What does roach poop look like? Cockroaches will leave their droppings almost anywhere they pass through. The droppings are typically found in damp areas and near sources of food. 
You can find them in the kitchen, bathroom, under the sink, and so on.
But what does roach poop look like? Roach poop can appear as brown or black stains, smears, and coarse or ground black pepper. Sometimes they can take the shape of a cylinder.
The droppings’ size and appearance depend on the size, age, and species of the cockroach. Read Also: What’s the best roach killer for the house?
[amazon bestseller=”Best Roach Killers” items=”2″ template=”table”]Details: What Does Roach Poop Look Like? Roach Feces
Roach poop can be found in places most frequented by roaches, especially in the kitchen, bathroom, and food store.
The poop appears tiny brown or black stains, smears, or droppings left on surfaces such as floors, carpet, and upholstery.
The size and appearance of the droppings vary with the species, age and size of the cockroach. Typically, small species like the German roach and the brown-banded roach leave behind smaller droppings than large species like the oriental or American cockroaches.
The droppings from small the roaches appear as stains or smears. Sometimes it can resemble coarse or ground coffee or black pepper.
Larger roaches leave behind small ridged cylindrical droppings which can be the size of rice grains. Young oriental or American cockroaches also exhibit cylindrical feces but of smaller size.
Rodents such as rats defecate relatively large cylindrical droppings, which differentiate them from roach poop.
Roach droppings tend to have rounded ends, while those of rodents are somehow pointed. Plus, roach droppings have ridges unlike those of rodents.
Where do I Look for Roach Poop?
Roaches come to your house in search of food and water. Although roaches feed on almost anything, they are mostly attracted to the food we eat.
Therefore it is common to find roach droppings near food storage areas. Roach droppings can be found in large numbers in dark corners or crevices where roaches hide from humans or pets.
Closets, cabinets, behind furniture, drawers, and other hidden areas make charming places for roaches to hide and breed. So, it’s possible to find large amounts of roach droppings in these areas.
Roaches also tend to hide and nest underneath the mattress because these areas are given fewer cleanups. Roaches can penetrate the crevices in the bed furniture where they hide and nest. Thus it’s possible to find their droppings in these crevices and the floor under the bed.
Other places to look for roach droppings include damp areas such as leaking pipes, under the sink, laundry rooms, and bathroom and so on. Roaches come to these places in search of water.
What Does Roach Poop Smell Like?
Just like the roaches themselves, roach poop exhibits a pungent, oily odor. The odor is characteristic of the myriad of ingested food, including dead insects, food debris, garbage, carcasses, rotten flesh, and so on.
Although the smell is disgusting to humans, it acts as a means of communication with other cockroaches. This helps roaches keep track of each other’s trails – as you control the roaches.
What’s the Importance of Locating Roach Feces?
Roach poop, with or without an infestation should be taken with seriousness because the situation poses a significant risk to you and your family. Some of the dangers associated with roach poop include:
- Dry roach feces can contaminate the surrounding air with tiny and invisible particles. The particles contain proteins which when inhaled are known to cause allergic reactions and asthma. Children are especially likely to suffer severe asthma attacks due to roaches and roach droppings.
- As they search for food and water, roaches will contaminate your food with their feces. You may not even know that your food is contaminated because the feces are quite small and unnoticeable. As such, your food may be infected with salmonella bacteria known to cause gastroenteritis or food poisoning.
- Locating and removing the feces prevents more roaches from coming to your house. The droppings contain pheromones that other roaches use as trails to go to your home – use roach baits to control these house bugs.
Read Also: How to Get Rid of Cockroaches
Do Roach Droppings Indicate an Infestation?
The possibility of a roach infestation depends on the level of droppings. Of course, a few drops; however, this should include a roach infestation. This should, however, make you curious to search thoroughly to see if there’re more roach droppings.
If you’re seeing plenty of droppings scattered in different locations, you could be having a roach infestation. The presence of droppings in dark corners and food stores could be a sure tell-tale that there are plenty of roaches in your house.
How to Clean Roach Droppings?
Roach droppings can pose a health risk to you and your family. Besides, they can attract more roaches to your house, thus resulting in a severe infestation.
Therefore, it’s advisable to clean roach poop as promptly as possible. Below is a guide for cleaning roach poop in your house.
1. Mattresses
Roach droppings on your mattress expose you to allergens which are usually associated with skin infections and asthma.
In such a case you can follow these steps to get rid of the poop and the allergens
- Conduct a thorough check on the mattress including the corners and seams to locate the affected areas.
- Scoop out the large feces with a scraper.
- Scrub the stains using a scouring sponge, disinfectant soap, and water. Rinse with a sponge that has been dubbed in clean water.
- Dry the mattress in the sun or using a blower
2. Carpets
The thicker the carpet, the more difficult it is to see roach droppings.
If they’re visible droppings, you can scrape them off with a scraper or a stiff brush. Then you can follow these steps to clean off the mess.
- Use a vacuum to lift and suck as much feces and debris as possible. A vacuum with a HEPA filter is recommended because it protects you from allergens. Ensure you dispose of the vacuumed debris safely.
- Clean with carpet shampoo and carpet brush. The shampoo breaks down the enzymes while the brush helps in dislodging the droppings. Alternatively, you can make your cleaning solution using vinegar, soap, and water.
- Rinse the carpet with clean water and allow it to dry.
- Vacuum the carpet again after it has dried.
3. Closets
Closets make convenient places for roaches to hide and breed. In such a case the closet and your clothes will be stained with roach droppings. Here is what to do.
- Soak the clothes with a block of disinfectant soap to loosen the stubborn stains and break the roach feces’ proteins.
- Wash the clothes and rinse with clean water
- Scrap and discard the feces in the closet
- Wipe the closet thoroughly with a disinfectant soap and rinse with clean water.
Read Also: Do Cockroaches Bite?
Conclusion
Evidence of roach droppings in your house should give you worries no matter how few they are.
They contain pheromones that attract other roaches to your house. Thus, a few roaches can end up becoming an infestation.
Therefore, when getting rid of roaches, it’s advisable also to clean their droppings to erase the pheromones (communicating aids) – you can use pet safe roach killers.