Studies show that cockroaches are now being born impervious to insect sprays, and it is happening fast. A Purdue University study found that the commonly found German species of cockroaches are being born with an immunity to toxins that are found in bug sprays, even though they have not been in contact with the said toxins yet.
Evolution of cockroaches
The alarming study was published on Live Science, and the scientists concluded that the evolution of the German cockroach, also known as the Blattella germanica, develops immunity to new toxins as quickly as one generation of offspring.
The co-author of the study, Michael Scharf, said that they did not have a clue that something like that could happen fast. Cockroaches developing resistance to numerous classes of insecticides at once will make controlling them almost impossible with chemicals alone.
The study was done in different buildings in central Indiana and Illinois as well as at Purdue's labs that had cockroach infestations. Researchers used different combinations of bug sprays, and they study different generations of cockroaches to reach their conclusion.
They tested three different kinds of insecticides during the study, and they tried it on numerous cockroach populations in apartment buildings across America.
They experimented for six months, and they found that the number of cockroaches either remained stable or increased. The problem was found to get worse in the areas where a lot of different insecticides were used because the cockroaches are developing cross-resistance.
Offspring of the cockroaches in the experiment were resistant to the toxins that their parents had been resistant to and showed signs of being resistant to other toxins that they have not even encountered yet.
Using one pesticide on the cockroaches was found to be the most effective method for decades, but now the study shows that it is not 100% effective. The researchers think that future methods to control the cockroaches will have to involve increased traps, hygiene, or even vacuums.
Scharf noted that some of these methods are more expensive than using only insecticides, but if those insecticides are not going to control or eliminate a population, then you will just be throwing your money away.
German cockroaches, which reproduce fast and scavenge among areas that are occupied by people, are often described in the report as "the species that gives all the other cockroaches a bad name."
A female German cockroach can lay nearly 400 eggs in her lifetime, according to Orkin exterminators. They also noted that even though they have wings, these evolving breed of cockroaches rarely flies.
Effects on humans and the environment
Time will come that insecticides have to increase their chemicals that may eventually harm the health of humans or scientists, and experts need to come up with a different solution that will not involve too many toxins for the sake of the environment and human health.
Cockroaches are very dangerous because they can carry dozens of bacteria, including salmonella and E.coli, which can make people sick, and if not treated properly, they can be fatal.
Cockroaches leave behind saliva, feces, and body parts that can trigger allergies and asthma or even cause children to develop these issues.
German cockroaches can be found all over the world wherever humans live, and a single female cockroach can produce dozens of offspring every few months, which can replenish a depleted population fast.
