They have a wide range of food sources including sugars, starches, dead animals, glue, paper, and plants. Roaches are difficult to detect due to their nocturnal behavior and lack of visible waste. They tend to inhabit cracks and crevices found in kitchens, bathrooms, basements, and plumbing areas. These creatures are considered pests due to their ability to spread disease such as salmonella and dysentery. They walk over and excrete on kitchen counters and other surfaces used in preparing food.
Initial prevention is to eliminate food sources, seal harborage areas, and prevent plumbing leaks.
It is often difficult to seal every crack and prevent any water source from occurring, so cockroaches continue to prevail in even the cleanest of kitchens. Due to this, pesticides are the current form of population control. Pesticides are hazardous not only to humans, but non-target organisms as well. Some pesticides can cause cancers, reproductive problems, genetic damage, neuropathy, and a host of other complications. Pesticides can be absorbed through the skin, swallowed, or inhaled both during and following application.