You Would Not Believe Why Cockroaches Gravitate To Our Ears While We Sleep
You Would Not Believe Why Cockroaches Gravitate To Our Ears While We Sleep
For the longest time the possibility of having bugs crawl into our ears as we sleep has been dismissed as an old wives’ tale. If you happened to be one of those children that feared insects, then you were probably told at some point that bugs simply do not crawl into people’s ears while they are sleeping. It would be a great relief to learn that these scenarios never occur, but that is not the truth, as so many recent news stories have made clear. While it may be true that most insects and spiders almost never wind up deep within people’s ear canals, cockroaches are an exception. Unlike many other insects, cockroaches prefer to do their wandering at night when you are sound asleep. Cockroaches are not shy about crawling on our bodies as we sleep and there are a number of reasons as to why cockroaches may gravitate toward our ears as we lay motionless.
As we sleep at night, cockroaches come out of their hiding places. Cockroaches prefer to dwell within dark, warm, humid and small areas. Therefore, our ears make for an ideal destination for cockroaches seeking shelter. According to Coby Schal, an entomologist at North Carolina State University, cockroaches may crawl into our ears in order to secure temporary shelter. Cockroaches likely climb into people’s ears because they believe food can be found within them. The reason why cockroaches search for food within our ears has to do with the smell of human earwax. Cockroaches are attracted to fermented foods such as cheese, beer and bread. These food items release chemicals called volatile fatty acids, which attract cockroaches. Unfortunately, human earwax also emits these chemicals, which prompts roaches into searching our ears for food. Of course, cockroaches are not the only insects that invade our ears during sleep, but most cases involve roaches. A study in South Africa found that forty two percent of the insects found within people’s ears were roaches, while flies and beetles came in second and third place respectively.
Have you ever had an insect enter your ears, nose or mouth while you were awake?