How Long Can a Cockroach Live Upside Down?

A cockroach can live upside down for as long as it needs to before it turns over and falls on its back. Its body can resist up to 300 times its own weight, but it doesn’t always right itself. Sometimes, a healthy roach will grab onto a natural object to prevent itself from being flipped.

A cockroach can live upside down for more than 10 days, but it will eventually die. Once it dies, another insect will eat it. In the wild, a roach’s life can last up to six months. Fortunately, they are relatively safe in the home. The largest cockroach is about six inches long and has a one foot wingspan. It also has the ability to move its legs from one side to another.

Another curious fact about cockroaches is that they can survive without their heads for several months. Cockroaches do not have mouths, but they do have open circulatory systems, which allow them to breathe even if their bodies are turned upside down. If a cockroach does end up with a headless body, it will soon die from thirst.

Cockroaches that have flipped over find it hard to get up. This occurs most often on smooth, flat surfaces. Once they are unable to get up, they will stay on their backs and starve. In this situation, a cockroach may take as long as two weeks to die if it has been left on its back for too long.