Good News! Nature’s most unsettling house guest is getting stronger.
We’re getting deep into cockroach season here in Japan, where those nauseating little balls of disgust wake up and greet us in our homes with surprise visits. However, this year, there seems to have been an increase in people struggling more than usual to kill the beasts with sprays.
▼ “So, there was a freaking huge cockroach but I didn’t have a GokiJet. I spent three hours fighting it with other, weaker spray, but what do you think?”
https://twitter.com/am8_01/status/739885037567410177▼ “If you keep spraying until the cockroach stops moving, you’ll be the one dying from overkill.”
https://twitter.com/O9nishi21stst6/status/743733316419870720▼ “Cockroach VS Three Women: In the end Asuka killed it but it took an hour. It flew and we screamed. After flying, we kept spraying it until after it died. The spray made it jump and we thought it was alive and we screamed. We’re tired.”
https://twitter.com/asuka_0114/status/743401952646569986It was enough to cause NHK News Web to look into what was happening with Japan’s cockroaches. They first asked insecticide manufacturers who constantly investigate the effects of a variety of substances on pests in an effort to improve their products.
While everyone assured that their sprays are still effective, a disturbing trend has been seen with certain German cockroaches (Blattella germanica). In collected samples found around Tokyo it would seem these roaches have an increasing tolerance to the neurotoxin permethrin, which is the most widely used pesticide in the world.
Some German cockroaches were found to be up to 200 times stronger against permethrin than average ones. Since roach sprays are combinations of ingredients, they’ll still work but this might explain why some people have to continuously spray a roach before they die…aside from their own terror that is.
▼ Many online see this as the beginning of Terra Formars, a sci-fi series in which highly evolved roaches set out to slaughter humans on Mars.
And their tolerance is only going to better over time. As roach expert Hideaki Tsuji told NHK, the German cockroach’s fast generational turnover allows them to evolve quickly. Thanks to natural selection, stronger roaches will survive until conventional sprays become useless in the not too distant future.
Luckily, cockroaches so far haven’t been able to adapt to my own personal insecticide: a spare block of wood by my front door that I whack them with. But when they do, god help us all…
Source: NHK News Web via Hachima Kiko (Japanese)
Top Image: Amazon 1, 2
Video: YouTube/Epicblargman
Japan’s “strongest roach killer” is frighteningly effective… We mean FRIGHTENINGLY effective
Tokyo considering law requiring more trash cans following litter increase in heavily touristed area
Tokyo event lets you travel back in time, for free, to celebrate 100 years since Showa era start
Evangelion original anime studio Gainax is now completely dissolved, Eva’s creator mourns ruined friendships
What’s at the top of this giant escalator in Japan?
Japanese woman sues man for 1.5 million yen for violating her “right to chastity”
7-Eleven Japan has a hack for creating insanely delicious potato chip rice meals
This hot springs town in Japan sets fire across a mountain every winter in a beautiful tradition
U.S.A. now the fastest-growing market for Japan’s high-tech toilets, now selling quicker than ever
Japan’s first hotel with a human washing machine is now ready for you to come and bathe in it
Do you remember giant robots? Full-scale Macross Valkyrie lands in Yokohama
Stamina-destroying “Paralysis Noodles” are Tokyo’s newest over-the-top ramen innovation
China’s don’t-go-to-Japan warning seems to be affecting Osaka’s Namba and Dotonbori neighborhoods
Nintendo’s Kirby now delivering orders at Kura Sushi restaurants, but not in Japan
Sanrio theme park in Japan announces plans to expand into a Sanrio resort
Japan’s EF English Proficiency Index rank drops for 11th straight year, hits lowest ever
Uniqlo Ukiyo-e Blue T-shirts: A cool-hued reinterpretation of some of Japan’s greatest paintings
Chinese government’s don’t-go-to-Japan warning has heartwarming non-effect on Yokohama Chinatown
KFC Japan opens a Christmas restaurant in Tokyo…but why???
Japan considering raising international traveler departure tax even more than previously reported
Studio Ghibli adds new Kiki’s Delivery Service music box to its anime merchandise shop in Japan
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
Starbucks Japan unveils new Christmas goods and a rhinestone tumbler that costs 19,500 yen
Real-world Nausicaa Ghibli anime glider completes its final flight in Japan【Video】
Japanese train company is letting fans buy its actual ticket gates for their homes
Is China’s don’t-go-to-Japan warning affecting tourist crowds in Tokyo’s Asakusa neighborhood?
The 10 best day trips from downtown Tokyo【Survey】
Japanese government considering tripling departure taxes to combat overtourism
A guide to visiting Sagamiko Illumination, one of the three biggest light-ups in Kanto
Starbucks Japan unveils the new Soupuccino
Survey asks foreign tourists what bothered them in Japan, more than half gave same answer
Japan’s deadliest food claims more victims, but why do people keep eating it for New Year’s?
We deeply regret going into this tunnel on our walk in the mountains of Japan
Studio Ghibli releases Kodama forest spirits from Princess Mononoke to light up your home
Major Japanese hotel chain says reservations via overseas booking sites may not be valid
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】
The top 10 annoying foreign tourist behaviors on trains, as chosen by Japanese people【Survey】
No more using real katana for tourism activities, Japan’s National Police Agency says
Starbucks Japan reveals new sakura drinkware collection, inspired by evening cherry blossoms
Leave a Reply