You
may
want
to
recycle
that
stack
of
delivery
boxes.
No,

really.

It
turns
out
that
cardboard
is
a
common
shelter
for
cockroaches,
experts
say.

“Cardboard
is,
interestingly,
very
attractive
to
cockroaches.
It
goes
so
far
as
the
researchers
who
are
doing
work
with
cockroaches,
we
actually
use
cardboard
as
their
harborage
…
that’s
what
we
have
them
living
in,”
said

Aaron
Ashbrook,
an
assistant
professor
of
urban
and
peri-urban
entomology
at
Louisiana
State
University.

Now,
not
all
cockroaches
will
make
a
home
in
cardboard,
it
depends
on
the
species
(more
on
that
below).
But
the
cockroaches
that
tend
to
infest
homes
unfortunately
do
like
this
material,
and
there
are
many
reasons
why.

There
are
several
reasons
cockroaches
are
attracted
to
cardboard.

First,
cardboard
is
a
food
source
for
cockroaches,
said
Ashbrook.
“I
readily
see
it
in
my
colonies.
They
will
eat
the
cardboard.
They
will
also
consume
the
cardboard
for
water.
So
if
it
is
wet,
they
can
also
get
both
food
and
water
from
cardboard,”
Ashbrook
added.

And
since
cardboard
is
absorbent,
it
can
gather
odors
from
their
pheromones,
too,
which
makes
it
an
even
more
attractive
surface,
said

Matt
Frye,
a
rodent
and
structural
pest
management
specialist
at
the
New
York
State
Integrated
Pest
Management
Program
at
Cornell
University.

Cardboard
is
also
sound-deadening,
said
Frye,
“So,
if
insects
are
in
there
and
they’re
moving
around,
you
may
not
hear
them.”

“Because
people
tend
to
store
[cardboard]
often
in
places
that
are
overlooked
or
forgotten,
they
can
be
there
for
a
long
time
and
not
be
noticed,
which
allows
their
populations
to
grow
and
then
spread,”
Frye
said.

And
particularly
with
corrugated
cardboard,
which
is
the
cardboard
with
ridges
and
grooves
between
its
layers
that
most
delivery
packages
come
in,
there
is
enough
space
for
the
cockroaches
to
actually
live
in
those
ridges
and
grooves,
added
Frye.

Beyond
the
“ick”
factor,
having
cockroaches
in
your
home
is
unsanitary
and
can
cause
health
issues
like
allergies
and
asthma.

Seeing
a
cockroach
scurry
across
your
kitchen
counter
is
gross
for
many
reasons,
and
more
importantly,
is
also
a
clear
health
hazard.

But,
not
all
cockroaches
carry
the
same
risks
as
there
are
many
different
types
of
cockroaches.
American
cockroaches
and
German
cockroaches
tend
to
be
the
ones
folks
worry
most
about
in
their
homes
in
the
U.S.

The
American
cockroach
is
a
big,
reddish
brown
cockroach
that
is
also
called
a
water
bug
or
a
Palmetto
bug,
according
to
Frye,
and
they
tend
to
live
in
sewers
or
damp
environments.
They
are
more
common
in
warmer
environments
or
during
the
summer
months,
added
Ashbrook.

German
cockroaches
are
more
prevalent
and

more
commonly
found
inside
of
homes,
particularly
in
kitchens
and
in
bathrooms,
and
tend
to
be
a
little
smaller
than
American
cockroaches
and
exist
across
the
country.

But,
both
are
“mechanical
disease
vectors.
They
typically
inhabit
unsanitary
environments,
whether
that
be
sewer
drains
or
decaying
matter,”
said
Ashbrook.

Then,
they
crawl
into
home
settings
and
often
head
to
food-handling
surfaces
where
they
defecate
and
vomit,
Ashbrook
added.

“And
when
they
do
that,
that
is
then
depositing
those
pathogens
that
they
carry
both
on
their
bodies
and
in
their
bodies
onto
our
food
and
onto
our
surfaces,”
Ashbrook
said.

In
some
cases,
this
can
cause
contamination
in
humans,
he
said.
“Although
we
have
not
necessarily
found
a
smoking
gun
implication
of
specifically
German
cockroaches
causing
disease
transmission,
there
is
the
potential
for
salmonella,
E.
coli
and
noroviruses
to
be
transferred
by
American
cockroaches,”
said
Ashbrook.

The
most
common
issue
that
comes
from
a
cockroach
problem
in
your
home
is
allergies,
said
Frye,
and
this
is
especially
true
for
German
cockroaches.

“That
is
the
most
abundant
cockroach
that
people
deal
with,
and
it
has
allergens
that
affect
people
…
those
allergens
are
associated
with
their
feces,
their
droppings,
as
well
as
their
exoskeletons,”
noted
Frye.

“To
add
to
this
health
effect,
cockroaches
are
actually
much
worse
for
children
to
be
around,
and
there
has
been
some
research
to
show
that
if
children
are
exposed
to
cockroach
allergens
and
their
body
parts
that
contain
the
allergens
that
they
can
develop

asthma,”
said
Ashbrook.
“So,
this
doesn’t
happen
with
adults,
but
it
can
happen
with
children.”

Beyond
getting
rid
of
cardboard,
here’s
how
you
can
prevent
cockroaches
from
getting
in
your
home.

The
likelihood
of
having
a
cockroach
in
your
home
depends
on
where
you
live.

People
in
standalone
homes
in
suburban
and
rural
areas
may
have
cardboard
stored
in
a
basement
and
never
have
a
cockroach
issue
while
someone
living
in
a
city
where
there’s
shared
sewers,
shared
utility
lines
and
shared
walls
may
face
a
pest
problem,
said
Frye.

Nonetheless,
there
are
prevention
methods
you
can
tailor
for
your
needs
depending
on
your
environment.

The
first
step
is
awareness,
said
Frye.
Once
you
understand
that
you
could
have
cockroaches
in
your
cardboard
boxes,
inspect
them
regularly.

“Not
just
leaving
the
pile
there
forever,
but
going
down
there
and
turning
on
the
lights,
and
if
you
see
things
skitter,
then
you
know
that
you
might
have
to
take
action
to
address
a
pest
issue,”
Frye
said.

While
it’s
wise
to
seal
cracks
and
crevices
in
your
home,
it
may
not
prevent
a
cockroach
from
getting
in.

“An
adult
American
cockroach
can
actually
fit
into
a
gap
that
is
as
high
as
two
pennies
stacked
together,”
said
Ashbrook.

You
can
also
spray
preventative
insecticides
at
the
entry
points
of
your
home,
“so
that
if
a
crawling
insect
were
to
try
to
get
into
the
structure,
they
would
contact
that
insecticide
and
then
die.”

It’s
also
important
to
regularly
clean
your
home,
properly
store
food
and
take
out
the
trash
regularly,
Ashbrook
said.
Cockroaches
are
attracted
to
decaying
matter
and
food
odors,
which
can
all
be
found
in
a
kitchen.

If
your
cockroach
problem
gets
really
bad,
you
can
have
a
pest
control
company
step
in,
too,
Ashbrook
added.

Not
all
cockroaches
will
cause
an
infestation,
though.

“The
one
thing
that
is
important
to
know
is
that
correct
identification
is
really
important,”
said
Frye.
“There
are
a
lot
of
cockroach
species
that
can
turn
up
in
homes.
There’s
some
that
can
actually
fly
to
your
lights
at
night
if
you
live
near
a
wooded
area,
and
they
can
get
into
your
home,
but
they
do
not
infest
homes.”

To
figure
out
if
you
have
a
problematic
cockroach
in
your
home,
you
should
aim
to
get
correct
and
unbiased
identification,
Frye
noted.
You
can
do
this
by
getting
in
touch
with
the
land
grant
institution
in
your
state,
said
Frye.

You
can
find
this
by
searching
“land
grand
institute”
and
your
state
to
find
a
location
near
you.
You’ll
likely
be
able
to
send
them
pictures
of
the
pests
or
visit
them
in-person
with
samples.
They
can
help
you
determine
if
you’ve
got
a
problem
on
your
hands
or
a
one-off
bug.

“So,
that’s
definitely
something
to
be
aware
of
—
not
every
cockroach
is
one
that’s
going
to
infest
your
home,”
Frye
said.

Ashbrook
added
that
“there
are
a
lot
of
cockroaches
as
well
that
aren’t
as
pestiferous
as
the
American
cockroach
or
the
German
cockroach.”

“A
lot
of
them
are
just
out
in
the
environment,
consuming
decaying
matter,
and
they
don’t
want
anything
to
do
with
us,”
Ashbrook
noted.
“However,
those
pest
are
of
concern,
and
we
should
be
aware
of
them
and
manage
them
when
possible.”

The
original
version
of
this
story
was
published
on
HuffPost
at
an
earlier
date.