Nobody enjoys unwelcomed guests. Well, cockroaches are a common visitor that skitters through our homes when the lights are off. Sometimes you find a dead cockroach, often a sign of infestation. Only then, it zips off. Was it dead, really? Do Roaches Play Dead?
- Playing dead is a cockroach’s defense mechanism
- If they sense a predator or danger, they act dead until the danger is away
- They remain motionless until the threat has passed
It really is surprising to learn this behavior is common among roaches!
Let’s get further insight into this.
Do Roaches Play Dead? Are They Actors?
Cockroaches have two primary goals: one is to stay safe from danger by protecting themselves at all costs, and the other is to survive to multiply by feeding themselves the required nutrition.
Cockroaches playing dead fulfill their first motive of saving themselves from potential danger.
Cockroaches playing dead fulfill their first motive of saving themselves from potential danger.
They sometimes become motionless when they’re around predators, and pretend to be dead. It is important to note that cockroaches are nocturnal insects that keep hidden in warm, dark, and tight places during the day. These locations include under (and in!) appliances, closets, beds, or behind kitchen counters.
When it’s dark, they emerge from their hiding spaces. This is also to stay safe from predators because they recognize that noise, activity, and light are signs of danger.
Cockroaches usually don’t emerge during the daytime. However, if you see these sneaky creatures in the daylight, there is a high possibility of a cockroach infestation brewing within your home.
In such a scenario, getting rid of these is essential. Finding dead roaches and roach poop is gross! And roaches bring an array of diseases including asthma, allergies, diarrhea, and more.
Why Do Cockroaches Play Dead?
Interestingly, many terminologies exist for the art of playing dead for cockroaches, such as apparent death, playing possum, or tonic immobility. All terms are fancy ways of describing the cockroach’s attempt at staying away from predators.
The core reason why a cockroach could play dead is due to a muscle spasm; in this case, the insect fails to cover long distances.
Cockroaches adopted their acting capabilities as a result of evolution. Over time, they developed this as one of the many self-defense mechanisms to avoid getting into dangerous situations.
However, although this act is normally intentional, sometimes cold temperatures, the effect of insecticides or physical damage causes cockroaches to slow down and leads them to play dead involuntarily.
1. Extremely cold climates
Cockroaches are cold-blooded animals and cannot produce their body heat. This makes it difficult for them to move in an environment that isn’t adequately warm. Cockroaches are most comfortable in temperatures ranging from 65-80 degrees.
Their ability to function effectively decreases as the temperature drops. At 50 degrees, they noticeably slow down. And if the temperature falls as low as 40 degrees, cockroaches become paralyzed and cease to eat, move, or drink.
2. Physical harm
We humans tend to underestimate a cockroach’s resilience and strength. Therefore, we might believe that hitting it with an object will kill it, but it may well survive! Therefore, if you notice a cockroach split in pieces yet moving, know that this cockroach still has life let in it.
It is common for cockroaches to survive without their limbs but fail to move. However, once they grow back their limbs, they can escape again if you fail to get rid of them while they’re broken in pieces.
Moreover, cockroaches can survive without their head for up to a month.
Moreover, cockroaches can survive without their head for up to a month.
Therefore, if you hit a cockroach and it loses its head, it might become motionless and act dead, yet be able to flee at the right moment and escape.
In this state, these cockroaches cannot drink, eat, or injure humans but are still well-equipped to spread diseases around.
3. Effect of an insecticide
There are two types of insecticides meant to attack cockroaches. One type is the insecticide that kills them, while the other is the one that paralyzes them. The latter only prevents cockroaches from moving but does not kill them.
The prior does eventually kill cockroaches. However, this takes time to implement because cockroaches are fairly strong with tough exoskeletons.
Once you paralyze a cockroach, it may play dead to sustain the chances of its survival. However, chances are that this is an act merely meant to keep predators away. Don’t fall for that trap and get rid of the paralyzed insect the earliest before it wakes up, escapes, multiplies, and spreads diseases.
How Do You Know if a Cockroach is Playing Dead?
If you observe a cockroach that seems dead, confirm that by smashing it further or capturing it. Once you’ve done so, you can attempt to check if it’s dead by touching it with a pencil or stick.
If the cockroach is dead, it will move when it’s stimulated.
Regardless, we’d recommend disposing of the cockroach once you’ve killed it rather than inspecting it closely! They may not be worth the time or effort.
Ensure that you effectively get rid of them, so they don’t walk back into your house.
Conclusion: cockroaches are fantastic actors!
The answer to the question of whether cockroaches play dead is yes, they do sometimes play dead as a survival strategy. These creatures are willing to go to all lengths to ensure their survival, and playing dead is one of their many defense mechanisms. They have evolved to avoid predators and danger at all times.
Therefore, if you see a cockroach sitting motionless, it may just be a muscle spasm and an ability to escape from you. This is their way of acting dead so that you don’t rush after them.
Don’t be fooled!
Run after that pesky creature and crush it to ensure it’s dead.
