Content updated: January 20, 2026

Transcript

To a cockroach, a drain pipe can be a highway right into your home.

Once inside, some female cockroaches can produce as many as five generations of offspring in just one year, creating an infestation that could potentially transfer E. coli and Salmonella from one food source to another.

Although because they lurk in dark places, you may not even realize you have a problem.

Cockroaches can use your pipes to enter your home. And once you have roaches in your water or sewer pipes, they can reproduce quickly and cause contamination of food sources. Learn more about how cockroaches can enter homes and what happens when they do.