Unfortunately, most people will deal with a pest-related infestation at some point in the year, especially in Spring and Summer when the weather warms up. Out of all the pest infestations, cockroaches make up a huge percentage of these because of just how tricky and determined roaches are to get inside your home.
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That being said, knowing a bit more about a cockroach’s lifespan and lifecycle will help you understand how to prevent them and how to get them out of your home. In this article we’ll be breaking down how long do cockroaches live, and all about their lifecycle!
How Long Do Cockroaches Live?
With access to consistent food and water, cockroaches will generally live between six and twelve months long. So this means if cockroaches are in your home and they are consistently finding food and water, they’ll have plenty of time to reproduce and build a sizable population in your home.
American Cockroach Lifespan
On average, American cockroaches have a lifespan of around one year if they have a suitable home and access to food.
Factors That Attribute To A Cockroaches Lifespan:
That being said, a cockroach lifespan can fluctuate quite a bit depending on a few different factors:
- Species of Cockroaches: Different species of cockroaches will have different lifespans. German Cockroaches generally live around 200 days, and American Cockroaches on average live around one year. That being said a German Cockroach lifespan is about double that of an oriental cockroach!
- Access To Food And Water: Just like any other animal, cockroaches need a consistent diet of food and water. If they have easy access to food and water, they will have the ability to live longer.
- Environment: Cockroaches’ lifespans can be pushed longer if they have a favorable environment. This means a warm and humid environment that is free from any predators. If they are living in a warm and humid environment with plenty of places to hide from predators, generally they will live longer!
Understanding A Cockroaches Lifecycle:
By understanding the different stages in a cockroach’s lifecycle, you’ll be able to fully understand at what level your cockroach infestation is at, and how to handle it best. That being said, roaches progress through this lifecycle very quickly, so you need to act quickly! A German cockroach will advance through their cockroach life cycle a bit quicker than an American cockroach, because they don’t live as long. But by understanding the life cycle, it will allow you to understand what stage your infestation might be at, and helps you get rid of cockroaches easier.
Cockroach Life Cycle
1. Cockroach Eggs:
As you can probably guess, the first stage of a cockroach’s lifecycle is the egg stage.
After cockroaches mate, it only takes the female between 3-5 days to lay their eggs. The female will lay her eggs and secure the eggs to a surface using her saliva so that the eggs don’t get blown away by the wind. This is often hidden in a dark and safe place to protect the roach eggs from predators.
Female German Cockroaches can lay between 5 and 20 eggs at a time, and American cockroaches are similar, each with cockroach larvae inside.
Generally, you will never find these eggs, because they are extremely small and difficult to identify. That being said, you can technically kill a cockroach and its eggs can still hatch.
2. Cockroach Nymphs
After cockroach eggs are laid by the female, she will do her best to keep these eggs hidden and protected for up to a month, as it takes around 30 days for these eggs to hatch.
These nymphs look like traditional cockroaches but they are much smaller, and they don’t have fully developed wings like the adults do. Along with this, they will be slightly lighter in color and sometimes also translucent in color. Because the cockroach nymphs are smaller in size, they can also move a bit quicker than adult roaches, and they will scurry away at the sight of a predator (you).
As the nymphs continue to grow, they will go through a few different sub-lifecycles as they continue to get bigger and bigger, until they reach the adult stage.
3. Adult Cockroaches:
The final life stage of cockroaches is the adult stage. These are the full-sized cockroaches that we’ve come to know and hate. These roaches will generally have fully developed wings and antennas and are capable of reproducing. Since these roaches have wings, you should know that cockroaches can fly!
If you notice adult cockroaches around your home you need to act quickly because they are able to quickly reproduce and increase the population size inside your home! Roaches are extremely good at surviving, and roaches can even survive without their head!
I hope you’ve enjoyed this guide on the lifespan of a cockroach, and it is helpful in understanding the stage at which your cockroach infestation is at.
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