Despite these rationalizations, most people still find roaches to be vile, disgusting creatures. Their prehistoric appearance triggers a visceral reaction similar to the gag reflex in many, many people-this writer included. For us, living in harmony with cockroaches means never having to see them.

Cockroach lineage goes back 350 million years. Presumably, they didn't always live in our kitchens and bathrooms. In fact, most of the 3,500 species of cockroaches still spend their times in dark, dank forests, scurrying under fallen leaves and eating away at the ample organic waste that forests provide.

Knowing a bit about the natural history of these insects can help in your battles against them. The experts recommend identifying which particular species of cockroach has invaded your home, as different bugs have different lifecycles, eating habits and are susceptible to different "anti-roach remedies." Luckily, only a few species of cockroaches have made their way indoors, so this identification is easier than it may seem.

The most common roach found infesting homes and apartments in the United States and Canada is the German cockroach. For the purposes of this article, we'll be dealing with them. These are the nasty brown little critters, which usually grow to just over half an inch. But other types can also be found, including the large American cockroaches; the smaller, squatter brownbanded cockroaches; oriental, smokeybrown, and Asian cockroaches.

German cockroaches typically live for about 200 days. In its lifetime, a female of this species usually produces four egg cases, each resulting in 30 to 40 new cockroaches. In theory, one pregnant cockroach could lead to over 25,000 grandkids in less than a year.

The best way to keep your residence free of these little scoundrels is to start by keeping your home cleaner than your neighbor's. German cockroaches are notorious for being able to pick up and move at a moment's notice. If next door seems like greener pastures, from their roachy perspective, next door is where they'll go.

What exactly are cockroaches looking for in life? Food, water and shelter.

It's unfortunate, but roaches will eat just about anything. Starving them out is tough, as they have no problem eating wallpaper paste, book-binding glue, or even paper itself. Still, you can make your home less of a buffet than others'. Take your garbage out frequently. Use plastic containers or glass or stoneware jars to seal the food in your cupboards tightly. If you like to leave dirty dishes stacked up, make sure they're at least submerged under soapy water in the sink (and it's the soap that counts here!).

Wipe down your table, stovetop and counters soon after eating, and vacuum as often as possible. Ideally, your vacuum cleaner should have a filter on it so that dust and crumbs don't just get spread through the air. It should also have an attachment, so that you can vacuum in corners, down cracks in the couch, under the fridge, and so forth. You should also take a moist sponge with soapy water and wash along your baseboards every so often.

To keep cockroaches away from water, make sure to fix any leaks under your refrigerator, sink or heating/air-conditioning unit. Pipes should also be wrapped if they're collecting condensation. After showering, make sure the water drains properly and that you're not leaving any pools on the floor. Keep the kitchen sink either dry or soapy. And if you do have cockroaches, check the tank of your toilet to see if that's where they're making their home.

Roaches are "thigmotatic" creatures, meaning they like to have the top and bottom of their bodies touching surfaces at the same time. Thus they love small crevices and anything else that will keep them covered. Seal as many cracks and crevices around your home as possible. If that seems like a daunting job, start with where you see cockroaches the most often and work your way out from there. You should also clean up as much "clutter" around your home as possible. Roaches hate open spaces, but a stack of old newspapers is a perfect substitute for the leave piles they'd naturally be hiding out under in the forest.

Strategies like these should go a long way in reducing the number of cockroaches in your abode. Still, it's a myth to think that cleanliness alone will always get rid of cockroaches completely. You can only go so far with neatness when the critters you're trying to clean away can live off of wallpaper paste and toilet water. Your hope in tidiness is simply that the bugs will choose a dirtier place to live. If they're not willing to move peacefully, you may have to take more drastic measures.

Using bug bombs, sprays and other intensive pesticides is a very bad idea. As mentioned above, cockroaches aren't going to hurt you. Dangerous chemicals will. Any effective pesticide has to remain lethal for at least a couple of weeks, in order to kill off any cockroaches hatching from leftover eggs. Potent toxins simply aren't the type of things you want to be breathing in where you live.

A graduate student from the University of Western Ontario recommends a couple of no-impact home remedies for dealing with cockroaches. He advocates thoroughly mixing a small concoction of half oat flour (not oat meal) and half plaster of paris, placed in an out-of-the-way, dry corner close to where cockroaches have been sited. Another alternative is a dry mixture of half icing sugar and half baking soda. Apparently the roaches eat it, and it kills them.

If you're past experimenting with remedies like these, one tried-and-true chemical solution is boric acid. Boric acid has had negative effects on laboratory animals, but has a relatively low toxicity to humans and can be fairly well controlled, as it does not produce fumes. The chemical is most often sold as a powder, which acts as both a stomach poison if eaten, and contact poison if it adheres to cockroaches' bodies.

To be safe, use gloves, a dust mask and goggles when applying the powder. Lightly dust it into cracks and crevices in areas that cockroaches may frequent. Only use a little bit-so you can barely see it-as the bugs will simply go around any heavy piles. The object is to get the critters walking through the stuff, so spread it where the wall meets the floor in out-of-the-way places, like behind the refrigerator or toilet. Cockroaches naturally avoid open spaces anyhow, so the hidden corners are where you should focus your attention.

The boric acid will remain effective as long as it is dry. If it gets wet, carefully wipe it up, and apply a new dusting. It will take a couple of weeks for the chemical to work-but it does work, so stay at it. Please do not use boric acid in cabinets used for storing food or utensils, and take extra care to make sure it is not used anywhere that children or pets could reach it.

Other semi-safe methods of cockroach control include using silica gel or diatomaceous earth to fill voids between walls. One company has gone so far as to develop a fungus that kills the roaches over time. It is applied in a baited roach trap and then gets carried back to roach hide-outs, known as "harborages." According to the manufacturer, the fungus does not appear to infect mammals, fish or bees.

So there you have it. Many experts recommend monitoring your home's cockroach population, using store-bought or homemade traps (which usually consist of putting a slice of white bread or a banana peel inside a jar, and coating the top of the inside with petroleum jelly). Personally, I'm happier if I don't have to see the critters at all.

If I run into the pests very few and far between, that's good enough for me. Thankfully, as nocturnal creatures, cockroaches typically only come out at night when the lights are off, so I shouldn't have to run into them too often.

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