Cockroaches, a well-known phenomenon in Thailand
When I first traveled to Thailand and had an overnight stay in a hotel in Bangkok, a cockroach darted through the room under my bed at night. This was my first encounter with a cockroach. From the laconic attitude of the hotel staff, I understood that this was nothing special.
This week in Lotus I saw a cockroach scurrying around, watched by a boy licking an ice cream cone. A sturdily built farang, however, circled it in a wide curve.
Until now I have never delved into the cockroach phenomenon. These insects seem to occur worldwide because they "travel" with freight transport. There are a total of 4690 species of cockroaches and they can reproduce quickly. The rate of development depends on temperature and food supply, but some species can go without food for ten to forty days. They are omnivores. A female cockroach carries about thirty cockroaches in an egg pack, which are deposited from the body after 3 to 5 weeks.
Although cockroaches themselves are harmless to humans, they can transmit bacteria and disease by eating, defecating or walking on food.
Cockroach infestations in the home can be difficult to control, as the cockroaches crawl into crevices and are remarkably resistant to most commonly used toxins. A large number of pesticides are for sale in Thailand. Baygon is one of the resources.
It is nice to read a quote from John Gabriel Stedman (1772):
The Cockroach is a kind of Beetle, an inch and sometimes two inches long; its shape is ovoid and flat, and the color is high red: it crawls through the hole of the lock of the trunks and valises, and not only lays its eggs there, but it also gnaws through the linen, fabrics, silk, and everything that it find; it also penetrates edible and drinkable goods of all kinds; which makes it very disgusting, for it leaves behind there a foul odour, quite like that of bedbugs. Since most East Indian ships, especially those loaded with sugar, are always infested with these insects, I shall only report that they are seldom seen flying, but that they run very swiftly.”
— Journey to Suriname and Guiana by John Gabriel Stedman (1772)
Source: Wiki wall
I hate it when I see them. We therefore spray with the above-mentioned product every week. Can't imagine them walking around my house. Ever seen a very large one in the bathroom near the drain after spraying. Happy dead.
Still funny product names….
Baygon…. Bye Gone from Bayer.
Apparently you can also be allergic to cockroaches. In my Asian country of residence, I was tested for the umpteenth time in my life for things that I could be allergic to. Nothing ever came of it and not this time either. New to me was the news that I was not allergic to cockroaches. I can't remember ever being tested for this before in the Netherlands and Belgium. Now it always concerns a long laundry list. So who knows.
The big problem with cockroaches is that they are a kind of 'walking incubator'. Where a person has all kinds of things in his body to eliminate harmful bacteria etc. himself, bacteria etc. multiply happily in the interior of a cockroach at a temperature in which bacteria etc. thrive. That makes the cockroach a kind of growth bomb of harmful bacteria etc. Not really something to have around, but on the other hand it is impossible to never encounter one in warm countries.
I'm not sure, but I think the cockroach is one of the oldest animal species in the world.
Ever seen a cockroach at Tops supermarket between the croissants and other pastries. Immediately leave the store.
What an exaggerated reaction, those animals are even eaten here and not only by the Asians, they are very good for your health and much cheaper than a steak.
Nope, you're wrong. It is a large beetle that is eaten, but not a cockroach…
Well, maybe not in your area, but here it is, so you're wrong.
Kevin, what they eat are mangdas, which are water beetles and look like cockroaches. When I asked my wife, she started gagging. Thais find these animals just as dirty as we find them dirty. Here you can see pictures of these water beetles. They look a lot like cockroaches, but they are not: https://www.google.co.th/search?q=water+beetle+thailand&newwindow=1&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjs5Ob5xZ_dAhVDX30KHUdpCygQ_AUICigB&biw=1454&bih=696
From the laconic attitude of the hotel staff, I understood that this was nothing special. but just dirty.
Turn a cockroach on its back and it dies so simple that once on its back it cannot turn back and after a few hours it is dead
then kill him immediately…. better than a death struggle of a “few hours”…. seems so to me….
Dear people, if you suffer a lot from cockroaches and / or other vermin, then conclude an agreement with a pest control company. Your house and garden will then be taken care of several times a year. We have been doing this for 10 years and are very satisfied with it.
Well, then they don't do a good job with us. I had to open our kitchen and shower water drain today to replace the pump and there must have been a half dozen large cockroaches in that drain.