Cockroaches can eat almost anything, but they are especially partial to starchy foods and meat products. They feed on such diverse items as cereals, pastries, chocolate, milk products, beverages, cooked potatoes, glue, book bindings, wall paper, animal food, fresh or dried blood, excrement, dead animals and leather products. Damage Disease Transmission. Cockroaches can carry organisms that cause human diseases, including food poisoning, dysentery and diarrhea. However, roaches have not been associated with serious disease outbreaks in the United States.
Most cockroaches produce a secretion or chemical that has a repulsive odor.
This characteristic odor can be detected in infested areas. Roaches can cause allergic reactions in some people. The sight of cockroaches can cause considerable psychological or emotional distress in some individuals. Cockroaches usually do not bite, but their heavy leg spines may scratch. There are 55 species of cockroaches in the United States, but only five of these are troublesome in Nebraska.