Cockroaches become almost impossible to kill, say scientists

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) – The next time you try to crush a badroach or spray it to death with a repellent, you may have to try a little harder than that!

According to a new study published in the journal Scientific Reports, badroaches are becoming increasingly difficult and developing cross-resistance to a number of insecticides.

The study revealed that German badroaches, which are the most widespread insect species in the world, strengthen their defenses against poisons designed to kill them.

The researchers tested different insecticides belonging to different clbades in Indiana and Illinois for six months, mixing them to make sure they eliminate insects that have developed resistance to one.

Scientists have apparently managed to move badroach populations away with rotational insecticides, but have not been able to reduce their numbers.

Super-immune insects can then transmit their resistance to their offspring, leaving only a matter of time before a given population becomes, for the most part, resistant to insecticides.

"It's a challenge that badroaches have not realized yet," says Michael Scharf of Purdue University, who led the study. "Cockroaches developing resistance to multiple clbades of insecticides at the same time will make controlling these pests almost impossible with chemicals alone."

Scharf says that resistance within the same generation of badroaches is sometimes multiplied by four or six.

Combine that with the fact that only one female badroach can produce 200 to 300 children in her short life and, well, you're looking at some damn mathematics.

The Scharf team concluded that the problem was worse in low-income areas and other places where it was not possible to effectively control pests.

According to Dr. Scharf, the way to combat this is to diversify the methods of treating parasites. This could include physical methods such as traps and vacuums, as well as preventive measures such as remediation.

After all, roaches were on this earth millions of years before us. As they evolve, so must we; or they will be there millions of years after our departure.

CNN contributed to this report.