Can Cockroaches Survive Being Flushed Down The Toilet? Many people have wondered this, but, sadly, few people know the answer. If you or someone you know has ever flushed a cockroach down the toilet and is wondering what happened to the poor little bug, then this is the article for you. Flushing a live cockroach down the toilet may seem satisfying. I mean, they are one of the most hated organisms on Earth. They crawl around in our homes and get into our refrigerators and feast on our food. Flushing them down the toilet would seem like sweet revenge. But can cockroaches survive being flushed down the toilet? The quick answer is no, a flushed cockroach will most likely die. But that is not a definitive answer. Cockroaches are among the most successful animals on Earth. They have survived for more than 300 million years. Cockroaches are immune to almost all kinds of poisons. The only way to kill cockroaches is to put them in a sealed room and pump toxic gas into it. So you can imagine that many people ask: “Can cockroaches survive being flushed down the toilet?” The answer is a resounding yes. When you flush a cockroach down the toilet, who wins? Cockroaches live to survive, which is why they don’t give up easily. This article will examine two scenarios and the roach’s chances of survival in each. Cockroaches might seem very resilient, but while they can be rough and tough, they can’t survive the same treatment we treat our toilets with. Each day people flush down cosmetics, hair, cigarettes and more. While these are all products which should never be flushed down the toilet, a cockroach certainly does not belong in that category.

Can Cockroaches Survive Being Flushed Down The Toilet

Flushing is known to work

You might be wondering if flushing is an effective way to get rid of cockroaches. The answer is: it can work—but only under some conditions.

First, there’s the question of whether roaches can survive a flush at all. In short: yes, they can. While most species of cockroach tend to avoid water whenever possible, and will drown if submerged for too long, many people have confirmed that smaller roaches have indeed survived being flushed down the toilet.1 However, this requires the flush to be successful—if the water pressure in your pipes isn’t strong enough for a full flush, or if you don’t keep your toilet clean so it gets clogged more easily, then these roaches may crawl back out before you’ve sealed their fate. In addition, even when a flush does succeed in removing roaches from your home entirely, there are still potential downsides to this method.2 For example:

• Flushing your toilet sends its contents into a massive sewage system with thousands of other toilets and pipes leading into it. While it might not seem like such a big deal if one small roach fell into that vast network… well… consider how many other small living things could be ending up there as well (not just bugs). If one single bug can find its way back into your home through a pipe after being flushed down the toilet—as often happens3 —how much more likely would it be for multiple insects (or worse!) to do so?
• It’s possible that not all people in your house actually want cockroaches gone from their homes; some may prefer to keep them around as pets. This could lead to resentment among family members who get blamed for flushing away said pets without consulting others first!

Roaches can hold their breath for up to 40 minutes

While roaches can’t actually breathe underwater, they have been known to hold their breath for up to 40 minutes at a time. This is great news for roaches that get caught in the rain, but not so great if you try to flush one down your toilet. If a roach gets flushed down the toilet, it will be able to hold its breath long enough to survive and make its way through the plumbing system. In fact, it’ll probably be able to hold its breath for about 45 minutes without taking a breath of air—and it can stay underwater for 15 minutes! The bad news is that once the water washes away the bug-repellent soap in your pipes (which takes around half an hour), it’s very possible that your little hitchhiker could climb out of your pipes and onto land again (ew).

Springtails are more likely to survive a flush

If you spot a small, gray-brown insect in your home, it’s more likely to be a springtail than a cockroach. Springtails can survive for several days underwater, travel through sewage systems and jump 30 times their body length. Their bodies are also covered by an exoskeleton that’s waterproof and keeps them from drying out.

You should know that if you see a springtail in your home, it’s probably harmless. Springtails don’t bite or spread disease, and they’re not poisonous. They live outside in the soil, so they only accidentally get into homes when they hitchhike on firewood or potted plants brought indoors. They can’t get through the plumbing system unless there’s a crack in the pipes. If you have springtails in your home, try removing dead leaves or other decaying organic matter to deprive them of food and water sources.

You might want to stop reading now if you don’t want cockroaches in your house

Before we get into the details of whether or not cockroaches can survive being flushed down a toilet, you should know that they can survive just about any other kind of abuse. They have lived through nuclear explosions, have been frozen to death in Antarctica and scorched in Death Valley. They can also live without their heads for up to a month. So, when it comes to the risk posed from flushing them down your toilet, it might be best if you don’t think about it at all—they’re probably okay anyways.

But here’s the thing: flushing means sending water down your pipes. While you might think that a cockroach is unlikely to hold its breath for long enough to make it through this trip unscathed, there are some things that could go wrong with this process.

A cockroach’s mouth can close over its head.

A cockroach’s head is covered in natural wax, keeping the water out and allowing them to breathe through the spiracles on the body. This allows cockroaches to survive underwater for up to 40 minutes, which is a very long time when you consider how quickly they can outrun you.

Because a roach’s mouth can extend outward far enough to shut over its head, it doesn’t need any special training or equipment to avoid drowning, although it does take some practice for a young roach who may not know how far back their mouth extends. It’s like one of those pop-up straws we all used as kids that took some getting used to before we could drink without spilling.

Maybe it isn’t the best idea to flush them

The answer is no. They won’t go down the toilet and die, but they’ll survive the flush and appear later on in the bathroom. If you absolutely must be rid of a cockroach, try to use spray poison instead. Alternatively, you can attempt to catch it using a glass or cup, then release it outdoors. Yet another method is to find a cockroach nest and kill all of its inhabitants.