Cockroaches prefer to live close to a reliable water source, such as faucets in a kitchen or bathroom. They are attracted to water and look for moist, humid and dark spaces. In a house or apartment, you can find a cockroach in: furniture, cupboards, drains, appliances, boxes, books, ceilings, cellars and cracks in walls. Since cockroaches are nocturnal, they try to hide during the day. Once sources of light disappear, they come out of their hiding places. Outside of the house, they can live in: tree trunks, shrubbery, sewers, drain pipes and garbage cans. Unlike many other types of insects, cockroaches don't build nests. They simply find a dark and humid place and live there with their families.