Meet your new neighbor, the Asian cockroach

Now, seriously — is there anything better for a midweek pick-me-up than a story about flying cockroaches? We submit to you that there is not, and so we bring you information about the Asian cockroach (Blattella asahinai), which has made its way to Harris County.

The Asian cockroach was first identified in Florida in 1986, and since then it's spread throughout the southeast: central and south Florida, south Georgia, southern Alabama, parts of South Carolina and now Texas. The roaches look similar to the more common German cockroaches, but Asian roaches can live in the wild — the German variety is almost never found outdoors, choosing instead to live in dark, moist places like kitchens and bathrooms. But what might be most important to non-roach fans is that the Asian roaches can fly. We don't mean the halfhearted flying you've seen from the roaches we're used to around here: Asian roaches can fly very well, and they often do so after dark, attracted to lights and lighted windows.

Asian roaches were discovered in west Harris County, about 18 miles from Houston, in May; they were flying toward the lights at a car dealership, then entering the showroom. According to the 11 News Blog, "each morning, dozens of adult Asian cockroaches were found covering the showroom floor." Well, that's just gross. Since then, Asian roaches have been found in residential areas east and west of the Barker Reservoir.

Experts say the Asian roaches' population density, love of flight and "high reproductive potential" may make them hard to handle. Now that's something to look forward to.