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Study shows cockroaches are becoming increasingly resistant to insecticides.
Image by YewLoon Lam/Shutterstock |
Yes, cockroaches are creepy pesky insects we hate so much and wish we could simply get rid-off once and for all. You could argue that mosquitoes and few other insects are far more dangerous and prevalent than cockroaches, but it depends on your environment and level of cleanliness. Even so, it would take something extraordinary to send cockroaches into extinction compared to the others. And yes, Nukes won't get the job done either.
But seriously, do we really need to Nuke the hell out of these pests when we could simply get rid-off them using insecticides? The thing is, cockroaches are confirmed according to study, to be capable of withstanding extreme radiation and are therefore cable of surviving a nuclear explosion. They are also said to be developing resistance to powerful insecticides thereby making it even more difficult to exterminate them.
According to a report by
CNN,
German scientists from Purdue did some experiments by exposing German cockroaches to different insecticides, and the results were disturbing. The scientists discovered that the cockroach populations not only developed a resistance to the insecticide they were exposed to, but also picked up resistances to other insecticides.
But that's not all, these super-immune insects are also able to pass their resistance on to their offspring, making it only a matter of time before a given population becomes, essentially, insecticide-proof.
Michael Scharf who leads the study admitted that the latest discovery solved the puzzle which until recently, has been a major challenge.
He said, "This is a previously unrealized challenge in cockroaches.
"Cockroaches developing resistance to multiple classes of insecticides at once will make controlling these pests almost impossible with chemicals alone."
Now that's unsettling as it suggests in the future, we may have to accept cockroaches as part of our lives and learn to live with them. But who would want that? More troubling is the fact that these creatures continue to evolve and multiply in numbers.
Scharf says resistance within a single generation of the cockroaches sometimes increased four- or six-fold. Combine that with the fact a single female cockroach can produce 200 to 300 offspring in her short lifetime and, well, you're looking at some cursed math.
Scharf's team concluded the issue is worse in low-income areas and other places where effective pest control isn't available.
The way to combat this, Scharf says, is to diversify pest treatment methods. This could include physical methods like traps and vacuums, and preventative measures like sanitation.
So cockroaches are on track to dominating the world?
