Cockroaches are primarily nocturnal insects. They are attracted to dark and moist environments in which they choose to live. As such, they will always scatter and move towards dark corners when you turn on the light in the room.
They prefer these dark places even more if they can get nourishment and warmth quickly and easily to hide away from the light. Even natural light is not a friend of the cockroach, which is why you will rarely see them coming out during the day.
Do Cockroaches Like Light?
In general, cockroaches are active during the night, and when it is daytime, they will spend most of their time sleeping. These insects will run away, except for the Asian Cockroach, which is usually attracted to light when exposed to the light.
Other cockroach species are usually afraid of the light and will try to adapt their habits in such a manner as to avoid altogether being caught in the light. Both artificial and natural light is an enemy of cockroaches, and they will always stick to their warm dark corners when there is a light on.
Why Do Roaches Run From Light?
If you are having a problem with cockroaches in your home, you will notice that when you flip the light off and on again in your bathroom or kitchen, you will suddenly find many cockroaches crawling on the surface trying to scatter around. They come out in the dark searching for food and water, and will mostly try to run away when the light is turned on.
They immediately rush back to their hiding places to avoid human intervention. They are susceptible to the light and will always scuttle off immediately after a light has been turned on. Primarily, they will hide in the dark until the light has been turned off when they resume their nocturnal feeding habits.
Why Do Cockroaches Hide In Dark Places?
Cockroaches are a source of food for many predators, and for this reason, they are nocturnal creatures that only come out in the dark. They also tend to hide in dark places so that they are kept safe from predators and humans.
During the day, they will spend their time sleeping in the dark places and prepare to come out in the dark in search of food. If the cockroaches attempt to come out during the day, humans and many predators are usually active at this time. Thus, they will easily be fed on or killed while they are roaming in the daylight.
Cockroach predators that are also hunting during the day include spiders, beetles, mice, shrews, frogs, and other arachnids or insects. Lizards are also their predators, and geckos and chameleons will always try to feed on them wherever they can find them.
Can Roaches See In The Dark?
Cockroaches have a lot of light-sensing cells in their eyes. These cells pool a small number of light signals over time which enables them to see in near-darkness. Being able to see in the dark helps them find food when they come out from their hiding places during the night.
Scientific studies show that the photoreceptor in each eye cell only receives one photon every 10 seconds when the cockroach is in dark conditions, like on a moonless night.
Do Cockroaches Hate Red Light?
Of all the colors of lights out there, red light repels the highest number of cockroaches.
These pests are usually picky about the color of the light and are most sensitive to red light, which they will try to get away from it as fast as they can.
Cockroaches hate red light and will always move away when they are in its presence. In contrast, they are actually attracted to the yellow color and will gravitate towards the yellow light but always run away from the red light.
Will Keeping Lights On Keep Roaches Away?
Cockroaches avoid light solely for the reason that they are unable to hide or evade predators when they are in open sight. For this reason, they will not dare to venture out when the light has been turned on in your home. Thus, sleeping with the light on can keep cockroaches away from your bedroom. When you leave your lights on, the cockroaches will not even try to come out.
Predators are also attracted by the light and will begin to actively hunt down the cockroaches when it’s bright in the room. When you leave your light on, the cockroaches will be easy prey for the predators, and venturing out will be a very high risk for them.
Whenever there’s darkness and no activity in your home, such as when you’re sleeping, the cockroaches will always risk predators coming out and searching for food. As such, they will try to “study” the predator’s behavior and avoid coming out when spiders and other pests are actively moving in the light. The light reduces their activity level and prevents them from causing much damage to your home.
Once you see a cockroach, there is most likely a good population of them residing in your home. These creatures are resilient and are going to be very difficult, if not impossible, to get rid of with your simple diy methods.
Thus, an expert exterminator is your best chance to rid your home of roaches, ant infestations and other general pests. The cockroach control professionals knows exactly where to find them and has the equipment and techniques to eradicate them effectively.
So do not put up with the unwanted guests in your home. Contact Pest Patrol, San Diego pest control company today!