Last Updated January 1st, 2023: Cockroaches often travel alone to find food and anything else they need to survive. But when you see one, it’s essential to open your mind to the possibility of a nearby roach nest. One roach nest could carry over a hundred roaches at a time, and they could be laying eggs daily to grow their population. But what does a cockroach nest look like? Find out more below!
Table of Contents
In this article, we will be answering the questions below:
- What does a cockroach nest look like?
- How Many Cockroaches live in a nest?
- How to Find a Roach nest?
- How Do I Get Rid of a Cockroach Nest?
What Does a Cockroach Nest Look like?
The term cockroach nest is a bit misleading. Most people imagine the structure of a roach nest to be similar to a bird’s nest with pieces of wood and leaves. But the word “nest” means the roaches live with each other in one location.
Cockroaches release pheromones from a primary home base to draw others to their nest. Often you can find a cockroach colony in cardboard boxes and narrow crawl spaces. These insects interact, eat, run for cover, defecate and reproduce in the same nesting site. The reproduction process begins by laying eggs and waiting for them to hatch.
Sometimes it’s hard to identify the source of a cockroach infestation without a thorough search. The best strategy is to wait until the evening, when they usually show themselves, and follow them around with a flashlight.
In order to prevent cockroach infestations from growing, check out these home remedies to get rid of cockroaches overnight!
How Many Cockroaches Live In a Nest?
Cockroach nests can start with 1 to 2 dozen roaches and grow to become a colony of a few hundred. Not everyone inside will be alive. Dead roaches begin to pile up and produce a smell.
If a cockroach nest is not dealt with, a severe infestation will ensue even if there are only a few roaches at first. Reproduction occurs fast, and more significant colonies spread within 2 to 4 weeks.
One of the fastest reproducing cockroach species is the American cockroach. A female can generate 2 to 3 eggs weekly once she finds a male to mate with in her nest. After mating the first time, she no longer needs the male because leftover sperm is saved in her two ovaries, and these can produce more ootheca suffused with eggs every week.
The average female cockroach lives up to 30 weeks and, within this period, has the potential to lay 12 to 16 ootheca. Each one can store a maximum of 10 to 16 eggs and takes up to 8 weeks to incubate. If you calculate the numbers based on the facts, it’s understandable to see how a nest with only 15 to 20 cockroaches turns into a colony with hundreds in a month.
How to Find a Roach Nest?
Unfortunately, cockroaches tend to multiply quickly. If you find a single cockroach, you can know there are others nearby. They need dark spaces to expand their population and nest away where humans can’t see them. The nests will be near a location with food they can scavenge and a damp environment to stimulate reproduction. If you can’t find them but know they exist, you can help lure roaches out of hiding.
Below are some places you can regularly inspect for roach nests:
1) Kitchen
This is an area with plenty of food and water nearby, this is a common area to attract roaches. The kitchen cabinets are their favorite hiding place, especially if not cleaned or opened frequently. Your pantry will attract cockroaches if you have the following inside them:
- Expired leftover food
- Food crumbs
- Unwashed kitchen appliances with food waste still on them, like dishes and cups
Their favorite places to construct cockroach nests include:
- Below or behind the stove
- In the back of the fridge
- Any other area you don’t often clean that’s dark.
To prevent a roach infestation in your kitchen, always kill cockroaches and clean the areas below frequently:
- Clean kitchen cabinets with soap and remove any dead cockroaches
- Sanitize the space underneath your sink every 2 to 3 days and check for cockroach hiding spots
- Inspect and clean underneath appliances you don’t use often
- Inspect Larger in the back of larger machines such as dishwashers and refrigerators.
Cockroaches gather in the spaces above because they are great hiding spots and feel relatively safe. Cockroaches will make a nest nearly anywhere, and roaches have been known to create cockroach nests in electronics!
2) Bathroom
Most pest control inspectors ignore the bathroom because it’s the last place they expect to find live and dead cockroaches. There is no food and very few dark spaces to protect them. But it’s more comfortable for roaches than meets the eye. Bathrooms are damp, not visited for long periods, and have mild temperatures.
A roach population can feed off the following in your bathroom:
- Algae
- Fungi
- Leftover Soap
- Unused Toilet paper
Cockroach infestations become more possible if you have leaky pipes under your sink or a cracked bathtub. They love moisture, so areas you should inspect include:
- Behind and under the bathtub
- Interior of your medicine and sink cabinet
- Behind or in the crevices of your tiles
- Inside plumbing fixtures
It’s important to always check your bathroom for cockroaches, because your bathroom has very favorable conditions for roaches to live and survive!
3) Laundry Room
Most laundry rooms are ideal for spaces for a severe infestation because they are usually located in your basement. Basements tend to be damp places in your home with warm temperatures during the Summer months. There isn’t much food waste here, but there are plenty of dark hiding spots for cockroach eggs. Below are some of the things cockroaches can eat despite not being edible to humans:
- Cardboard boxes
- Glue paste
- Leather
- Clothes you leave out to dry
Inspect the spots below for a possible roach nest:
- Interiors and posterior of washing machines
- Open cracks and crevices in walls
- Along or inside of pipe ducts
4) Floor Drains
Cockroaches congregate and build nests inside the floor drains because they are difficult to reach and a safe food transportation mode. The longer the floor drain goes undisturbed, the higher chances are they will stay on a more permanent basis.
To prevent cockroach nests from forming in your floor drain, buy high-quality drain covers and use robust drain cleaners every 3 to 4 days. Lastly, seal any cracks or crevices on the pipes when you see them.
5) Basement
Even if you don’t have a laundry room, basements are still safe havens for most cockroaches to establish colonies. Some people don’t go down to their basement for days on end, giving them lots of time and progress to procreate. It’s also ideal because it’s dark, has damp air, and is a decent food source. Almost anything is edible for them, including:
- Old Books
- Moldy newspapers
- Cardboard boxes
6) Outdoors
Some species of cockroaches prefer the outdoors. German cockroaches thrive outside and will only go inside your home if there isn’t enough water and food. Expect to see them build nests in the following outdoor spots:
- Overfilled garbage cans without lids
- Rotting carcasses or any other decaying matter
- Under Piles of leaves
- In or under porches
- Inside pipe ducts
- Under large rocks
How Do I Get Rid of Cockroach Nests?
You should immediately react whenever you find cockroach nests around the house, as these roaches move fast. Once they leave, they will make another home somewhere else, which is why scheduled cleanings and inspections are essential. Heed the steps below, and your home will always be safe:
Spray Chemical Treatments
You can use a variety of insecticidal sprays and pesticides to kill cockroaches. They come in both powdered and spray bottles. Some are more powerful than others, so doing your research is vital. You can find them for purchase in supermarkets, pharmacies, and online eCommerce stores. Using these chemicals is risky, so always read the instructions beforehand and use only safe chemicals around your loved ones. Pet-friendly sprays are also available for anyone with dogs or cats.
Here are some DIY roach treatments:
- Getting Rid Of Roaches With Lysol
- Getting Rid Of Roaches With Borax
- Getting Rid Of Roaches With Vinegar
Setup Cockroach Baits and Sticky Traps
While this option won’t wipe out an entire colony, it will help reduce their population. Inside the bait stations, you combine food crumbs with an insecticide. If a roach eats this deadly cocktail, it will head back to its lair and spread the ingested chemicals inside the nest to the others.
Professional Assistance
If you have tried some of our strategies and are not seeing any success, we suggest you hire pest control specialists to alleviate your stress. These professionals destroy every nest in your home quickly and efficiently. The only drawback is that hiring them will cost you more money than doing it yourself. When they finish working, we recommend you give your home 3 to 5 hours to air it out before you go back inside. This method is the one we recommend most if you have more money than time on your hands.
Final Thoughts On Roach Nests
Whether you hire a professional or do it yourself, knowing what a cockroach nest looks like should be a skill you learn. The faster you can identify their nests, the easier it is for you to tackle these problems before they get serious.
Always be on the lookout for their feces because you will instantly know that area is active, and clean your home daily to be proactive about pest prevention.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this guide on what does a cockroach nest look like, and I hope it’s helped with your roach infestation.
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