We calmly go into the kitchen, turn on the light and no longer see the cockroaches timidly scattering in different directions. Everything around the trash can is also “clean”. We are used to quietly leaving an open packet of cookies or a sandwich on the table.
By the way, the younger generation may not even know what cockroaches look like. So, carriers of various microbes no longer poison our lives. It would be nice to live here and be happy, but for some reason people don’t enjoy freedom.
Can a person feel safe in houses from which even the insects have escaped?
Where did the cockroaches go from Russian apartments? The answer will surprise you!
Mobile phones, computers and microwave ovens
It is believed that cockroaches are afraid of radiation from mobile phones, computers and microwave ovens. And it is completely justified.
Over the past 10-15 years, the above devices have become part of our lives. Apartments and offices are full of various equipment. When it works, an electromagnetic field is generated in the room. It creates unfavorable living conditions for the Prussians.
Scientists are still discussing the effects of radio frequencies on animals and humans. Every year there is more and more evidence that they have a negative impact. Perhaps this is why sensitive cockroaches disappeared from high-rise buildings.
By the way, for some reason there are no Prussians in those areas where the old GPRS and GSM standards work, that is, in Russia and in most neighboring countries.
No. 3: cockroaches have not adapted to GMOs and preservatives
Pin
Another common version of the disappearance of cockroaches is the appearance of genetically modified foods (GMOs), preservatives and various synthetic food additives in the human diet.
Now they are included in almost all products - from bakery products to sausages. And these mustachioed parasites, as we all know, feed on our food supplies and leftover food.
The number of cockroaches decreased significantly precisely at the time when changes occurred in the composition of food consumed by humans.
But is there a relationship between these events? Is it possible that insects that survive in the most unfavorable conditions could be afraid of genetically modified organisms?
Are the parasites, which are not afraid of huge doses of radioactive radiation, unable to adapt to the new menu? The version is quite dubious, but also has a right to exist.
Food
Yes, we really have problems with food. GMOs and additives are what people use to destroy themselves. Some say that GMOs and modern food do not pose any danger, while some scientists insist that after several generations a person will not be able to reproduce healthy offspring.
Large-scale experiments on human intervention in the genetic code have brought disappointing conclusions. Scientists are confident that the Prussians disappeared due to regular food poisoning from the human table.
But there is a slight discrepancy here. Why are cockroaches not averse to settling in food warehouses? After all, the same products are there.
Cockroaches moved to secluded places
Among the versions that explain where the cockroaches go, there is one more. Its essence lies in the changes that are happening around:
- The use of artificial materials and coatings that release formaldehyde into the surrounding space.
- Changing the microclimate in an apartment or house.
- Using household appliances and devices that emit electromagnetic radiation.
Due to changes in New York, a new type of arthropod has emerged that can tolerate freezing temperatures. People have noticed these parasites in Manhattan. They came to this city from Japan along with ornamental vegetation. There are suggestions that this species is gradually replacing the native longhorned beetles.
Black cockroaches are gradually being replaced by Prussians. Therefore, they moved to drains and basements, where they are increasingly found.
American species are found in apartments and country houses. They are distinguished by their stability and rapid acclimatization. They settle in living quarters, which are located in southern latitudes.
Poison and insecticide
Perhaps the cockroaches were scared of the Chinese poison. Although unlikely, if you remember the nineties. At first the insects disappeared, but then they adapted to the poison and returned again. Although it is quite possible that the current poison is much more effective than the previous one.
Since science does not stand still, man has managed to create really strong insecticides. And this is a really serious blow to the Prussians (unlike the traditional poison that we use ourselves). By turning to disinfectants, you can be sure that uninvited guests will leave the walls of your home for a long time.
No. 6: formaldehyde and chipboard
Pin
Another substance that could cause cockroaches to leave our apartments is formaldehyde. Its huge concentration is contained in furniture made from chipboard.
Formaldehyde is a carcinogen, which could have contributed to the flight of the Prussians from their favorite homes.
After time, this substance ceases to be released from the chipboard, so only new furniture can pose a danger to cockroaches.
Construction Materials
Another theory says that cockroaches do not like the synthetic building materials used in modern apartments.
Maybe there is some truth in this? Nowadays, few people have enough finances to make repairs using natural materials. Synthetic ones are cheaper and are often much more practical.
However, this has not been proven. So why did cockroaches disappear from apartments?
Where did the insects go?
Cockroaches are frequent inhabitants of residential premises; they can live in different rooms, but their favorite place is the kitchen.
They crawl in corners, behind baseboards, on dishes, under wallpaper. At night they begin their activities, spread infection, and spoil food. And just the sight of them makes you feel uneasy.
However, under the influence of certain conditions, insects can disappear forever. They may leave en masse, which may cause some concern.
Because of this, many people often have questions - where did the cockroaches go, is it possible to live in conditions from which even these dangerous parasites have escaped. After all, something influenced their disappearance; parasites will not just leave their place of residence.
Mass extinction may be related to human welfare conditions. The higher the standard of living, the more money is spent on disinfection and insecticides.
With a normal income, it is possible to purchase drugs that can quickly kill parasites. But in apartments with poor conditions there are often many insects.
Video
WHERE DID THE COCKROACHS DISAPPEAR?
Natural selection
There is an opinion that cockroaches lost the war with a stronger enemy. Perhaps they were forced out of Russian apartments by pharaoh ants, which are distinguished by their tenacity.
By the way, the disappearance of the Prussians worried scientists so much that there was a proposal to include them in the Red Book. Can you imagine?
But biologists and scientists can understand - cockroaches managed to survive in any conditions for millions of years! They learned to adapt to the poisons that people poisoned them with. So what happened to them now?
No. 5: plastic and linoleum
Pin
The people themselves are to blame for the disappearance of the Prussians. Modern apartment design is radically different from what it was 2–3 decades ago.
Today, we have replaced the once familiar paper wallpaper with plastic panels; instead of a wooden floor, we use linoleum, which contains polyvinyl chloride, for covering.
In the manufacture of furniture, artificial materials imitation stone and wood are also used. The construction of houses from thermal blocks has also become widespread.
Polymer additives are also used in modern dry construction mixtures.
In addition to the fact that such materials have an attractive appearance and are durable, they are also inexpensive.
Only people with high incomes can afford to use expensive natural materials for repairs.
Most citizens do not belong to the category of wealthy people, so they opt for renovations using the latest technologies.
And some scientists are inclined to believe that the Prussians were forced to leave their apartments by the pungent smell that comes from synthetic materials.
Therefore, wondering where the Prussians disappeared from your home, look around and see what the floor covering is made of, what the walls are decorated with and what material the furniture in the apartment is made of.
Purity
Now newspapers from the trash can have been replaced by garbage bags. This “cuts off” the cockroaches’ access to food. According to research, people have begun to clean more often.
But the most important thing, according to scientists, is the aggressive household chemicals used by apartment residents. Perhaps it was she who contributed to the disappearance of the Prussians.
But here again something doesn’t add up! In fact, these insects will always find food for themselves. If there is no access to food, they can feed on soap, glue and microscopic particles of human skin that settle on floors and objects.
Let's assume that cockroaches have no opportunity to eat at all! It's not a problem. Adults can easily go without food for 30 days, and their larvae can go as long as 70.
Cockroach with jetpack
Even though people for the most part do not like cockroaches, we must admit: these are extremely important animals and they have always been so. Yes, they, regardless of their desire, tolerate allergens and pathogens of various diseases. But at the same time, cockroaches serve as an important link in food chains: they eat and decompose things that other insects rarely take on. In addition, cockroaches gave rise to termites, which was discovered relatively recently, in 2007.
Scientists from the UK determined the relationship between cockroaches and termites by analyzing a number of genes. Judging by the results of their research, the ancestors of termites were some cockroaches (not red ones!), capable of feeding on wood due to special bacteria in the intestines. Termites have become more social than their cockroach grandfathers. Actually, this is where the main differences between the two groups of insects end.
Due to their size, cockroaches serve as a convenient object for biomechanical research. Here are a couple of examples. In 2002, a scientific article was published, the authors of which studied stabilization in cockroaches of the species Blaberus discoidalis. They glued miniature guns to the backs of insects and forced them to walk under slow-motion cameras. At some point, the cannon fired a short (10 millisecond) shot to the right or left, powerful for its size, designed to destabilize the cockroach and drop it on its side. However, the insects did not turn over and returned to their previous trajectory of movement at the next step.
Having measured the reaction speed of cockroaches, the researchers came to the conclusion that stabilization of their position in space is provided here not even by the nervous system (it cannot work so quickly), but by the mechanics of the limbs.
In 2021, a new study was released in which the authors describe how the movement of cockroaches in very tight spaces inspired them to create a soft robot to search for earthquake victims.
Russian scientists also did not stand aside. Although, as we found out, they were not interested in the disappearance of red cockroaches from apartments, domestic luminaries of science and technology created a robot based on their knowledge of the Blaberus giganteus insect. According to the designers, employees of the Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University, they were faced with the task of making the robot as cockroach-morphic as possible. It seems that it worked.
The robotic cockroach will scare those who are afraid of real insects: its length is 10 centimeters. It runs a third of a meter in a second, so it’s difficult for a person to catch it. Like foreign designers, Kaliningrad scientists believe that their development can be used as a means of searching for objects in hard-to-reach places.
A little mysticism
But lovers of everything mysterious and mystical are sure that the disappearance of cockroaches is a bad omen!
This has already happened - cockroaches disappeared before disasters, for example, before a pestilence, fires or war. And if this is so, then the world will face global cataclysms and many more troubles.
But if you think about it, cockroaches disappeared about 10 years ago, and fortunately we are alive. Maybe this statement should be ignored?
No. 9: World War III or natural disasters
There is an opinion among psychics and ufologists that the disappearance of the Prussians is connected with future cataclysms affecting the entire planet.
Researchers say that before the outbreak of World War II, cockroaches left apartments and houses, but no one knows where they moved.
Before the major earthquake that occurred in China, the parasites also disappeared somewhere. It is possible that this was also a warning to people about the approaching disaster.
This version also has a right to exist. Time will tell whether such predictions are worth believing or not.
But what is it really like?
Disinfectors only smile sarcastically at all these attacks about the disappearance of cockroaches. They know that the insects did not even think about dying.
“Mustachioed guests” still settle in places where there is a lot of garbage and dirt. There are plenty of them in dormitories, garbage cans, and also in apartments where the owners are not concerned about cleaning and cleanliness.
And if you go down to the basement, you will be surprised at how vibrant life is in full swing there!
Although the number of sanitary treatments has indeed decreased in recent years, this does not mean that the Prussians have suffered in any way or gone extinct. They simply “moved” to calmer, quieter and damper places.
So don’t be surprised when you meet a “mustachioed neighbor” in your kitchen!
You can learn more about the reasons for the disappearance of cockroaches from Russian apartments from the video.
To be honest, we don’t miss having guests like this in our house! And you?
Click share and leave a comment:
Why did cockroaches disappear?
Cockroaches, like any synanthropic animals, react very sensitively to changes that occur in people's lives. Therefore, the decrease in their number in apartments could be explained by the increase in the well-being of the population. However, there are other theories that explain where the cockroaches went. No one can say for sure which of them is correct.
New chemicals
The most common version of why cockroaches disappeared from high-rise buildings is based on the fact that highly effective insecticides have been developed. Perhaps their creators managed to find a weak point in the biochemistry of these insects. The so-called “slow poisons” could provoke the disappearance of cockroaches. These include fipronil and hydromethylnon.
Dead cockroaches
The principle of their action is that a poisoned cockroach brings particles of a toxic substance to the nest. After a certain time, a lethal dose accumulates, which causes the complete extinction of insects. However, this theory does not stand up to criticism. After all, the Prussians disappeared even where poisoning was never carried out.
Global changes
This version of where the cockroaches went from high-rise buildings is based on global climate change on Earth. Depopulation could allegedly be triggered by the destruction of the ozone layer.
However, if we take into account the fact that cockroaches appeared hundreds of millions of years ago and were able to survive quite strong atmospheric fluctuations, then this is hard to believe. Therefore, it is unlikely that global changes are the reason for their disappearance in megacities.
GMOs and preservatives
There is also an opinion that GMO products and various kinds of artificial food additives that change hereditary characteristics could lead to a sharp decrease in the number of insects. But then, why do people who eat such food remain alive and do not die? And cockroaches, which are accustomed to eating garbage, turned out to be so sensitive to these types of products.
Therefore, this version also seems unlikely, especially since Prussians can often be found in warehouses and stores, where products containing various additives are also found.
Electromagnetic radiation
Another assumption about where the cockroaches disappeared from apartments is based on the negative impact of electromagnetic radiation on them. In particular, many consider mobile phones, microwave ovens and other household appliances that are used in everyday life to be the culprit.
However, if you think about the fact that if cockroaches over the course of many centuries were able to adapt to any living conditions, then this could hardly be the main reason for their extinction.
Plastic and linoleum
Another assumption as to why cockroaches leave apartments is finishing materials that are made from artificial components. Allegedly, the chemicals present in them have a detrimental effect on insects.
However, there is a complete lack of logic in this. Insects that easily tolerated various poisons and quickly restored their numbers after their use, could not get along next to plastic and linoleum? At the same time, people living in such premises feel good.
In this case, another conclusion suggests itself: timely repairs that improve people’s living conditions make the existence of these insects uncomfortable, since modern apartments are now dry, clean and comfortable.
Formaldehyde and chipboard
The presence of such a harmful substance as formaldehyde in the composition of plywood and chipboard could also be the reason that provoked the disappearance of cockroaches from human homes. This toxin acts as a preservative, extending the life of furniture, finishing materials and floor coverings.
Chipboard
Therefore, it can be assumed that an increase in its concentration in modern human housing could force insects to leave their homes in search of more favorable conditions for life and reproduction. But, given the fact that cockroaches have the ability to develop resistance to toxins, this can hardly be considered the reason for their depopulation.
Poor urban ecology
Polluted air in large industrial centers could lead to a decrease in the number of Prussians in high-rise buildings. But it is difficult to imagine that cockroaches could not exist in cities where people continue to lead a normal lifestyle, since their resistance to radiation and chemical influences is much higher than that of mammals. And according to scientists, cockroaches can survive even in the event of a nuclear war.
Therefore, it is unlikely that the poor ecology of cities could be the reason why cockroaches disappeared from apartments.
Unknown epidemic
Perhaps the insects disappeared as a result of an unknown epidemic, which caused their complete death. But then why is there no information about this in the media? It is unlikely that a fatal infection could go unnoticed by everyone. In addition, a person is much more susceptible to various kinds of pathogens, and this could not but affect his health.
Therefore, the assumption that there is “another world” where the cockroaches went “in orderly rows” is also not a plausible version.
Why, according to popular belief, do you see a cockroach?
In former times, the arrival of cockroaches in the house was considered a good event, which was even encouraged by people. Owners often deliberately scattered crumbs and leftover food in secluded places to attract longhorned beetles, since their appearance was considered a sign of wealth. Given such a dense neighborhood, it is not surprising that there are many signs and superstitions about these insects. To get the most accurate answer to the question of what it means to see a cockroach, it is necessary to take into account the details and circumstances of the meeting.
Fell on my head
If a nasty Prussian fell from the ceiling onto a person’s head, then the omen has a negative meaning. Typically, insects live on the floor, in cracks, closets and the basement. Of course, if desired, a Prussian can climb onto the ceiling, but such a situation is rare.
According to folk superstitions, a cockroach falling on its head portends illness:
- exacerbation of chronic ailments;
- headache;
- stress;
- development of a serious illness.
At home
If cockroaches have appeared in the house, then meeting new neighbors is inevitable and is unlikely to bring pleasant emotions. Since ancient times, superstitious people have seen in such an event a secret sign from above that would help them avoid trouble. According to folk superstitions, cockroaches breed in homes where there is an unfavorable atmosphere and negative energy. To get rid of hated insects, it is enough to simply establish relationships with your family and cleanse the apartment of negativity.
In car
If cockroaches appeared in a personal car, then folk superstitions regard this as a sign of mental disharmony and psychological discomfort. The owner should take care of mental health, visit a psychologist or consult with loved ones so that they can provide help and support. Beliefs also recommend helping someone in need - this will ease mental suffering and cleanse the energy.
At work
The discovery of cockroaches in the workplace, according to signs, may portend the following events:
- If there are black insects in the office, this promises prosperity for the company, and increased wages and favorable conditions for the employees.
- The appearance of ordinary red-haired Prussians warns of a deterioration in relations with superiors.
In bed
Seeing a cockroach in bed is an unfavorable sign
Folk signs advise the owner of the lodge to be careful, since an accident or the development of an illness cannot be ruled out.
Having noticed a Prussian in bed, it is necessary to take certain actions to neutralize the negative meaning of the sign:
- perform a ritual of cleansing the room from negative energy;
- visit church, pray and light a candle;
- wash bed linen at high temperatures, carry out general cleaning using strong detergents.
Wasps parasites
But those who will completely disappear after the extinction of cockroaches are parasitic wasps. Found in the tropical forests of Africa and some Pacific islands, wasps of the species Ampulex compressa reproduce using exclusively the bodies of insects. They attack cockroaches, release poison into their bodies, paralyze their movements and drag them into their holes. There, wasps lay eggs in the abdomens of cockroaches, from which larvae hatch. They use insect entrails as food and then pupate. After some time, adult wasps crawl out of the hole. So, if cockroaches disappear, these creatures will also completely die out.
Cockroach and parasitic wasp Blattella germanica
Scientific theories
- Improving insect control means.
- General improvement in the sanitary condition of residential premises.
- Migration of cockroaches from apartments to more suitable places for living.
- Cockroaches are noticeably inferior to ants in the competition for improved insect control means.
Improving insect control means. In particular, Vesta drugs were invented that have so-called delayed toxicity. This property made it possible to achieve a higher mortality rate of cockroaches in the apartment.
The essence of this method is this: an already poisoned insect does not die immediately, but carries the poison to its nest . Over time, toxic substances accumulate in the nest, and their concentration becomes lethal for all inhabitants of the nest. Obviously, this method is much more effective than those that kill cockroaches one at a time.
Insects move to places more suitable for life
Improving the sanitary condition of residential premises. Here we are talking not only about improving living conditions in general. The fact is that over the course of several years, things have appeared in everyday life that make life easier for people and make the existence of cockroaches impossible. For example, plastic bags.
Now all the food in the house is carefully wrapped in bags and stored accordingly. Accordingly, it has become more difficult for cockroaches to get food for themselves. Garbage is now also deposited and disposed of in bags . So the cockroaches, realizing that they had nothing else to profit from in a person’s home, left the apartments.
The fact is that if cockroaches left the apartments, then they certainly had to appear in other places. After all, since school, everyone knows the law “if something has left somewhere, it means something has arrived somewhere.” Moreover, they had to appear in huge quantities. However, an increase in the population of these insects was not observed in any corner of the vast country.
The cockroach is an ancient animal
Cockroaches have lived on Earth for a long time. Their remains were found in Paleozoic deposits. Modern insects have strong jaws, long whiskers and large eyes. There are elytra and transparent wings, which allow some species to fly quite well. Fast legs provide the ability to escape.
Cockroaches love it when it is warm, humid and nourishing. They are active and voracious. The menu includes animal and plant foods. Cockroaches are omnivores: they love sugar, but they can also snack on paper.
Why these hardy animals, which are not harmed even by a fatal dose of radiation for humans, disappeared, no one knows for sure. There are several versions, each of which only partially explains the fact of the cockroach's disappearance.
