Among all the cockroaches, the American cockroach is the largest species. And so are their poops!
To some, these feces are easy to identify. Because often, they resemble ground coffee or black pepper. Cockroach poops are dark and cylindrical droppings. But then again, some people often get this simple description of a cockroach poop confused with that of rodents.
However, with a closer look, you should be able to tell the difference. Mice and rat droppings have pointed ends. On the flip side, cockroach poops have some kind of blunt ends and ridges down their side. Now, with this simple trick, many people have learned to identify the difference.
But even when they can, some questions about cockroach poops are still left unanswered. So, like many people are asking;
Are cockroach poops dangerous like rodent poops? Do they really smell? And what do you do when you see a cockroach poop on the walls of your house? In this article, we’ll explore the answers to these. So, do your best to tag along.
What Do Cockroach Poops Look Like?
Cockroach poops are one of the most common pieces of evidence you can have of cockroach infestation in your house. These droppings are pellets; dark brown or black and can either be round or oval-shaped.
However, the size and color of these cockroach poops are different based on the size of the roaches.
The poops of smaller cockroaches, like German cockroaches and brown-banded cockroaches, leave behind brown or black poops. These droppings can either be coarse like coffee grinds or fine like ground black pepper. And because of their small size, these poops are called specs.
As for larger roaches like American cockroaches, smoky brown cockroaches, and Oriental cockroaches, their poops are solid and shaped like cylinders.
Depending on the species, these poops can also either be brown or black. Not only that, these large droppings have ridges from tip to tip.
With these ridges, you can differentiate between roach droppings and mouse droppings with ease.
- READ MORE: What Attracts Cockroaches?.
What’s Inside Cockroach Droppings?
Cockroaches are omnivores that can eat anything edible. Household cockroaches have access to food like garbage, the rotting flesh of dead insects, and even other roaches. They can access these things from your cupboards, drawers, and even counters. In fact, they go as far as eating your foams, woods, and many more. As a result, you can expect that their poop would comprise many things. These things that roaches may or may not have digested.
However, despite all that sources to pour out in their poops, here’s a fun fact, though; cockroaches don’t pee! Instead, they produce solid and semi-solid wastes that appear differently. This variety can depend on the age, size, and species of roach you’re trying to defeat.
Where to look for roach Poops?
Good hygiene is one quality you can’t praise a cockroach for. Because literally, they defecate everywhere they go. And their most preferred places are always near their food sources and nests.
So cockroach poops can be found everywhere you see a cockroach. From behind a wall picture to underneath your bed, every spot is home to cockroach poops. But to save your time, here’s a list of the commonest places you can find cockroach poops:
- in room corners;
- along baseboards;
- atop shelves, doors, cabinets, and other high objects with hidden passages;
- inside drawers, closets, pantries, cabinets, and other food storage areas;
- child’s playpens, toy chests, and anything that can be sticky to little fingers;
- underneath and behind fridges, stoves, washers, dryers, and even sinks;
- cracks in the floors, walls, or structures;
- inside storage areas for organics and many more.
Like cockroaches, termites, mice, and rats poop all over the house. Not only that, these poops have many things in common. And these similarities confuse many untrained eyes. But since each animal listed above is a pest that should be dealt with using different approaches, it would be wise for you to know a bit about their differences.
Now, here’s the good news. We’ve saved you the time and stress of finding out by yourself with the question tags below. Just do well to explore them.
Cockroach poops vs Mouse poops.
For the untrained eye, both cockroaches and mice droppings may look similar.
But with a closer look, many things can help you tell them apart. For one, mouse droppings lack ridges that large cockroach poops have.
Mouse poops also have pointy tips and sticky hairs on them. On the flip side, cockroach droppings come with blunt ends. Then again, mouse poops are much bigger than those of even the largest cockroaches.
- READ MORE: What Are Mouse Droppings?
Cockroach Poop Vs. Termite Poop.
Like mice poops, cockroach droppings look a bit like termite feces too. This similarity is most prominent in their size and texture. However, if you can pay close attention to the following traits, you can tell them apart:
- Termite poops have several colors, while roach poops can only be clothed with just two colors; brown or black;
- Termite poops are pellet-shaped. roaches feces can be rice or coffee-ground shaped;
- Termite poops are six-sided. Compared to roaches, they lack the clean cylinder shape and ridges;
- termite poop is found mostly inside or near the woods. On the flip side, roach poops can be found anywhere;
- Termite poops depend on the color of the wood they eat. Whereas cockroaches don’t really consider wood a food-rich target.
- READ MORE: How Long Can Cockroaches Live Without Food?
Rat Poops Vs. Large Cockroach Poops.
In a nutshell, rat poops are:
- Much larger than cockroach poops; no matter how big the roach is;
- way thicker;
- similar in size to mice droppings;
- far longer than cockroach droppings;
- pointed at the tips.
Cockroach Eggs Vs. Poops.
Like their poops, cockroach eggs are tiny and white when they are first laid.
As they mature, they darken and harden. So, over a brief period, the eggs turn dark-brown or red-brown and often with ridges, just like the poops. Many people confuse the two. But unlike poops, cockroach eggs when left alone can lead to you having a mess of new cockroaches in your house.
However, if you note the following 3 factors, you should be able to tell the difference:
- Cockroach droppings are way smaller. So, if you see something brown that’s about ¼ inch in size, a cockroach egg would be your best guess.
- Then again, you have a higher chance of finding cockroach droppings than eggs. This is because cockroaches would normally hide away their eggs for protection. So, even if you find the eggs, they are most likely logged into dark cupboards, in basements, or in the attic.
- Also, roaches protect their eggs by attaching them to a secure surface like underneath your fridge, or metal underbellies. So, you won’t just find eggs lying around like the poops.
link to What Are Mouse Droppings?
What Do Cockroach Poops Smell Like?
Though cockroaches do smell, the smell of their poops is a more sure-fire way to alert you to any infestation. That’s because, unlike the roaches’ body odors, you can easily detect the smell of roaches poop with a good sense of smell. In fact, this becomes even much easier if the poops are in enormous quantities.
Cockroach poops can smell misty, foul, moldy, sooty, and often, like mothballs. At other rare times, you can even perceive them to smell like almonds. So, if your closet or your laundry room smells like mothballs for no specific reason, you might have a cockroach infestation to deal with somewhere near. Just scout for their hiding places.
Also, it’s important to note that the more the roaches, the more their poops, and of course, the stronger the smell. If you’re at this stage of the potent smell, locate them roaches fast!
Can You Tell How Many Cockroaches You Have By The Droppings?
The more the poop, the more the number of cockroaches. But then again, this might show a fewer number of cockroaches as well. This is because poops build up if the roaches have been in your home for a great deal of time. To determine the number of roaches you’re dealing with, the following poop test can work:
- clean up the first batch of poops;
- for a day and a half, leave the area undisturbed;
- then, check again.
- If a large amount of poop reappears, then, your house is to home a sizable cockroach population;
- If only a few re-appears, you guessed it; the number is quite low;
- but if no droppings show up, it’s most probable that the cockroaches might have moved to another place with better food sources.
If You See Cockroach Poops, But No Roaches, What Does It Mean?
Well.. this could mean a few things like:
- The Cockroaches Are Good At Hiding–so try the test described above to be doubly sure.
- The Cockroaches Are Dead
- The Cockroaches Have Left–to find better food sources or too many deterrents.
However, if you no longer have roaches in your house, just ensure to clean up the poop. This is because cockroaches are opportunistic. So, if they still smell an appealing invitation at your place, they’d return.
Does a Clean House Mean No roach poop?
Well… not really. Cockroaches have long thrived in dirty surroundings.
However, at the slightest chance, they are ever willing to invade a well-kempt house. Though, how they would get in might not be because of poor housekeeping alone. They may also find their way into your home through the following ways:
- food packages;
- boxes left by your doorstep
- home appliances.
Is roach Poop Dangerous?
The short answer is yes. But we would like to make you understand why.
In their own right, cockroaches, unlike mosquitoes, aren’t direct vectors. They can’t transmit disease via mechanical transfer. But then, their poops act as a dangerous reservoir for harmful disease-causing organisms like salmonella and some bacteria.
Because of roaches’ unsanitary eating habits, they can pass harmful pathogens through their droppings.
And it begins when a cockroach feasts on contaminated things like raw pieces of chicken, rotten flesh, and other animal feces. From there, the pathogen will enter their stomach and lay dormant there until it can be excreted. When that happens, any surface or food in contact with the feces becomes infested.
Now, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), these poop pathogens come with some intestinal diseases, like Diarrhoea, dysentery, typhoid fever, and cholera.
Not only that, cockroach poops are just one example of cockroach fluids that can cause diseases. In fact, their eggs, saliva, and decomposed body parts have been proven to cause different allergic reactions in humans.
Conclusion.
The thing is, nobody wants to waste their time ransacking their home for cockroach poops. But then, this simple task can help you ward off infestation and, of course, many diseases. That’s because once you find cockroach droppings, automatically, you’ll pinpoint where the rendezvous point of your pest roaches are.
From there, you’ll also learn where they’re getting their resources, like food and water. That way, you get the upper hand in the battle. So, anywhere you find many cockroach poops, make it a ‟ground zero” area from which you can begin the control methods. Move from there to disrupting their food-water supply. Use insecticides often. Then, give your home some time to become free of roaches and the diseases that come with their poops. And with that, we’re signing out.
