Some Bug Humor

So my boyfriend posted this on his Facebook today, of course I cracked up then decided to look up the facts behind the joke, so here they are. Cockroaches do indeed have a higher tolerance of radiation than most animals. Radiation exposure is measured in rads. Around 1,000 rads is lethal to a human. To kill a German cockroach (the most tolerant of radiation of all the cockroach types) with radiation it would take about 6,400 rads . However, there are other insects that can even top the amount of radiation a cockroach can tolerate! The flour beetle can withstand up to around 100,000 rads and a type of wasp called the Habrobracon can survive as high as 180,000 rads! The main reason that cockroaches and other insects are more tolerant of radiation than humans is that cells are most susceptible to radiation while they are dividing. Human and other mammal cells are constantly dividing, while insect cells usually only divide during molting. Another thing to take into account is that there is more to a nuclear explosion than radiation, there are also high levels of heat. The cockroaches would have to be far enough away from the explosion that the heat wouldn't cook them.

And now to address the second part of the joke; what the fuck is in Raid? The active ingredients in Raid are various toxins that target the nervous system such as Tetramethrin and Pyrethrin (Pyrethrin acts as more of a repellent but in high enough doses or with the use of Piperonyl Butoxide, which prevents the roach from metabolizing the toxins and recovering, it can cause death.)


Sources:
http://www.glutathionediseasecure.com/cockroaches-and-radiation.html

http://insects.about.com/od/roachesandmantids/f/cockroaches-nuclear-bomb.htm

http://www.misconceptionjunction.com/index.php/2010/11/cockroaches-would-not-survive-an-extreme-nuclear-fallout/

http://www.ehow.com/how-does_5183091_raid-bug-killer-work_.html