Why are cockroaches so yucky?

Cockroaches evolved in hot, humid conditions, but they can survive almost anywhere.

And they're really tough.

They survived the asteroi that killed off the dinosaurs.

They can live for two weeks without their heads.

They can eat almost anything without getting sick.

And they can live through radiation that would kill off a human.

It sounds pretty cool to me.

I'm at the American Museum of Natural History with entomologist and curator Jessica Ware.

Hi Jessica!

So why do people sometimes find cockroaches so yucky?

I think people have been given some kind of bad information about cockroaches.

Only 2% of cockroaches are pests, but those 2% tend to dwell in sewers or crawl in and out of things that are filthy and they can be coated in bacteria.

So as a result, they can make you sick.

But we're talking about over 7000 species of other cockroaches that don't really affect humans.

And they're very, very cool.

Okay.

Well, tell me how.

Because I'm not liking the idea of bringing bacteria and allergens into my house.

So what is cool about them?

So the majority of cockroaches don't actually go in sewers.

They don't actually go in your home.

They're living ou in the forest or in the woods.

They're ecosystem engineers and they basically have shaped the way our entire planet looks.

They can digest cellulose, which is a molecule very few animals can digest, so they can break down trees they can break down plant material.

They can help with soil aeration and decomposition.

So we actually kind of are able to function on this planet, thanks in large part to termites and cockroaches.

So with more than 7000 different species of cockroaches and only a very, very few of them that cause any problems for humans.

It's okay if you still find them a little bit yucky, but I hope you'll spare a good thought for these amazing creatures.

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