This article is for all those who would rather gather information through video than through the reading of long tomes of words. Following are 5 videos about the history and actions of, new discoveries about, and even a bit of fun with cockroaches.

Cockroaches are one of the most despised and dirty insect pests. They are attracted to about any food, live behind walls and in unsanitary conditions, contaminate foods with foodborne-illness causing bacteria, and can grow numerous in population if not controlled.

However, these insect pests can have their interesting and, yes, fun aspects. Just check out a few of the videos below to see how.

Videos About Cockroaches

Title:Cockroaches
Time: 3:46
Site Description: Natural history of a cockroach, an ancient and highly successful insect.
Summary: Everything that you ever - and never -- wanted to know about cockroaches and how they came to be.
Title:Cockroach Infestation
Time: 3:18
Site Description: With 4000 species the world over, and the ability to run the human equivalent of over 90 MPH, there's no avoiding roaches!
Summary: This video from National Geographic explains about the biology, mating, and behavior of cockroaches explaining why they are so difficult to control.
Title:Rapid Inversion: Animals and Robot Swing Like a Pendulum Under Ledges
Time: 1:56
Site Description: Disappearing cockroaches led UC Berkeley biologists to a clever stealth behavior that geckos also exhibit. The group teamed up with engineers to give their cockroach-inspired robot DASH similar capabilities.

(Video courtesy of PolyPEDAL Lab, UC Berkeley)
Summary: Top and side views of a cockroach performing a high-speed inversion while running up a ramp. Each is shown at regular speed, then slowed by 10 to 50 x for viewability. Video also include that of house and wild geckos, then the same of the robot that was created from what was learned from the animals

Title:Leaping cockroach jumps as high as a grasshopper
Time: 0:16
Site Description: If you like to avoid cockroaches, it may be rather difficult to stay clear of Saltoblatella montistabularis, a species that can jump. Malcolm Burrows of the University of Cambridge, UK and his team are investigating how far the roaches can leap and found that they can jump a distance of 35 centimeters (almost 14 inches), or about 48 times their own body length. The species was first spotted on Table mountain in South Africa in 2006.
Summary: This short video, courtesy of Royal Society, has been posted and covered by the media on numerous sites, accompanied by a variety of different musical interludes.

Just For Fun Cockroach Videos

Title:Ratatouille Premiere - Patton Oswalt and John Ratzenberger with Rebecca Murray
Time: 3:10
Site Description: Patton Oswalt lends his voice to the character of Remy, a rat who loves to cook, in Disney/Pixar's Ratatouille. John Ratzenberger, Pixar's good luck charm, also provides a voice in this family film, which promotes the idea of following your dreams.
Summary: He would have been a cockroach on a corpse if that's what it took to be a part of this movie and work with Phillip Bradley "Brad" Bird at Pixar, said Patton Oswalt who was the voice of the character of Remy, a rat who loves to cook, in Disney/Pixar's Ratatouille, directed by Bird.

Cockroach Control Videos

Although it can be fun to watch videos of cockroaches doing their thing, there aren't too many of us who want to see them doing their thing in our homes!

So, if you are more interested in videos about the control of these obnoxious, dirty pests, check out Cockroach Control Videos.