If you come across cockroaches running on the ceiling, that can mean different things, depending on where the home is and if you see it in daylight.
Cockroaches on the ceiling can signify many things, but these are a few common issues
- If you are living in an apartment building, it could have come in from outside or from an adjacent unit
- There is an active roach infestation in your home
- A roach feels its safest path is up a wall and across the ceiling
Let’s see what it means and what you should do.
Do You Live In a Detached Home?
If you have never seen any cockroaches before, seeing just one scurrying around means you don’t have a problem. Right?
Right?!
Depending on how long you have been living there, your roach population could be exploding unseen. Cockroaches are masters in hiding, away from light.
If you see a cockroach running on the ceiling in broad daylight, it means their home could already be fully infested and they are looking to expand the nest. This one visible roach could be looking for a new home, or it is just on its way to finding food further away from its nest.
If you see a cockroach running on the ceiling in broad daylight, it means their home could already be fully infested and they are looking to expand the nest. This one visible roach could be looking for a new home, or it is just on its way to finding food further away from its nest.
Both those things may indicate an overcrowded nest, and they have to travel further to find food or are looking for new living space.
Another reason is that the cockroach can be trying to escape from a threat, or it spotted you and ran up the wall to get away.
If You Live In an Apartment Building
It is a bit more difficult to determine what it means if you live in an apartment block with many apartments around you. It can mean the same as mentioned above in your home, or that a lost cockroach accidentally ended up in your apartment.
All these reasons are bad. Just because you may not have any cockroach problems but your neighbors do, you will soon have problems if you don’t act quickly.
That single lost cockroach can be a female, and we know that some species of roach can reproduce without the need of a male cockroach to mate with.
That lonely cockroach on the ceiling and easily be the matriarch of a new cockroach population which may cause an infestation. The best option is to kill that cockroach as quickly as possible before it gets away and you have an infestation on your hands.
Unlike ants, all female roaches can lay eggs. They are all queens, so watch out. You don’t want to be checkmated!
Unlike ants, all female roaches can lay eggs. They are all queens, so watch out. You don’t want to be checkmated!
Living in an apartment building with cockroach problems can become a lifelong struggle to control them, and it may not even be your fault.
The ventilation holes in the walls of your apartment and the party walls between units are quick and easy access for cockroaches from apartments above you and around you.
If they come in from down under, they will simply run into your apartment and gain access under your door. The problem with apartments is that your neighbor can use pesticides, peppermint oil, or other substances they run away from. Then the roaches find refuge in your apartment.
This can easily become a vicious cycle you will never win. It may feel like the only option is to move to another place.
This can easily become a vicious cycle you will never win. It may feel like the only option is to move to another place.
Unfortunately, it is also difficult to fumigate apartment buildings because you need to clear out the whole building to do that. This leaves you with no other choice than to relocate to a place without cockroach problems or any other infestations.
Cockroaches Can Climb Walls
It is also true that cockroaches can climb walls, especially if they are made from bricks or otherwise have a rough surfaces. The only way to prevent them from climbing walls is to make the wall so smooth that their tiny claws cannot catch it.
Cockroaches are designed to easily climb walls and walk upside down on the ceiling if they have a surface to grab onto. That is because all of their six legs have tiny claws at the front end, which they can grab onto rough surfaces.
The surfaces of ceilings are, most of the time, rough enough for a roach to grip. This allows the cockroach to walk upside down on the ceiling, making it look like they are defying gravity.
Cockroaches On the Ceiling: How To Get Rid Of Them
A cockroach on the ceiling is always bad news, and they need to be killed and removed as soon as possible in the hopes of avoiding a sudden infestation. The problem is that there are so many cracks the cockroach can disappear into, and you can lose them very quickly.
A cockroach on the ceiling is always bad news, and they need to be killed and removed as soon as possible in the hopes of avoiding a sudden infestation.
A very smooth surface is the only way to prevent cockroaches from walking up the wall and onto the ceiling. To kill that cockroach on the ceiling, you need to get to it, but if you look away to find something, it may simply run off into the cracks.
If you can’t get it at that moment, you need to find a professional pest control expert to prevent an infestation. Or, if there is a full blown infestation already, it’s time to call in a pest control expert.
Some people have experienced that cockroaches can jump and fly if they cannot get away from you fast enough. If your ceiling is such that you can easily spot the cockroach on it, you can cause it to jump down from the ceiling.
Throw something soft at the cockroach that will not damage the ceiling; keep your eye on it so you can squash it when it lands. This is the only way if you do not have a long stick or even a feather duster close at hand.
Do not take your eye off it!
How To Prevent Them From Climbing
If the walls of your home are made from materials with a rough surface, you can add a coat of silicone tape to create a barrier. This can be placed at the bottom of the wall and made wide enough so they cannot simply walk over it.
You can wrap silicone tape around any furniture or appliances to prevent them from climbing up your furniture or even the fridge, microwave, or other appliances. Traps for cockroaches can be used by applying oil on the inside, so they can’t climb out when they fall in.
The main thing here is to get the surface as slick as possible, so they have nothing to grab onto. You can also apply this silicone tape on the outside of the wall where there are ventilation holes so they cannot enter there.
Conclusion
A cockroach running across the ceiling is a big concern, no doubt about it. It is quite possible there is a further infestation you’re just becoming aware of, and you shouldn’t ignore it.
You can use silicone tape to prevent roaches from crawling along your walls and ceiling, but if they’re coming from above, that won’t do anything. Call in an expert!
