Cockroaches are resilient and among the most prevalent pests in the USA. They are most commonly seen during summer and can’t survive winters or worse weather conditions. For survival, cockroaches always find a safe shelter. You may think now, do cockroaches hibernate In Winter?
Yes, cockroaches hibernate throughout the winters or worse climate conditions. When the temperature drops during the winter, many cockroaches search for a secure location to survive. Unluckily, they find your home the perfect spot to hibernate.
Does your house have a cockroach problem? If so, read the instructions below to learn about their hibernation and how to keep them off your land.
Difference Between Hibernation & Migration
Although hibernation & migration are two different things, they allow animals to relocate from one place to another to survive weather conditions. Hibernation is a state of inactivity in which animals preserve their energy for a few days. During migration, animals move from one place to another in search of livelihood.
Below are the main difference between migration and hibernation:
- While animals migrate from one location to another in search of food and refuge, hibernation is a passive state in which their body functions slow down.
- Animals undergo hibernation depending on the weather conditions, while migration occurs at a particular time.
- During migration, animals move quickly to travel, while hibernation occurs without any physical activity.
- Animals use energy to migrate, whereas hibernation saves energy by lowering body temperature and metabolism.
- Furthermore, while animals need a little space to hibernate, they can move to great distances for migration.
Do Cockroaches Like to Hibernate or Migrate?
Cockroaches have two alternatives for surviving the cold: migration and hibernation. Accordingly, they either hibernate or migrate depending on the circumstances and the species. Some cockroaches that reside outdoors migrate to warmer regions to survive the worst winter conditions.
According to the journal Current Biology, hibernation allows birds and mammals to conserve energy and decrease water loss from the body. That’s why the majority of cockroaches prefer to hibernate in winter. When the weather gets colder, they search for a warm location to hibernate until spring.
Above all, some cockroaches stay active throughout the year. These cockroaches can endure winter and stay active by locating a warm place in your home.
What Temperature Kills Cockroaches?
When cockroaches invade your home, they are hard to eliminate due to their excellent hiding skills. As cockroaches are cold-blooded insects, they can’t survive extreme warm and cold weather. Too cold or too hot conditions prevent them from growing or reproducing.
Cockroaches can die at temperatures less than 45° F and more than 115° F. Whereas temperatures between 0°F and 150°F cause their eggs to perish. Hot weather conditions kill cockroaches faster than cold temperatures. However, there is some variation between different species of cockroach.
Therefore, cockroaches can be killed by hot and cold temperatures, but you must maintain unfavorable temperatures to eradicate them.
Where Do Cockroaches Go In the Winter?
Although cockroaches are among the most flexible and adaptable animals in the world, they prefer warm conditions for hiding because they may die if they stay for a long time in colder climates. Below are some favorite places for cockroaches to hide in winter.
- When they suddenly come in contact with chilly conditions, cockroaches that live outside go inside wood heaps.
- Indoor places or your home are the best places for cockroaches to stay in winter. Because it’s warm and humid in your home, they stay active.
- Numerous species of cockroaches also hide out beneath vegetation or plants to get warmth.
- Additionally, because cockroaches are sensitive to temperature, they live inside cracks and crevices in your walls to get warmth and humidity.
How Long Can a Cockroach Hibernate?
Cockroaches can’t hibernate or migrate until they need to cope the extreme weather conditions. Finding a warm place to stay is necessary for them to survive the winter. These friendly and humid places could be your house or other indoor areas.
In other words, cockroaches can’t be gotten rid of by the freezing temperature. It merely forces them to enter your home during this season because they are unable to find food outside.
To get warmth and stay alive, cockroaches can hibernate in your home as long as the weather becomes normal. During extreme weather conditions, they can live in your vents, cracks in the wall, plants, chimneys, kitchen cabinets, garbage cans, drains, and appliances.
How Do Cockroaches Bear Hibernation?
Cockroaches tend to hibernate to survive the worst weather conditions. They can endure hibernation under the following factors:
- As cockroaches are highly adaptable, they can survive cold temperatures.
- First, cockroaches ensure the location where they will hibernate is secure and warm, such as your wall’s gaps and heaps of wood.
- During hibernation, cockroaches can survive with a low food uptake because of fewer energy requirements.
- They maintain a low body temperature during hibernation to lessen the chance of water loss.
- Moreover, some cockroaches have specific breathing methods that enable them to bear low temperatures.
- Additionally, they stay active during hibernation or cold weather by speeding up their metabolism.
How Do You Detect the Presence of Cockroaches?
As cockroaches are small irritating creatures, it’s hard to find them living in your home and property. If the cockroaches hibernate in your know, detecting the sign of their presence can help you in getting rid of them early. Below are some revealing signs of cockroaches’ presence:
- You may find the dead skin and droppings of cockroaches in your home.
- During hibernation, they used to vanish from areas where they had previously been active.
- They hibernate in areas where there is no food.
- You can find them in your wall’s gaps, vents, and crevices.
- They tend to remain motionless and sluggish during hibernation.
- Additionally, a musty scent is another indicator of cockroaches’ presence in your home.
Are Cockroaches Worse in Summer or Winter?
Cockroaches are worse in summer, but they remain active indoors during the winter season. As cockroaches are highly resilient pests, you can see them throughout the year. They can span all seasons and persistently cause issues for numerous households.
Cockroaches are more likely to infest in the summer season, and due to the higher temperature, their number multiplies. When it’s too hot, cockroaches that live outside enter your home and property in quest of food and shelter.
Since cockroaches have cold blood, they have very little ability to survive the winter. During winter, cockroaches seek refuge and live in your home. As long as the temperature is over 50°F, cockroaches will continue to breed inside your home at the same pace they do in the summer.
Species of Cockroaches In Winter
According to research, 35.6% of homes in the United state has cockroach infestation. They are most common in the summer and move inside your home during the winter. Although all species of cockroaches can’t bear the winter, some of the warriors are listed below:
American Cockroaches
One of the largest species of cockroaches in the U.S. is the American cockroach. Although they prefer to live in damp outdoor areas, they move inside your homes during the cold weather. The Journal Southwestern Entomologist claims that American cockroaches can’t cope with temperatures less than 0°C. If they constantly stay in an area having a temperature range of 8 to 10°C, they will die within 72 hours.
However, they will hibernate and have a better chance of surviving the winter if they find warmth in the woods or inside your home.
German Cockroaches
German cockroaches are the most common species of cockroach in America. They are highly troublesome and stay active throughout the year in your homes and other indoor places. These cockroaches are extremely sensitive to cold weather and can’t survive temperatures less than 15°F.
Therefore, they enter your home during the winter and stay there as long as they can find a humid atmosphere and food supply.
Wood Cockroaches
The medium-sized wood cockroaches are an outdoor-living, outdoor-breeding species that cannot survive very long in cold temperatures. They go into hibernation when the temperature stays below 50°F.
In some cases, adult cockroaches may pass away, while nymphs may go into hibernation and continue to grow into adults when the weather warms up in the spring. As the temperature becomes more than 50°F, they start increasing their breed and numbers.
Brown-Banded Cockroaches
Despite not being widespread as German cockroaches, brown-banded cockroaches can be found all over the United States. This specie of cockroach doesn’t hibernate but remains active inside your home throughout the year. Due to their attraction to heat, you can find these cockroaches next to heaters and other electric motor appliances.
Moreover, you can also find them in your kitchens, where they love to stay under tall cabinets. Hence, brown-banded cockroaches can readily tolerate the winter cold as long as they stay indoors.
Oriental Cockroaches
Oriental cockroaches can endure freezing conditions, unlike other cockroach species. Although they are indoor cockroaches, they live outside in search of food. They hide under heaps of wood and leaves to protect themselves from cold weather. But if the temperature gets too lower, they make their way inside your home to get heat and comfort.
If they spend the winter outside, they seek refuge and warmth in places like rock walls. Furthermore, oriental roaches can’t reproduce in the winter, therefore, making it through the chilly months is crucial for them.
Pros & Cons of Hibernation for Cockroaches
Cockroaches don’t hibernate until the weather conditions become out of their control. Everything has its flaws and benefits so does hibernation for cockroaches. Below are some risks and benefits of hibernation for cockroaches.
Pros
Cons
Methods to Control Cockroaches’ Hibernation
Even though cockroaches are an eternal pest, their populations increase throughout the summer. During the hot summer months, cockroaches pose issues for both residential and business properties. Getting rid of them might be difficult because they are tenacious pests.
Here are some telltale steps that may help you to control their growth and hibernation.
Seal Food Containers
When it comes to getting inside your house, cockroaches are incredibly inventive. They can enter open food containers and bags, therefore, storing your food in air-tight containers keeps them away. Likewise, store cold food in the refrigerator rather than leave it on the kitchen counter.
Cockroaches also love to eat pet food. So, keep your pet food out of their range by storing them in a plastic or metal jar. Additionally, keeping your food away from cockroaches can protect you from harmful effects because they can transmit lethal diseases through the infestation of your food.
Regular Cleaning
Cockroaches are attracted to dark and crowded spaces. So keep your house tidy and free of clutter, such as overflowing books or garment stacks. Wash any dirty utensils instantly after use and put them away in their respective storage locations. Moreover, frequent vacuuming and careful food storage are essential to keep cockroaches away.
Give your kitchen a thorough cleaning every night because cockroaches can get to even the minute food remnants. What’s more, clean floors to remove filth and garbage and clean food stains to prevent cockroaches from being drawn to them.
Remove Trash & Debris
Don’t leave trash and debris on your floors and counters. If cockroaches can make their way into your trashcans, they gain access to plenty of food which forces them to stay long. Therefore, empty your trash bins and change your rubbish bag every few days.
Moreover, when exposed to rotting food for an extended period, cockroaches may threaten your health. When you leave food in your kitchen unattended for a long time, cockroaches start populating the area. Besides removing trash & debris, keep your garbage cans tightly closed to keep them away from cockroaches.
Block Holes & Entry Points
Cockroaches can enter your home through holes and cracks in your walls or gaps in your home entrance. To get rid of cockroaches in the winter, plug any hole or crack with caulk because they like to hide in shadowy areas.
Furthermore, cockroaches can also make their way into your home through cracks in your windows and door. Thus, you should also keep them close using caulk or putty. Blocking holes and entry points not only prevents the entry of cockroaches into your home and property but also controls the entry of other insects.
Construct a System for Air Purification
An air purification system can eliminate dust and allergens from your home, making it unpleasant for cockroaches to stay. As cockroaches love to hibernate in dirty areas installing such a system will remove all the debris and dirt from your property and keep them away.
Aside from removing dust, this system can also remove cockroach droppings and feces from your home and prevent the spread of infection and deadly diseases.
Use Cockroach Repellents
Several cockroach-repellent sprays are available in the market. As these sprays contain ammonia, cockroaches may die within a few minutes. You can spray it directly on cockroaches or sprinkle it in suspected areas of cockroaches’ hibernation.
Moreover, you can also use traps and poison to kill cockroaches. According to the Eurasian Journal of Biosciences, poisonous bait can kill cockroaches within an hour of ingestion. So, you can set a trap by using poison bait to kill cockroaches, besides using repellents like sprays.
Contact a Professional Pest Control Company
If you have a recurring cockroach infestation in your home, hiring a professional pest control company gives you the best solution to control them and determine the root cause of their attack. It is advised to hire a certified exterminator who can handle cockroach issues more effectively and permanently.
Wrap Up
In the winter, cockroaches can hibernate, but the cold doesn’t harm them. If they gain access to sufficient food and water to survive, they continue to live in your home even in cold temperatures and cause havoc.
Although there are various ways to control cockroaches, you should keep your home clean and out of reach of these critters in the first place. Hopefully, the strategies described above will assist you in preventing cockroach hibernation in your home.
Above all, regardless of the weather, cockroaches can adapt according to the circumstances. Therefore, take all essential steps and keep an eye out for these troublemakers all year round.
References
Fritz Geiser, Hibernation, Current Biology, Volume 23, Issue 5, 2013, Pages R188-R193, ISSN 0960-9822.
Bradt, David & Hoback, W. & Kard, Bradford. (2018). American Cockroach Response to Cold Temperatures. Southwestern Entomologist. 43. 335-342.