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Cockroaches are stepping up their defenses against the poisons designed to kill them.
A new study has found that German cockroaches, the most common species of the insect in the world, are developing cross-resistance to numerous insecticides.
Not only were researchers in some cases unable to reduce cockroach numbers during a six-month study period, even when combining different insecticides, but they found the insects’ resistance increased up to six-fold within one generation.
‘This is a previously unrealized challenge in cockroaches,’ said Purdue University professor Michael Scharf.
‘Cockroaches developing resistance to multiple classes of insecticides at once will make controlling these pests almost impossible with chemicals alone.’
The study published in the journal Scientific Reports focused on the species Blattella germanica L, which can be found all around the world.
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