How Long Do Roaches Live?

If you spot a dreaded roach in the kitchen, you may be wondering how long roaches live and the quickest way to get rid of them. But with over 4,500 different species of roaches, their life spans can vary. Their lives can also depend on their environments, from local predators to a lack or abundance of food. If you’re wondering how long roaches live, read on to learn more about these pests and their life spans.

How Long Cockroaches Can Live 

Check out the average life span of the most common cockroach varieties.

Life Span of Cockroaches

Common types of roaches, like American cockroaches or German cockroaches, tend to live less than one year or up to two years. These pests tend to live short lives but reproduce quickly, making an infestation nothing short of a nightmare to eliminate. 

Ultimately, though, cockroaches’ life spans depend on the species. Some species, like the black cockroach (Blatta orientalis, also called waterbugs), live less than 200 days, while others, like the giant burrowing cockroach, can live up to 10 years.

Eggs

Cockroaches lay multiple eggs inside egg cases called ootheca less than a week after mating. Each ootheca can carry about 12 to 40 eggs, depending on the cockroach species. Common cockroaches lay around 12 to 14 eggs per ootheca, and females can lay around four to 14 ootheca in their lifetime. 

Eggs are about the size of a small pill, around 8 millimeters, and are tan, brown, or black. Roaches will lay their eggs in dark, damp, hidden spaces, like under sinks or in kitchen cabinets. Eggs take about one month to hatch.

Nymphs

Young cockroaches undergo several transformations in the nymph stage before they are fully mature. At the nymph stage, cockroaches cannot fly. While they don’t have their wings until maturity, the nymphs otherwise look similar to adult cockroaches. They tend to be lighter in color, usually a gray-brown hue, and will get darker after each molting process during the nymph stage. This stage lasts a few months for common roaches.

Adults

Adult cockroaches tend to be around 1½ to 3 inches, darker in color, with wings and antennae. Although adult roaches have wings, many species fly sparingly, if at all. In the adult stage, the roaches search for food and start reproducing.

Factors That Influence Cockroach Life Spans

While many roaches live about one to two years, cockroaches can experience different life expectancies based on various factors, including their type and location. Access to food and proximity to predators can also influence how long roaches live.

Type of Cockroach

Common pest species, like American and German cockroaches, that you’d typically find in homes tend to live up to two years. But other species that live in environments farther from humans, such as Madagascar hissing cockroaches or giant burrowing cockroaches, can live several years. The giant burrowing cockroach has a life span of up to 10 years.

Environment

Cockroaches have been around for millions of years, and these hardy critters can survive just about anything. But some species are better suited to certain climates and environments than others. For example, black cockroaches can only reproduce ootheca in temperatures above 59 degrees Fahrenheit, meaning cold temperatures could impact their life span and reproductivity. 

For many roaches, freezing temperatures can cause early deaths. Roaches prefer humidity and need water, so dry areas can make it more difficult for survival. That’s why your home attracts roaches: It provides a safe, warm place to burrow for the night (or two).

Diets

Roaches can feed on scraps of anything, from pastry crumbs on your kitchen counter to glue in a book bind or on wallpaper. Thanks to their wide-spanning diet, cockroaches will thrive nearly anywhere. However, the type of foods that they are eating can impact how long cockroaches live. For instance, an Annals of the Entomological Society of America study found that female German cockroaches were negatively impacted by high-protein diets, leading to issues like delayed mating and smaller ootheca.

Predators

The next time you see a spider on the wall, you might think twice about squishing it. Spiders are one of several natural predators of cockroaches. Other pests, like silverfish and mice, also eat roaches, but you probably don’t want to deal with multiple pest infestations. 

In the wild, many beetles and other insects, arachnids, amphibians, and reptiles are natural predators of cockroaches. The more predators present, the more likely the roaches are to die sooner.

How to Get Rid of Cockroaches

Looking for how to get rid of roaches, and fast? There are many methods to help control infestations and prevent more roaches from coming into your home.

Set Traps

You can buy traps at the store to kill off roaches. Some traps are glue-based and will attract and trap individual roaches. You can also use bait traps, which will lure roaches into taking the poisonous bait. Roaches will then return to their colonies with the bait, which can kill large numbers of the colony.

Use Boric Acid

Boric acid is a popular way to control roaches. You can leave the boric acid around the house, particularly in areas you’ve seen or expect to find roaches. After the roach crawls over the boric acid, its body will start breaking down. However, this is not a roach control method to use if you have children or pets in the house, as boric acid can be dangerous when ingested.

Consider Natural Options

If you’re worried about using chemicals around kids and pets, you can also try natural roach repellents and control methods. First, make sure to keep your home tidy and decluttered to minimize the amount of food and shelter for roaches. Wipe counters, wash dishes, and clean the kitchen sink completely at least once a day, and make sure food remains in tightly sealed containers. Take cardboard recycling to outdoor bins, and don’t let newspapers and magazines pile up.

You can also use products like diatomaceous earth, a gritty substance that opens the exoskeletons of roaches and other insect pests, leaving them vulnerable. You can leave out small trays of baking soda, which the roaches may eat and then die.

Hire an Exterminator

Professional exterminators will use poisonous spray or fog to eliminate roaches. Because roach eggs and colonies can be hard to find, the most effective way to get rid of roaches is to hire a professional exterminator. The pros know where to find these insects and how to effectively kill off the population of pests in your home. Keep in mind that you’ll likely need more than one service to fully eliminate roaches from your home.

Cost to Hire a Roach Exterminator

When you need to get rid of a roach problem, no matter the type of roach, hiring an exterminator is the best way to control these pests. Cockroach extermination costs $100 to $8,000, depending on the size of the infestation. Small infestations may cost around $100 per treatment and will require fewer treatments, while larger roach colonies could cost more to control. Contact multiple exterminators in your area to get an accurate estimate for your cockroach-elimination job.