If you ask more than 90 per cent of the world’s population which creature in the animal kingdom they hate or dislike most, the first on the list will always be the cockroach, followed in a chronological order by spiders, mosquitoes, flies, rats and mice respectively.

There are many reasons why we have built such a strong hate relationship with these insects. The obvious ones are that: a) they are able to thrive in every nook and cranny of our homes; b) they are incredibly strong and not easy to eradicate; c) they are seen as being filthy creatures since they live in damp or dirty habitats, and d) they carry diseases.

Consequently, it seems we cannot stop talking about them and exaggerating stories about them, which increases their reputation as being monstrous creatures with villainous and evil agendas.

A white roach seems to be the cherry of the cake among folk tales. The most popular one locally is that upon seeing a white roach, a colony of normal roaches will be guided by the white roach either to infest a house or to leave it.

The second most popular tale is that a white roach is rarely seen because it is the queen of roaches and lives in a colony underground.

The third says that a human soul from the afterlife wants revenge on a person or someone has cursed the person in question and the white roach is the soul that will lead an infestation of cockroaches into the premises of the targeted person. The latter is my favorite of all folk tales because many people actually believe it.

A few persistent individuals phone me regularly to claim that they found a new species or an albino of the common roach. The truth is that, contrary to popular belief, there are no white or albino cockroaches.

Contrary to popular belief, there are no white or albino cockroaches

The white colour is actually caused by the splitting and shedding of the cockroach’s cuticle, its exterior casing. The cockroach sheds this cuticle during molting from a nymph into an adult.

There is also a story with a kind of moral to it, connected to the white roach that I have heard mostly in the south of the island. It goes like this: Every roach that is white for a brief period believes that it is superior to the others of the same kind due to its uniqueness until it returns to its normal colour and realises that it is just the same as the rest.

When roaches are still nymphs, they shed their skin. During this period of time, which lasts just a few hours, they appear white, creating an unusual sight. The shell and colour of these white roaches quickly reverts back to its usual dark or brown colour as when they are hard.

After molting, the roach is vulnerable and defenceless until the new flexible exoskeleton hardens. So roaches tend to molt in dark places like walls and cabinets. Usually it takes just a few hours for the new cockroach exoskeleton to harden. It darkens until it looks like all of the other roaches of that species.

If you see a number of white roaches on your property, then you have a mature population. It is a significant problem. Do not wait until it becomes a huge one. Start acting immediately.

Few people know that many sheddings of cockroaches can cause allergies to humans. Re­search shows also that 37 per cent of children are allergic to cockroaches.

People who have a roach infestation can find tiny particles of parched-up exoskeleton in their houses. These particles can become airborne and trigger an allergic response in humans.

The larger the population of roaches, the more risk of roach allergens in the air. Some people can even develop asthma due to these particles.

In my line of work I hear a lot of folk tales that have been passed down from one generation to the next. Most of them seem to be localised hearsay but nevertheless should be treasured and docu­mented. If not recorded, by time they may soon disappear from our culture. In a way this would be a positive thing be­cause believing such nonsense is not healthy at all, and nowadays the public is increasingly accepting the scientific approach rather these superstitious beliefs.

Arnold Sciberras is a entomological pest consultant and founder of The Extermintor professional pest control services. For further information call 9988 7950 or e-mail theexterminator.malta@gmail.com.

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