Middle East Cockroaches Invade U.S. During the Iraq War

October 08, 2008

As the War in Iraq continues, a much quieter invasion has been taking place on U.S. soil.

American military personnel have unknowingly been bringing back Middle Eastern cockroaches in their belongings and equipment. One such globe-trotting insect, the Turkestan cockroach, is now settled in the southwestern part of the U.S., according to Phil Koehler and Roberto Pereira, both researchers with the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.

This hearty roach isn't picky about its digs. Your sewer, water meter box, potted plants and compost piles will do nicely. Under the kitchen sink may feel like paradise to this war survivor.

But, as infomercial salesmen like to say, that's not all.

You also may get to enjoy the company of the Madagascar hissing roach, the lobster roach and the orange spotted roach, especially if you live in Florida.

Here, Koehler and Pereira watch as a bearded drgaon lizard peers into a jar filled with Madagascar hissing cockroaches at UF's main campus in Gainesville. The entomologists recently warned Floridians and pest control experts about the possibility of exotic roach infestations.
(AP photo/University of Florida/IFAS/Thomas Wright)



“We have 69 species of cockroaches in the United States and 29 of them were brought in from other countries,” said Koehler, an entomology professor. “And now we have these new species being shipped into the state.”

Pointing at a hefty, 3-inch-long Madagascar hissing roach, he noted wryly: “People just won’t like having that around their house.”

The military isn't solely to blame. Exotic pet traders import such bug novelties. If a cockroach or two escape, they quickly multiply and make themselves at home.

We can also blame the falling U.S. dollar.

James Tuttle, a longtime reptile enthusiast who now runs a roach-supply company called blaberus.com that ships insects all across the country, said roaches as reptile food “is probably the most popular thing going these days.”

Crickets, which used to be a more popular reptile food source, are noisy with all their chirping, smell bad when they die and don’t reproduce quickly the way roaches do once a farm is up and running. And they cost more.

“It’s the economy,” he said. “You can spend $50 a month buying crickets, so that’s $600 a year, or you could spend $50 (on roaches) and in six months, never have to buy food again.”

The roaches that don't wind up as reptile chow must be celebrating their unexpected good fortune. Irritated homeowners may not be so eager to sing along with the below.

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