What if there are no cockroaches?

Group of cockroaches

This question appears as one of the advertisements for Paradise - a land without cockroaches. Really, no one likes these nasty infectious bugs, right? They spread bacteria like salmonella and shigella, leave their droppings everywhere they go by, and they can exacerbate allergies and asthma. These are all good reasons to crush cockroaches.

But not so fast, there are a few species - among an estimated 5,000 to 10,000 - that live in homes. These annoying creatures include the German roach called Blattella germanica, the American roach named Periplaneta americana, the brown-packaged roach called Supella longipalpa, and the eastern roach named Blatta orientalis.

Most cockroaches live in a warm tropical climate, preoccupied with their own business - and they are far from humans. Some of these cockroaches are beautiful, others glow in the dark. But if you still insist on playing this game, then you should consider what would happen if all of them disappeared. In short, it is not good.

Cockroaches in tropical forests feed on crumbly wood and leaves. And all those leftovers left behind, which are filled with organic materials and nutrients, including nitrogen, which will be added back to the soil. Nitrogen is essential for the growth of trees, which are an essential part of forests - and in our lives, since we use wood to house ourselves and the animals we love. And speaking of those animals we love, especially small mammals, birds and reptiles: they feed on cockroaches. Since other animals feed on these small mammals and reptiles, the occurrence of such a small defect in the food chain can have a widespread effect on the whole world.

So the next time you try to crush a cockroach before it runs under your fridge, consider that it might help to refuel the local forest while it is not in your home.

They do not face the threat of extinction any time soon. Cockroaches were present even before the dinosaurs. Indeed, cockroach fossils show that they have been around for at least 300 million years. They are truly one of the most powerful creatures - able to withstand radiation in large quantities (much more than humans) and stay without food for up to a month. If you find a roach on the kitchen floor and you crush it, do not worry: you have not judged these insects to extinction yet.