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Even the most ardent animal lovers out there must find it hard to suppress a shudder when a cockroach scuttles past their feet, impossibly fast and wily for their size. These unsavoury pests are as much a part of summer in Spain as the chirp of the crickets, albeit a more unwelcome one, and their population is booming, particularly in cities and other built up areas.

 

Your natural reaction might be to stomp the life out of the creature when you spot one (if you are quick enough, that is), but the World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that this is the worst possible plan of attack and squashing cockroaches can actually lead to several health risk.

 

Despite the fact that cockroaches are one of the hardiest insects on the planet – some species can remain perfectly active for a month without food while others can go without air for 45 minutes – a hard stomp will certainly finish one off. Even so, the WHO explains that killing roaches this way spreads a series of bacteria dangerous to human health.

 

If these bacteria are inhaled, they can cause allergies and aggravate asthma. Not for nothing are they officially classified as “unhygienic scavengers”; cockroaches can cause staphylococci, streptococci, salmonella or other ailments such as diarrhoea, cholera and typhoid fever.

 

Although several over-the-counter bug sprays are available and can be quite effective, the WHO still recommends hiring pest control professionals if you want to rid your home permanently of cockroaches.

 

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