Overview of the public health implications of cockroaches and their management

Abstract

There are approximately 4,000 species of cockroaches worldwide and 428 species in Australia. The majority of these species are not pests but live in the wild, feeding on decaying vegetation or other organic matter, and they are important in recycling this material. A number of cockroaches have become pests and live in or around homes where they are omnivorous scavengers. The 2 most significant pest cockroaches worldwide are the German cockroach Blattella germanica (Linnaeus) and the American cockroach Periplaneta americana (Linnaeus).