Killing cockroaches threatens our survival

25 June, 2012

Think twice before you squash a cockroach to death as an Indian-origin scientist has said that cockroaches are a vital part of our ecosystem. Should you go ahead with the kill, nitrogen cycle would be disturbed, the scientist has warned.

JUST TWO days before, I was woken up by a piercing scream at 4 o' clock in the night and saw my roommate prancing around our room, almost crying and shivering and a cockroach looking up at her with surprise. Disgusted and angered at the infiltrating cockroach, we used an anti-cockroach spray to get rid of them but after going through a latest study saying that cockroaches are essential for Earth's ecosystem, I would think twice before squashing another antennae bearer, doesn't matter whether or not it displeases my roommate.

According to the Times of India, Professor and chair of the biology department at the University of Texas at Tyler, Srini Kambhampati talked about the importance of cockroaches for the balance in the Earth's ecosystem. As per the Indian-origin scientist, all the 5,000- 10,000 cockroaches species should not be wished to be dead as they are a part of the food chain.

According to his study, "Most cockroaches feed on decaying organic matter, which traps a lot of nitrogen. Cockroach feeding has the effect of releasing that nitrogen (in their feces) which then gets into the soil and is used by plants.” This proved that extinction of cockroaches would actually have a larger impact on our gardens and forests and indirectly on the lives of other insects, as all form an important part of the food chain.

Cockroaches, feed on decaying organic matter, rats, mouse, and lizards as well as other species of mammals and birds feed on them. They are in turn eaten by bigger predators such as cats, reptiles and eagles. Thus if cockroaches are removed from the face of earth then although the other animals won't be extinct, as they have other food than cockroaches, but their number would certainly decline. The Parasitic wasps, however would come to an end as they rely on parasitising cockroach eggs and hence on cockroaches. The nitrogen cycle would also be disturbed, cautioned Professor Kambhampati. Thus, the next time, before going after an insect with your broom, think how it affects our ecosystem as every species counts.