There are more than 5000 thousand species of cockroaches, and a few of them can fly or glide. I have written an entire blog on how and when cockroaches fly.
It is essential to understand how cockroaches behave in different instances and how much they are aware of their surroundings before understanding why cockroaches fly towards you.
Cockroaches are nocturnal, and they will flee away from light. They will also avoid going against air currents. If a cockroach happens to face you, and you are like a silhouette due to a bright light source behind your back, for example, an open door, they will fly towards you, thinking it to be a safe exit.
Let’s discuss this in more detail with more scientific backing on why cockroaches don’t fly towards you intentionally.
Tired of cockroaches? Invest in only these products and follow the guide to eliminate roaches!
Use these products, and you will be roach free in less than a week.
1. Advion Cockroach Gel Bait (Review)
2. Gentrol IGR Point Source (Review)
Other Products to try:
1. Combat Roach Traps (Easy than gel baits)
2. Hot Shot Foggers (To kill in masses – 95%)
3. Pet Safe Killers (Uses Essential Oils)
4. Ortho Defence Outdoor Roach Killer (Prevent Roaches)
Cockroaches Can’t See You!
Yes, you will be amazed to hear that cockroaches can’t see you. They are not blind; in fact, the eye of the cockroach is like a compound lens, made of over 2,000 mini lenses that are photoreceptors and help them see in complete darkness. However, these lenses can not focus on objects at a distance.
They can focus on things that are very close, like a few mm to a few cm. Small viewing distance means they can not differentiate who is coming; instead, they sense danger in the form of change in light, noise, or air flow and most importantly vibration receptors.
So genetically, a cockroach will react to changes and hide out in the darkness, regardless of what brings the change. It can be a cat, a dog, or we humans.
How Does a Cockroache Detect Fear
Cockroaches will detect changes in light with over 2000 light receptors in their eyes. In addition, they can hear minute vibrations through their legs, which is listening but not quiet.
The set of antennae on a cockroach head can help a cockroach smell, determine taste, feel objects, detect temperature, sense vibrations, measure a change in air moisture, and detect barometric changes in pressure.
Cockroaches have incredible smell receptors, which make them feed on things we find highly disgusting. This capability can help them detect an approaching object which they will instantly categorize as danger. By default, they will hide from any approaching thing.
Why cockroaches comes or fly toward us?
A cockroach can come towards you when escaping due to different scenarios. Cockroaches do not see you as a whole or recognize you being a human, all it is programmed to run towards dark spots to hide. If a cockroach can find that shady spot under your shoes or your body creates a hard shadow, they will run or fly towards it.
Only adult cockroaches can fly, and primarily males. It should be a little humid or hot for them to be active enough to fly.
As a whole, cockroaches can not recognize humans, and they never come or fly towards us intentionally. It’s just a myth that cockroaches know about our fear of them, also known as katsaridaphobia.
Do cockroaches take revenge?
As I have explained above, cockroaches can not see and focus at far distances, and they can’t recognize human beings; it is insane to believe in cockroaches taking any revenge.
Cockroaches can’t remember where they come from; instead, they follow particular cues related to a unique smell they discharge to remain in groups and reach back to their nest.
Do roaches fear humans?
Since cockroaches can not recognize humans, they do not fear humans in particular. However, cockroaches fear any approaching moving objects like pets, humans, birds, etc. In addition, changes in light, smell, humidity, noise, and temperature will induce fear in cockroaches, and they will try to seek darkness to hide.
Can cockroaches jump at us?
Cockroaches are not born with bodies & legs capable of hopping a jump, except one species of cockroach held uniquely to make a jump. This species of cockroach is known as “Leaproach.” Its scientific name is Saltoblattella montistabularis.
However, cockroaches can take small gliding flights to jump from a certain height quickly or fly out to a high elevation. These flights are short distances, and a few species of cockroaches can do this.
