Are you worried about a cockroach infestation in your house? Have you been hearing soft insect-like noises at night?
Are you trying to determine if it’s a cockroach or another different pest? You’ve come to the right place.
Below is everything you need to know about cockroach communication and identification by sound.
Do Cockroaches Make Noise at Night?
Cockroaches do make noises at night time. They typically do not make much noise but at night time when it is quite you will be able to hear them when they are moving around.
Some species of cockroaches do make noise. Others don’t. If you’re trying to discover whether you have a roach infestation, a lot of other signals can help identify cockroaches too like droppings, smear marks, unusual odours, shed skin, little egg capsules etc.
Are you looking to kill cockroaches, did you know alcohol can kill them? Take a look at this article I wrote about that.
Can Cockroaches Make Noise?
Most common species of cockroaches that are found in homes don’t make sounds but some species of cockroaches do make noises. These can sound like little or loud chirps. They chirp only during two important events in their very short lifetime:
- Mating : The process of producing a sound by rubbing body parts together is called stridulation.
- Sensing a Threat : when they feel threatened by a
There is another hissing sound that cockroaches make but this is only produced by the Madagascar hissing cockroach found in East Africa.
It is unlikely to hear a single cockroach make a lot of chirping noises; they tend to vocalise when in groups. This can mean good news as well as bad news.
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If you hear significant chirping it translates to you having an infestation on your hands whereas absence of sound in presence of other cockroach signs can mean you only have a few in your home.
What Do Cockroaches Sound Like at Night?
Cockroaches make a variety of noises. Since they are nocturnal pests, they hide out during the day and are most active at night.
This is why owners who have had cockroach infestations in their homes often complain about not being able to sleep because of the racket that is produced by large swarms of roaches.
So, what and how are different noises produced by cockroaches:
- Chirp : chirps are short, high-pitched sounds often made by birds and a few insects. Chirps are not easily audible if cockroaches are not in a significantly sized group.
- Stridulation : This is a chirp-like sound made by male cockroaches when they are mating or feel threatened. It is produced when a roach rubs its dorsal body with its wings.
- Hiss : The only cockroach on this planet that has the ability to hiss is the Madagascar hissing cockroach endemic to East Africa. These roaches have little breathing holes called spiracles on their abdomen. By forcing air through these holes, they produce a hissing sound.
- Fluttering : Cockroaches have wings, and some can even fly which sounds terrifying. Worry not! Only a handful of roach species actually have wings and even amongst them, only a very tiny proportion can actually fly. Others usually just glide or their wings don’t function at all.
- Fluttering Sounds : Can be produced even when cockroaches can’t fly. If you have a significant number of cockroaches, all of them collectively fluttering their wings will be clearly audible in the house.
What Sound Do Cockroaches Hate?
Cockroaches don’t hear sound the same way we do. They can detect vibrations and frequencies.
Since cockroaches can’t hear so well there is no sound, they particularly hate. What they do hate though, is loud vibrations like the ones produced when a door is slammed or if a utensil falls off the kitchen counter.
Roaches and a few other insects have tiny hair on their legs that detect sound. Additionally, their antennae help them feel vibrations. They also have little antennae like structures at the end of their abdomen that detect vibrations through air.
So, if you’re thinking of using sound as a way to repel or rid your house of cockroaches, here are a few tips to keep in mind:
- Creating Loud Noises : Stomping, clapping, slamming doors and blasting heavy metal music are all great ways to keep cockroaches away from where you are present in the house. They will sense the strong vibrations and acknowledge it as a threat. Thus, they will hide somewhere until the vibrations subside.
- Ultrasound Pest Repellent : Ultrasound has become very popular for mice control. Do cockroach ultrasound devices work with the same efficacy? Sadly, no. Studies have shown that cockroaches are just as likely to enter a room with ultrasound as they are to enter a room without it. They can hear the frequency; they just don’t react to it. Sometimes, they even get accustomed to it.
In summary, although using sound to keep roaches away hasn’t been explored much, these techniques may work at keeping cockroaches away from the rooms you spend most time in. This is not a lasting solution, but a handy method to keep roaches at bay while you work on a more permanent fix.
