What's older than your grandfather and most likely to be here long after you've gone? The answer: the lowly cockroach.
Believe it or not, cockroaches have been around for 400 million years and they're a lot more productive than humans. There are 57 known species in the United States alone.
But you don't have to go there to meet one. The most common type Blatella germanica can be found in almost any kitchen or bathroom.
You'll seldom find roaches in the day; most species are nocturnal. However, you can be sure your home is infested if you find what looks like little grains of pepper or oval, brown egg cases.
The former are the roach's feces while the egg cases are carried by the female under her body until the eggs are ready to hatch. Although the female cockroach lays only one or two eggs in its entire lifetime, each egg contains about 40 eggs.
The nymph or young roach becomes an adult in two or three months. Roaches normally live for nine to 10 months but some species can survive up to three years depending on the environment and food supply.
"Cockroaches thrive on warmth and dampness and show a distinct dislike for lighted rooms. These insects can feed on anything, including paper, leather fabrics, and foodstuff. They cannot withstand long periods of starvation and usually die within two to four weeks under such circumstances," according to the editors of "Health Alert", a publication of the Health Action Information Network (HAIN).
Like flies, roaches can transmit serious diseases like typhoid fever and cholera. The germs responsible for these diseases are picked up by roaches from filth and carried to the food you eat.
Roaches also transmit dysentery, the inflammation of the mucous membrane of the large intestine caused by bacterial or viral infection. This disease is characterized by abdominal pain, cramps, diarrhea, and bloody stool, mucus or pus in the stools. If the patient doesn't get help immediately, he or she may die from dehydration or other complications.
"The cockroach is a very significant threat to public health as it is a mechanical carrier of germs and diseases. It may also pass on parasitic worms, the viruses of poliomyelitis, and other microorganisms such as those carrying hepatitis A and leprosy," warned the editors of "Health Alert."