A roach infestation can result in severe issues regarding your health. The spread of roaches depends upon their probability of laying eggs which raises a question: Do roaches lay eggs in mattresses?
Here in this piece of writing, you will get all you need. In this unit, I have stated the answer you are looking for and added some additional information.
So if you want to know about roaches and their infestation, stay with me till the end. Now, let’s begin without further delay, as there is much more to discover.
Do Roaches Lay Eggs in Mattresses?
The laying of eggs depends on specific conditions, which roaches need to develop eggs inside the ootheca. For example, roaches can quickly enter and reside there if your mattress cloth has some cuts. Moreover, the warm and closed environment in mattresses can help reproduction and increase its rate.
Cockroaches can lay eggs in your mattresses if you have a habit of eating on your bed and don’t clean the leftover food particles.
In addition, roaches prefer old mattresses to lay eggs on instead of the one in use because they don’t like disturbance and prefer laying eggs where there is silence.
Do Roaches Hide in Mattresses?
Roaches like places that are dark and have minimum light exposure; they hide in such places to avoid becoming victims of predators that use cockroaches as their food.
The preferable places for roaches are dark corners, basements, and bathroom holes. But this doesn’t mean that roaches can’t come near mattresses.
Laying eggs and coming near mattresses also depends on the number of roaches in your home. Roaches compete for their food, survival, and shelter.
Strong roaches don’t let other roaches get food and suitable shelter, so If there are a large number of roaches in your house, there is a possibility that some roaches can hide in your mattress.
In addition, food availability is another factor that promotes roach infestation in mattresses. For example, if you eat while sitting on the bed, food particles may fall on the mattress, causing roaches to come there.
Furthermore, roaches that don’t find anything to eat due to tough competition can use human hairs, skin, and nails as their food, saliva, and sweat as a source of moisture.
So, to cash this last opportunity of getting food and water, they can come near mattresses. So If you have a large cockroach infestation, I will advise you to deal with it.
Do Roaches Live in Mattresses?
As I have mentioned above, the main thing that invites roaches to come near mattresses is any particle of food or drop of drink containing sugar or fat.
Roaches can eat almost everything, and they highly prefer a diet containing sugar, fat, and starch, so if they find any of these nutrients on your mattress, they can be attracted.
Besides, to get into the mattress, cockroaches need to pull apart the mattress cloth, and unfortunately, roaches are equipped with tearing structures known as mandibles.
Roaches can cause small holes in mattress cloth by using small structures present in their mouth and enter your mattress quickly by squeezing themselves.
Moreover, roaches have the ability to create a hole in mattress cloth that is ¼ of their total length, and this makes their entrance easier.
Here I would also like to add some results of my experiment on roaches for your better understanding.
I experimented with roaches to find out the reasons behind their attraction to mattresses.
I concluded that roaches mostly feel comfortable in warm temperatures, especially during winter and the closed and tight environment of the mattress provides this suitable condition for them.
Can We Find Roaches Crawling on Our Mattresses?
Roaches are afraid of humans; yes, you have heard right. They are tiny in size and feel danger from anything that is comparatively bigger.
Our bed is the most frequently visited place. We use it for sitting, lying, and sleeping, so, therefore, roaches may find it unsafe to use a mattress as their permanent habitat.
But don’t need to relax if you have a severe roach infestation because the food particles on your mattress can still send an invitation to these irritating insects, and they can crawl on your mattress.
They will come crawling and pick the food particles they want and then return to their dark shelters.
If you observe this activity, maybe it’s time to call a pest controller.
Factors that Induce Roaches to Lay Eggs in Mattresses
As I have told you before, some specific conditions are required for the complete growth and development of eggs, so let’s know what these factors or conditions are.
- Roaches need warm temperatures so that their eggs can achieve maximum growth.
- Roaches prefer tight places so their eggs can remain intact in an ootheca.
- Roaches also require a dark place so that they can hide their eggs from predators that can eat their eggs.
- They prefer a mattress that comes in the slightest contact with humans because they are afraid of humans and don’t want them to discard their eggs.
- The old mattress having no use is at more risk of developing cockroach infestation as compared to one which is in use.
Things You Need to Check Before Buying a Mattress
As I have stated earlier that cockroaches can lay eggs on any mattress, especially one which is not in use by humans.
So if you are thinking of buying a new mattress and are also afraid of roach eggs, then I have listed some valuable tips for you so let’s find out.
- If you are buying a new mattress, make sure to do a visual inspection. Observe the mattress keenly to find out any cuts or holes in it.
- If you are buying a used mattress, consider placing it in strong sunlight. Doing so can kill cockroach eggs, if any because they cannot bear high temperatures.
- Use a vacuum cleaner all around your mattress to avoid cockroach infestation later. As the eggs are tiny and you cannot remove them by just detecting and throwing them.
- Wash it thoroughly and perfectly with warm water. This can also help to remove any hidden cockroach ootheca. Warm water can help you to kill roach eggs.
- Dry the mattress after washing to remove any water droplets which can serve as a source of water for cockroaches.
Why is it Advised Not to Crush the Roach Eggs Laid on the Mattress?
The egg bag of roaches is believed to carry some harmful microorganisms, so if you crush them by using your hands, you are likely to develop health problems.
Therefore consider removing eggs using a vacuum and washing them. Moreover, you can also take assistance from a professional person.
The benefit of hiring a professional for this purpose is the more effective removal of eggs from your mattress, as they have modern devices for the detection and removal of eggs.
Tips to Keep Roaches Away from Your Mattress
Roaches are a source of causing severe health problems and diseases such as diarrhea, typhoid, cholera, dysentery, and respiratory tract infections.
Several disease-causing bacteria and viruses can stick to the outer covering of roaches, and they can be easily transferred to the places and foods that humans eat.
If roaches are residing in your mattress, this means they can come out at night to contaminate your hair, nails, and even skin with disease-causing pathogens.
I am sure that you don’t want them to use your mattress as their shelter; therefore, I have listed some tips which you can follow to keep roaches away from your mattress or bed, so let’s find out.
1. Avoid Eating on the Mattress
Cockroaches are insects that can eat anything. No matter whether it is sugar, fat, starch, protein, carbs, nails, paints, or whatever. The primary purpose of their life is to find food and reproduce.
Good and healthy food, in turn, lead to perfect growth and practical breeding, so their goal is to increase their numbers.
When you eat on your bed, some food particles and drops fall on the mattress, and these tiny creatures can smell these particles with the help of small hairs present on their legs.
Once they find something to eat on your mattress, they will definitely come again with their other fellows. So, I advise you not to eat while sitting on your mattress; use a dining table for it.
2. Wear Clean Clothes Before Going to Bed
Cockroaches also need moisture for their survival and other body processes such as reproduction; they also need it to stay hydrated and active, just like humans.
Cockroaches that are already struggling to get food and water don’t even leave human sweat and saliva, and during the night, there is an opportunity for roaches to get food and water from these sources.
You have often observed that when you wake up from sleep, you are sweating. This is because our body temperature fluctuates during the night.
So if you wear the same sweaty clothes the next night, the odor of your sweat will attract cockroaches and they will crawl on you to feed themselves which sounds scary.
3. Use DIY Methods
You will be pleased to know that there are some odors that help keep roaches away from your mattress, bed, and even room. They are not expensive products but those you can find in your home.
Crushed coffee beans have a strong smell and hot water enhances its smell and makes it more substantial. Placing a bowl of crushed coffee beans can help you to keep roaches away.
Moreover, there are some oils available in the market containing substances that produce a strong smell which is horrible for roaches such as peppermint oil.
You can put these oils in a spray bottle and can spray it on the corners of your bed and other furniture in your room and home.
4. Don’t Let Your Bedsheet Touch the Floor
If you want to keep roaches away from your mattress or want them to leave it, you can follow this step to make the route harder for them. Cover up your bed sheet, and don’t let it touch the floor.
Fallen bed sheet corners can help roaches to climb and reach the mattress, so this step can help to block roach access to your mattress.
5. Using Boric Acid or Diatomaceous Earth
Boric acid and diatomaceous earth are two beneficial ingredients to kill cockroaches. Let’s first talk about the diatomaceous earth.
Diatomaceous earth is a white powdery substance that has the ability to kill roaches. All you have to do is just sprinkle it at the site of the cockroach infestation.
When roaches come in contact with this powdery substance, they experience severe dehydration and die after some time.
Now let’s see how we can use boric acid to kill roaches. You can use boric acid separately but I found the mixture of boric acid and sugar more effective in killing roaches.
Cockroaches are in love with sugar, so the sugar will serve as an invitation letter for roaches. When they come in contact with the mixture, boric acid absorbs into the roach body through their skin.
The absorption of boric acid ultimately results in the death of the roach by blocking the connection between the brain and nerves. It is a slow process, and the results come out in 5 to 6 days.
During these days, a roach that absorbs boric acid will also transfer it to other roaches that come in contact with it.
6. By Using a UV Light Source
Researchers have shown that some species of cockroaches are afraid of ultraviolet rays. Sun is the primary source of these rays, but it is not easy to carry a mattress and lay it in sunlight every day.
So I will advise you to buy a UV light source and place it at the site of cockroach infestation or near your bed to keep roaches away.
Moreover, Uv rays that form the sun provide incredibly high temperatures, which are unbearable for roach eggs, and they die inside the ootheca.
I have found that most German insects are afraid of UV light.
Length of Different Roaches
I have listed some roaches and their sizes, so this will help you to identify different roaches.
| No | Cockroach Specie | Length |
| 1 | German | ½ to ⅝ |
| 2 | Brown-banded | 0.9 |
| 3 | Oriental | 1.5 |
Final Lines:
The short answer to the question: Do roaches lay eggs in mattresses? Yes, they can lay eggs there due to the presence of suitable conditions.
Roaches can live and hide in mattresses due to the presence of food, so If you don’t want them to come near your mattress, follow the methods I have mentioned above.
I hope you have got all the answers related to this topic so Good luck!
FAQs
Will You Keep the Lights on and Stop Roaches?
You have often heard that roaches only come during the day. Yes, this is true because they don’t want to become food for predators, so they prefer darkness to hide.
Do Roaches Like Air Conditioning?
Actually, roaches need warm temperatures to grow and stay comfortable, along with a small amount of moisture to stay hydrated and active and carry out normal functioning.
The temperature of 77 F is critical, so if you don’t want roaches to reside in your air conditioner,
Consider setting the low temperature.
Do Roaches Go Away in Winter?
Roaches feel more comfortable in warm temperatures because warm temperatures help them to breed fast and effectively; therefore, they consider moving toward warm places during winter.
Also See: