Why do cockroaches come out at night? There are some reasons why do roaches come out at night such as the condition of roaches as a nocturnal insect, the circadian rhythm that happens in insects in general, the need for food and water, the safety aspects, and etc. Well, having sufficient knowledge on this matter can help you to deal with roaches. So, let’s dive in.
Why Do Roaches Come Out at Night?
The roaches activity is at its peak at night if you observe it carefully. If you stay awake at night close to the kitchen or bathroom, you can find more roaches than you can find in the living room. Here, roaches often eat the food or debris left in your kitchen and drink some water in the sink. At this point, we all do know that roaches look for their foods. But, why do roaches come out at night? Let us start with their state as the nocturnal insect.
Nocturnal Creature
According to this study, cockroaches are nocturnal insects. It means that it is a normal thing for them to appear at night. Here, the nocturnal insects are active at night where the other creature such as humans and pets mostly sleep. So, no wonder why roaches come out at night. That is because they are originally nocturnal.
Being nocturnal means that they have more time to crawl freely, searching for the foods and water they need. Imagine that if they are active at noon, it must be a very busy day for them because sometimes your pets will chase them as the moving objects. Here, in my personal experiences, cats sometimes chase them as a chewable toy. Well, it seems strange at the first, but they do not eat the roaches.
However, you may sometimes find them at noon, usually hiding in a dark and unreachable place. If you find that kind of situation, it means that there is an infestation in your house. An infestation of roaches usually is identified by the existence of strong odor, poops, and dead roaches around a spot. Here, you can even see them active at noon.
If you find a spot that contains so many roaches, you surely need to treat them immediately. In this case, you should adjust the infestation you face with your budget, time, and the treatment method you use. Luckily, I found a one-stop roach control shop that can help you a lot. This shop provides so many various high-quality roaches spray, traps, bait, and etc at an affordable price (click here to visit).
Circadian Rhythm
Normally, all the creatures in this world need time to take a rest. There, it doesn’t matter how long it is, the insects need time to sleep. In this case, there is a moment where roaches will take a rest for a certain duration in a day. Do roaches sleep? Yes, they do. Usually, roaches sleep at noon and stay awake at night. It happens because of the circadian rhythm that does exist in insects.
Briefly, the circadian rhythm is a constant signal that tells the body to take a rest after taking much effort to do activities. Here, the signal constantly appears for hours every day which the duration depends on how heavy the activity is. So, no wonder that the heavier activity people done, the longer time is needed to take a rest. The same thing applies to roaches and any other creatures.
Well, in this case, as the nocturnal insect, it is known that roaches will be active in the late afternoon/early night. At that time, the copulatory activity in roaches happens. It means that roaches are busy to mate and reproduce.
Here, this study also shows that the roaches activity at late night/early morning is at its peak because of the response to sex pheromones. The other study also points out that some species have the highest attraction of sex pheromone at the early night.
Based on the explanation above, it can be inferred that the reproductive activity starts in the late afternoon to early morning. So, it is a logical reason why do cockroaches come out at night. They are not only looking for food and water but also partners to reproduce.
Food and Water
The other most reasonable reason why do roaches come out at night is the food and water. Roaches usually look for leftover foods in your house. So, no wonder why they can be found around your refrigerator, trash bin, kitchen, dining table, kitchen sink, and etc. At night, you can even find roaches in your living room when someone sleeps there and forgets to clean the foods they eat while watching TV.
On the outside of the house, you can find roaches in the pile of garbage, looking for debris and any of edible foods. So, if they come to your house, what they actually look for is your food. Here, you must completely keep your foods safe. It is well known that cockroaches bring so many diseases.
On the other side, the need for water in roaches is a must. Here, roaches will look for a water source that includes your house. They can come from the outside such as the pipe, water installation, sewer, and etc. It makes you can even find roaches in your bathroom.
At night, roaches can freely crawl for food and water in your house without any distractions. Therefore, that is the reason why do roaches come out at night. That is the prime time for them to go for food and water.
The Safety from Threats and Predators
Well, related to the state of roaches as nocturnal and its circadian rhythm, looking at foods at night is the best option they have. At night, people usually take a rest which means that it is safe for them to look for the foods.
Here, it is well known that roaches keep away from humans and any other threats that can cause problems for them. As a human, it is a normal decision for us to get rid away roaches when we meet them. In this case, the risk of being beaten is increased when people suddenly meet flying roaches…or it is we who are afraid of them ☹
The other threat of roaches is usually our pet. It is not likely for our pets to eat them. But, they just want to hunt them and play them as a toy. If you have a very active cat, you will realize that they will surely chase any moving objects. In this case, roaches look more like a toy, instead of insects. I rarely find any cat who will eat roaches. So, don’t worry.
On the other side, roaches predators like spiders are more active. The spiders hunt and eat roaches. But, still, humans are more dangerous for them. So, no wonder why cockroaches avoid humans and choose to come out at night.
The Attraction of Sex Pheromone
As has mentioned before, roaches actively reproduce at night. There are some other reasonable things instead of just the peak of attraction on sex pheromone. It is also because they are nocturnal, have a typical circadian rhythm, and also avoid threats.
Related to its characteristics, the way how roaches live is also mainly affected by the situations of its surrounding. Sometimes, you can also find roaches at day because there is a lot of change in their environment. For example, a heavy infestation will lead them to exposure to more areas to find food and survive. So, waiting at night is not an effective way to get what they need.
Now, let us go back to reproductive activity.
Based on the research, it is found that the peak of male attraction to sex pheromone happens at night. So, the following copulatory activity also happens when the male does want to mate. This is also a reason why do roaches come out at night.
How to Keep Cockroaches Away at Night?
As has been discussed before, it is not a myth that roaches are actually the nightcrawlers. So, at this point, we need to know how to keep cockroaches away at night. Even it sounds impossible, but, still, we have to try it because roaches can cause health problems.
So, let us start by cleaning the leftover foods.
Cleaning Leftover Foods
Well, it sounds so common that it is like kids nowadays do know this thing too. But, the main point from this topic is that you need to be aware of some particular aspects of cleanliness to keep cockroaches away at night.
Here, we need to focus on the main thing roaches look for in your house; food. There, the infestation of roaches usually starts in the bathroom or kitchen. It comes from their need for food and water. So, we need to primarily put our effort on those spots.
In this case, you have to always clean everything you eat because what we eat is also what they eat too. Make sure that you clean the crumbs, sweet treats, grease, and any leftovers inside your house. Usually, at night, people would eat some snacks while watching TV and forget to clean them up before sleep.
Then, the use of a HEPA vacuum (click to check the list) can help you a lot to both clean the leftover foods and any other annoying insect-like bed bugs. This kind of vacuum works better because they are equipped with special filters that can make you confidently clean all the floors. Here, even the small particle of the foods ca be cleaned.
Don’t Let Pet Foods Leave Overnight
If you always leave your pet foods overnight, it is better to stop that habit now. Those leftover pet foods can attract roaches, and that is why cockroaches come out at night. It is not only what you leave that they look for, but also what your cats or dogs leave.
Unlike humans, cats and dogs have their own limitations in eating. If they are full, they will not eat the foods and just let the foods in their bowl. So, there are two options you have here. It is either you feed your pets as much as they need or just simply clean their bowl before sleep.
Well, cleaning their bowl every night needs more effort and sometimes can make you bored. But, this is one of the ways in how to keep cockroaches away at night. At first, it may take more time to develop new habits.
Seal Up Tightly Your Stored Foods
Cockroaches that come out at night are various. They can be the big one or the small one. So, keeping your foods in tightly sealed containers can make them cannot sneak in. If your pantry is full of foods, ingredients, or whatever it is stored in the bags, change the bags with glass or metal containers.
But, if you still want to use plastic bags or plastic boxes, make sure they can be sealed tightly. Do not let any specks of dust of flour or crumbs of sugar that are left around the pantry. Everything must be cleaned. So, there is no reason for cockroaches to come out at night.
Well, that is all about this topic. So, why do cockroaches come out at night? It can be concluded that some factors such as the condition as nocturnal creatures, the circadian rhythm patterns, the need for foods and water, the safety from threats, and the response to sex pheromone are the reasons why do cockroaches come out at night. Please share this article.