Cockroaches are one of the most unsightly intruders to trespass your home. They eat almost everything and can survive radiation, so it’s hard to drive them out naturally. If you’re not sure that the situation is that severe - read on to find out more about cockroach infestation signs.

Common cockroach infestation signs

• Cockroach Faeces

Cockroach droppings are the first definitive sign of an infestation. Due to the cockroaches’ highly developed metabolism and wide diet, the little monsters can eat almost anything. It depends on the specific type of cockroach, but droppings can look like anything from tiny pepper specks to small oval pellets. It’s hard to mistake a large number of droppings stacked near your fridge or oven, or other areas of your home where you might store your food.

• Roach Eggs 

Cockroaches lay ootheca - a large capsule that resembles a long brown pill. Each ootheca contains between 10 and 20 eggs, while some species can produce oothecae with up to 50 eggs. When the eggs inside hatch, the capsule cracks. If you have a cockroach infestation on your hands, it might be challenging to find these capsules. They usually stay hidden in hard-to-reach places, but close to a food source, so the mother can regularly check-up on them. You can look for roach eggs behind furniture, in between wall cracks, beneath sinks or other well-protected areas.

• Cockroach Shed Skin

When cockroaches reproduce, their young offspring, nymphs, needs to shed its skin 5 to 8 times before reaching adulthood. The reason for shedding is simple: cockroaches have an exoskeleton - a solid outer skin layer that they need to break out of to grow. These shed skins resemble a cockroach, and the shedding usually happens in sheltered locations. Look for signs of cockroach skins around the floor in your kitchen, basement, laundry room or bathroom.

• Live roaches

Cockroaches usually move within the safety of the night. They have tiny hairs on their backs that help them detect movement. As soon a roach feels a shift in the room’s air, it immediately stops its current task and runs back to the nearest sheltered area. So if you notice any live roaches running around when you turn on the lights at night - there’s definitely something sinister going on. A worse situation is when you see live roaches moving around your property during daylight hours. That usually means that their colony is getting too crowded and forces some roaches out.