Friday, January 21, 2011

Freak Fun Friday #4~!!

Do Cockroaches Eat Human Eyelashes??
Yes...THEY DO~!!
There are over 3500 species of cockroaches found in the world and 57 of those are found in North America.  Of those, 5 of them are the pests we're always hearing about.
1.  The German Cockroach ~ About 1/2" long and reproduce quickly.  They love to live near humans, particularly in the kitchen/pantries or wherever food is being prepared.  They love to nibble on eyelashes and fingernails.
2.  The Brown-Banded Cockroach ~ They are 1/2" long and like warm, dry places.  Can often be found in high, secluded places, like closets and walls and typically found in the Southern States.
3.  The Oriental Cockroach ~ 1 1/4" long and prefer cool, damp places.  They tend to enter homes thru drains and leaky water pipes and typically stay around basements and crawl spaces.
4.  The American Cockroach ~ 1 1/2 to 2" inches in length and are the largest of the pests.  They have wings but don't often use them.  They enter buildings to stay out of the weather and prefer basements, crawl spaces and of all the species are more inclined to open spaces.  Most likely to feast upon your eyelashes and fingernails.
5.  The Smoky Brown Cockroach ~ Similar to the American cockroaches...they will fly towards lights at night.  They prefer tropical and Southern areas and feed on decaying plant material, or almost anything they can find.
Cockroaches are omnivores that will eat anything.  They have been recorded eating both dead and living human tissue.  They are more likely to eat your fingernails, eyelashes (ESPECIALLY those of sleeping children), hands and feet.

The bites often cause irritation, lesions, swelling and minor wound infections.  The verdict on whether they can kill you, is still out, though there have been reports that there are unresolved autopsy reports involving cockroach bites on the deceased.
Keeping your house clean and all drain/sewer pipes fixed should keep the cockroaches at bay...
 
Cleanliness is next to Godliness and can go a long way~!!
So...the next time you close those peepers of yours before going to sleep...
Make sure your home is clean...or you may be sharing your bed with an unwelcome stranger~!!