Can Cockroach Eggs Grow in Your Stomach?

A common myth is that cockroach eggs can grow in your stomach, but that’s simply not true. Cockroach eggs are two millimeters long and cannot survive outside their egg case. The idea of them surviving outside of their egg case is based on their association with the lickable surface of a paper envelope. Unfortunately, they can’t transfer from a paper cut tongue to a human stomach.

Although this may seem impossible, it is possible for cockroach eggs to survive without their mother’s blood. The female American cockroach will carry her eggs for a day before releasing them. They will have enough water to survive until they hatch. It’s unlikely that pollution from a golf course will cause this ‘hopeful monster.’

Female cockroaches do not lay their eggs in the human gut; they lay their eggs in their abdomen. They also extrude their ootheca (eggs) from their uterus. They then deposit the ootheca in a safe place and wait a few days. After this period, the eggs hatch about a month later.

When cockroaches lay their eggs, they must mate once and lay up to three batches of fertilized eggs. The sperm that is produced is stored in an internal storage compartment and is used as needed. The female cockroach produces multiple tiny nymphs from the eggs. The nymphs are white until they have a new outer covering.