do Roach Droppings Resemble?

Sometimes roach droppings can be confused for mouse scat. Large roaches have larger poop that can be as large as a grain of rice. On close inspection, the waste from large cockroaches have ridges that run from one end of the dropping to the other, resembling something like a fennel seed. Mice droppings, on the other hand, are mostly smooth and are typically pointed at each end, while cockroach feces is blunt. Mice droppings will often also include small hairs, which you will not see in roach droppings. If you have any questions about which animal’s droppings are present in your home, it’s always best to reach out to a pest control professional.

Find A Pest Specialist For Cockroach Control

If you are concerned about cockroach control for your home, please give us a call or fill out the form on this page. PestControlExperts.com is a team of experts who are highly qualified to provide the best recommendations for you and your home, no matter which part of the United States you live in.