Life span 1 to 1 1/2 years

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The American cockroach adult grows to an average length of around 1.6 in and about 0.28 in tall. They are reddish brown in colour and have a yellowish margin on the body behind the head. Adult American roaches can fly, immature cockroaches resemble adults the only difference is that they are wingless.​

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This insect often darts out of sight when someone enters a room, and can fit into small cracks and under doors despite its fairly large size and is considered one of the fastest moving insects, moving at 50 body lengths per second which is equivalent to a human running at 210 mph (According to an experiment carried out at the University of California, Berkeley in 1991).

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If the population of cockroaches are high in an area, there will be a strong concentration of an odorous secretion, this odorous secretion produced can alter the flavor of food.  Cockroaches can pick up disease-causing bacteria, such as Salmonella, on their legs and later deposit them on foods and can cause food infections or even poisoning. If there is a cockroach infestation house dust may containing cockroach fecal matter and body parts and can trigger allergic reactions and asthma in certain individuals.