Do Roaches Sleep? | Why Are They Active At Night?

When roaches invade your home, you might feel like you and these creeping insects are stuck forever.

This thought particularly passes your mind when your path crosses with them.

Cockroaches are usually caught late at night, scurrying away quietly, especially when you are trying to get a midnight snack from your fridge.

However, this does make one question whether roaches sleep at all or do they spend their entire lives crawling around your house in the dark?

If you have ever wondered the same then keep reading to finally get your answers.

Do Roaches Sleep?

There can be many questions that cross our mind like do roaches sleep on their backs or do they sleep during the day?

Also, when exactly do cockroaches sleep and why are they active at night?

The answers to these questions might leave you surprised – that roaches actually, as humans, also follow a circadian rhythm.

Understanding the Circadian Rhythm

The word “circadian” has its root from Latin words – circa Diem – meaning “about a day.”

Circadian rhythms provide more information about the active cycles, which is about 24 hours in length and how it modifies the behavioral patterns of various living organisms.

Nearly all organisms that exist have their rhythm following a circadian rhythm.

Can Cockroaches Sleep?

A little research has been conducted to understand roaches’ own activity cycles and how this creeping little insect sleep.

The research made many loose observations to the time in which roaches go in for a rest and why they need to sleep.

The conducted studies predicted that cockroaches like other organisms also follow a specific rhythm similar to the circadian rhythm.

This rhythm seems to include the resting period.

If you want a simple answer whether roaches sleep, then the answer is yes, roaches also sleep like other living organisms, if we have to define them in that manner.

Roaches adapt circadian rhythms; they are often quiet and hide away from the world during the day and pop out when it is getting dark to seek food, water, and mate during these dark times.

Generally speaking, typical species of roaches often found creeping in your homes are always awake and active about four hours after the light goes out.

Therefore, they are usually the first thing that sends frenzy down upon your return from a late-night movie or trying to get a snack in the middle of the night.

They stay hidden until the time is perfect i.e. when all lights are shut off, and you decide to go to bed.

All roaches have is about four hours to look for all they need – water, food, and mating – which is usually more than enough for them without a little running into you.

If you are experiencing a significant cockroach infestation, the large population may all come out at once to attend to their critical business.

So, if the infestation is high, you need to get rid of roaches even when they’re babies.

Exterminating Roaches with Pest Control

Now that you know why roaches are active during the night, you need to take adequate precautions to keep them away and prevent them from entering into your house.

In case you do spot a couple of roaches in your house, you can adopt various methods to eliminate them; however, if you happen to face a serious cockroach infestation, then its better to hire a licensed exterminator to deal with this problem more efficiently and thoroughly.

To know more about the qualified exterminators in your area, fill the below-mentioned form to get free multiple quotes from the professional Pest Control Companies in your vicinity so that you can decide which one to hire for your infestation problem.

Final Words

In a nutshell, cockroaches are nocturnal insects that also follow the circadian rhythm.

They are quite similar to other insects, which remain hidden and inactive during the day and wait patiently to get started at night when all lights are shut off for bedtime.

They only get approx. four hours to be active- searching your whole house for leftovers in the dishes, sludge, garbage, etc. before running into holes to hide leaving you creeped out and wondering about their sleep period.

But after their activity of four hours, they do enter a stage of immobility and resting which is what we humans call ‘sleeping’.