"Cockroaches are very gregarious, like to party and boogey on down, yeah man..!!, and they emit an aggregation pheromone, in other words a gathering together smell, which is why you see lots of them together when there is a problem. On this page I am only going to cover the four main species which give us problems in the U.K.
DISTRIBUTION:
Cockroaches are common in commercial premises associated with the production or handling of food. Also in public buildings and domestic premises eg blocks of flats. Gregarious and nocturnal, they spend the day hiding in cracks and crevices around such areas as sinks, drains, cookers, the backs of cupboards and in refrigerator motor compartments. They especially favour buildings with service ducts and complex plumbing installations. Infestations may be introduced as egg cases or adults in incoming laundry, on raw materials, in crates and packaging, or arise as the insects enter buildings via such routes as drains or refuse chutes.
SIGNIFICANCE:
Cockroaches are potential vectors of diseases such as dysentery, gastroenteritis, typhoid and poliomyelitis. Their diet is omnivorous and includes fermenting substances, soiled septic dressings, hair, leather, parchment, wallpaper, faeces and food for human consumption. The latter may be contaminated either by the mechanical transfer of causative agents of disease from the insect’s body, or by transmission in the faeces. An outbreak of food poisoning in a Brussels hospital subsided immediately an infestation of B. germanica was controlled.
Cockroaches and their faeces may cause allergic reactions especially amongst sensitive individuals eg asthmatics. Exposure may result from ingestion or through the inhalation of materials derived from cockroaches in airborne dust. In addition, food may be tainted with the characteristic smell of the cockroach, which is produced by faeces and salivary/abdominal gland secretions, or by the dead insects."
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