Cockroaches are Evolving and Becoming Impossible to Kill

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – A study by Purdue University found that a cockroach species commonly found in Germany is born with protection against chemicals with which they have not yet had contact.

The shocking study, published in the scientific journal Live Science, found that the German cockroach, also called the Blattella Germanica, has evolved and developed an immunity to new poisons.

“We had no idea that something like this could happen so quickly,” said Michael Scharf, co-author of the study. “Cockroaches that develop resistance to multiple classes of insecticides at once will make almost impossible the control of these pests through chemicals alone.”

The study was conducted in several buildings in downtown Illinois and Indiana (United States), and in the laboratories at Purdue University (USA) with cockroach infestations. Researchers used various combinations of sprays and studied several generations of cockroaches to draw their conclusions.

German cockroaches, which breed quickly and search for populated areas, are described in the report as “the species that gives all other cockroaches a bad reputation”.

Preventing these super cockroaches from spreading bacteria and diseases in the future will depend on traps and voids to a greater extent than chemicals, the report suggests.

A German cockroach can lay 400 eggs in its lifetime. The good news is that, despite having wings, this evolutionary species “rarely flies”, according to researchers.

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