Cockroaches

 

There are two main types of cockroach found in the UK ; the Oriental cockroach and the German cockroach.

 

Cockroaches will feed on almost anything from food to faecal matter.  They are commonly found in kitchens and heating systems. They prefer warm moist conditions and they reproduce rapidly; a German cockroach can produce up to 240 eggs per month.

 

They can spread bacteria and usually indicate that food preperation areas are not clean.  Germs can be spread from the body of a cockroach or from their droppings.  They can carry dysentry, gastro-enteritis, typhoid and food poisioning organisms.  Contamination occurs when the cockroaches come into contact with foodstuffs.