This is an African species of cockroach
only recently established in houses in Europe but will breed
on if the conditions are right.
The brownbanded cockroach is more gregarious and more likely
to be found in homes, hotels or apartments rather than commercial
stores, restaurants or kitchens. These insects feed on starch
materials (book sizing and wallpaper paste) and even non-food
materials such as nylon stockings. They prefer to hide in warm,
elevated areas near the ceiling, behind wall decorations, pictures,
loose wallpaper, in shower stalls, underneath chairs and tables,
in closets, beneath or inside upholstered furniture, and in
electrical appliances such as TV sets, stereos, radios and
toasters. They develop and live throughout the building (especially
bedrooms), making control difficult. Cockroaches can foul food,
damage wallpaper and books, eat glue from furniture and produce
an unpleasant odour. Some homeowners are allergic to roaches,
and the pests can contaminate food with certain bacterial diseases
that result in food poisoning, dysentery or diarrhoea. Cockroaches
can cause childhood asthma. This is one of the smaller cockroaches,
rarely being more than half an inch long.
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