When you see a dark and fast creature crawling across your floor, your first reaction is “Cockroach”.
Not all bugs that look like cockroaches are truly roaches, though. So, before you start to panic and dash to hire a roach exterminator, find out how many insects have similar traits.
Although roaches are definitely nasty, there are other bugs that could look equally disturbing but do not always need the same quick response.
Here’s a list of eight bugs that resemble cockroaches but aren’t if you’re not ready to release the heavy pest-control artillery just yet.
Palmetto Bug
Though it’s essentially a type of American cockroach, its prevalent location, especially in the southeast of the country, makes it often referred to separately.
Palmetto bugs, however, are not necessarily cockroaches. Several other big beetles also go under the moniker “palmetto bug,” which can cause erroneous identification.
Usually bigger than other forms of cockroaches, they are drawn to warm, humid environments. The crucial distinction is that they do not infest dwellings the way German cockroaches do.
Although they can stray inside, they would much rather live outside. Therefore, even if you find what appears to be a big cockroach on your patio, it could be a benign beetle, but it’s always best to double-check.
Crickets
Though they don’t seem like clear roach look-alikes, they can be confused with their less-preferred cousins in weak light or when they are moving swiftly.
Usually brown or black in colour, crickets have long antennae and big hind legs that give them a rather roach-like look, particularly when they dart across the floor.
One way to tell crickets from cockroaches is that they are more likely to chirp and jump than to crawl or fly. You often hear them chirping at night since they are more interested in finding a mate than in gathering food from your kitchen.
Water Bugs
Although cockroaches are sometimes used synonymously with the label “water bug,” not all are roaches. Usually growing up to four inches long, true water bugs are aquatic insects and are far bigger than cockroaches.
Furthermore, they are more likely to be discovered close to streams, ponds, or other water sources than in your home.
Predatory by nature, water bugs eat other insects and small fish. Unlike cockroaches, which seek warm, dark areas inside homes, actual water bugs are happy to remain in their native habitat.
However, given their similar form and dark brown or black hue, people sometimes mistake them for cockroaches.
June Bugs
Another insect sometimes confused with cockroaches is the June beetle. Summer brings most activity for these insects, particularly around nighttime outdoor lighting.
As they flutter wildly about your porch light, they resemble cockroaches with their brown, oval-shaped, and somewhat frightening look.
June bugs and cockroaches differ mostly in behaviour. Humans are not harmed by June bugs, which also do not invade houses.
They merely find light appealing and can unintentionally fly inside. They are not scavengers, though, and pose fewer health dangers than cockroaches.
Ground Beetles
Common outdoor insects. They first look to be easily confused for cockroaches. Usually dark brown or black, its shiny, strong exoskeleton matches.
Like cockroaches, ground beetles are rapid movers, which makes them even more difficult to identify when they dash across your path.
Since ground beetles eat garden pests like aphids and caterpillars, they are fortunately benign and helpful in many circumstances. Should one find its way inside your house, it most likely does so by accident and won’t linger to generate problems as cockroaches usually do.
Ground beetles don’t exactly enjoy living rooms and basements.
Wood Borers
They are another category of insects sometimes mistaken for cockroaches, called wood-boring beetles. Their cylindrical, elongated bodies allow them to be somewhat comparable in size to tiny roaches.
Usually found in wooden buildings, such as furniture or home beams, wood borers could make you believe they are cockroaches if you see them crawling about indoors.
Their habits differ, though. They eat wood, not food scraps or trash like cockroaches. Small sawdust mounds around wooden furniture or buildings are more likely a wood borer infestation than a cockroach problem.
Asian Longhorned Beetle
Another roach-like Asian longhorned beetle is based mostly on size and form. Particularly from a distance, these black, white-spotted beetles can be easily confused for cockroaches since they can get really big. Their lengthy antennae further muddle things.
Though they look like roaches, Asian long-horned beetles are more of a tree pest than a home invader. Although they directly pose no threat to your house or health, they drill into trees, seriously damaging hardwood trees and forests.
Termites
This last one can surprise you, but especially in their swarming state, termites can occasionally be mistaken for cockroaches. Little wing-bearing insects, termites swarm like smaller cockroaches with wings.
If you are not familiar with either termites or cockroaches, it is easy to confuse one for the other given their similar body forms.
Termites are more destructive to wood buildings than cockroaches. That’s why they are usually located near areas of wood. On the other hand, cockroaches can be found almost everywhere where food and water are available.
Check to see if you think you are seeing flying cockroaches around wood buildings. You could be infested with termites instead.
Why It’s Important to Know the Difference
One sight of an insect like a cockroach can have you running to the phone to call in the exterminator.
Being informed about the differences between cockroaches and look-alikes will, however, spare you quite a bit of unnecessary worry. While most of these insects are harmless and do not bite, cockroaches are notorious carriers of pathogens, allergens, and diseases.
It’s always better to be safe than sorry, though. Deciding whether the bug you are seeing is a cockroach or a harmless look-alike probably needs a visit from a trained pest control firm.
A qualified roach exterminator will help you find the pest and offer the best line of action to keep your house free from them.
Conclusion
Not all bugs that look like cockroaches are as dangerous as the real kind. You should still take care when you find one, though.
However, knowing the type of pest you are dealing with will help you decide how to respond.
Remember, it’s better to call in a roach exterminator to investigate more when in doubt. Maintaining a pest-free house is worth a small extra effort at the end of the day.
