Roach.

Apr 08, 2013 15:02

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aerospiritual April 8 2013, 20:04:13 UTC
That's a brown-banded cockroach, supella longipalpa.

Like any cockroach, they're scavengers and feed off of decaying organic material and animal based products such as various types of glue. Unlike other cockroach species, they do prefer high starch foods and will feed on book bindings, wallpaper and the ilk. They're also known pests in hospitals and are notorious for feeding off of bodily fluids where they can transmit bacteria and protozoa and cause serious infections.

They're actually more of an apartment/house roach than most other species as they prefer dryer and warmer environments. And you should probably look into getting an exterminator or dealing with the problem yourself[and be sure to mention the specific species of cockroach, as the methods for dealing with them are different], since, as beneficial as cockroaches are in the wild, in a human environment, they can cause a lot of diseases such as gastroenteritis and asthma.

Hope that helps!

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nagarerutenshi April 8 2013, 20:30:22 UTC
It does help, thank you! I'll deal with that as soon as I can, I'm really scared now.
(I mean, even book bindings? That's just pure evil.)

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aerospiritual April 9 2013, 02:04:32 UTC
Yeah, they're evil little buggers[pun mildly intended]. They're also known to eat non-organic materials such as clothing, potentially because of the shed skin flakes clinging to the fabric.

But chances are, they're living around your fridge motor and other major appliances; these are really, really common living places for them. As are closets and behind picture frames- really anywhere that's dry and where they can hide from sunlight. We actually used to have an old TV with a radial dial, and one of these guys had taken up permanent residence in it- made for a bit of a novelty when you'd turn the TV on and you'd see the roach scurrying around the dial trying to get out.

And you're welcome! Best of luck towards getting rid of them.

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squid_ink April 8 2013, 22:16:00 UTC
wow I'm not an expert but ... I've lived in apartments and this critter is not your friend :(

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20thlvl_rogue April 9 2013, 00:45:02 UTC
No!

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iheartoothecae April 9 2013, 03:15:12 UTC
Those have always been one of my favorite roaches because they're so handsome. I had no idea they had such obnoxious personal habits!

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