As we all know, cockroaches are very nasty little critters that no one really wants to run loose in the home, especially not in the bed.
Although there are lots of things that can be done to keep them out of your bed, and even completely out of the living space, as people keep asking, will keeping lights on keep roaches away.
Summary
Cockroaches are nocturnal insects, which means that keeping lights on will keep roaches away from open places around your house. That doesn’t mean they have left your house, but rather, they are hiding in dark areas around the house.
Cockroaches are nocturnal insects and prefer to move in darkness and become more active when the lights are off. If you keep your lights on, they become less active to avoid being killed or seen.
Once the light goes off, they become free to hunt for food and move about. Nevertheless, some roaches can move with lights on, but they crawl at the edges of the wall. Carry on reading to learn why a light may deter cockroaches and for tips on how to keep them away at night.
How Does Cockroach Behave with Lights on?
For us to answer the question, “will keeping lights on keep roaches away,” we need to understand how they behave.
Roaches normally leave chemical trails in their feces and also emit airborne pheromones for swarming and mating. While many other cockroaches will follow these trails to find sources of food and water, and notice where other cockroaches are hiding.
According to research which shows that group-based decision-making is responsible for complex behavior such as resource allocation. The study shows that 50 cockroaches were put in a dish alongside three shelters with a capacity for 40 insects in each, and the insects arranged themselves in two shelters with 25 insects in each, while leaving the third shelter empty.
But when the capacity of the shelters was increased to above 50 insects per shelter, then all of the roaches arranged themselves in one shelter. This research found a balance between competition and cooperation existing in a group decision-making behavior found in roaches.
So will keeping lights on keep roaches away?
Indeed, roaches are nocturnal, meaning they prefer to be active in the dark. However, they also adapt to their surroundings with time, meaning it’s not uncommon to spot a roach during the day.
Roaches are definitely not attracted to light. Meaning they prefer the dark but over time they get used to their natural surroundings which explains why you will spot them during the day.
So if you really see a roach during the day it simply means that their previous food source is exhausted and this indicates that they are looking for a new home.
Sometimes cockroaches become active for around four hours after turning your lights off. This means that if you keep your lights on they will have no ‘light-off signal, which will make them random in their activity. This also means that they will turn up any time of the day or night to get their water, food, and breeding is done
Do cockroaches like light
Like most nocturnal insects and animals, cockroaches don’t like light because it exposes them to predators. Nevertheless, keeping light on in the house won’t drive cockroaches away, but rather, they will hide in a dark and convenient space till they sense that the light is gone.
So most cockroaches will hide behind dark corners, bags, cupboards, and wait till they perceive that the overall light around the area is gone, then they make their move to a place of supplies (food and water).
This is basically the sole reason why cockroaches are found behind cupboards and cabinets in the kitchen. For a list of popular places where you can find cockroaches in your house, please read this guide. In some cases, they might even be coming from your places in your bathroom – read this guide for more information.
Why do cockroaches hate lights?
This happens because it turns out that most of them are just averse to any bright fluorescents and glowing light bulbs because of how they live. This is because they’re nocturnal and prefer to live in darkness.
Apart from the above, do cockroaches crawl on you while you sleep? The answer is yes. Roaches can and will climb onto your bed. Also, roaches can and will crawl on you at night. However, not as a habit, but they are nocturnal insects and they will crawl up to bedposts, into your beds, and onto you.
Indeed, roaches fear the light alongside other things. We have seen many cartoons comically portraying cockroaches running from the light. However, some species do prefer to live in dark and quiet areas, while some cockroaches love the light as much as we do. Note that most times, roaches don’t run because they fear the light, but they do so because they fear you.
Conclusion
Note that cockroaches dislike light and will hide from it if they can. But keeping your lights on in your room won’t just prevent roaches from moving in if they find sources of food, moisture, and shelter.
However, remember that having lights on in your room at night will also disrupt your sleep, meaning that it’s best to use other methods like keeping your room clean, then seal all possible entrances, and set out traps or deterrents.
So if you wish to never see these unwanted roaches and other pests, you can use a pest repeller at the same time you set up the bait or traps.
Having a combination of these solutions will keep cockroaches away from your bedroom and house for good.
