Size Matters
The “babies” that emerge are not helpless. Unlike human infants, roach nymphs are precocial—they are born mobile. They are incredibly small, often less than 2mm long. They can slip into cracks that a credit card wouldn’t fit into. They are essentially dust with legs.
This is why Mark’s initial cleanup failed. He was looking for bug parts. He wasn’t looking for transparent, dust-sized specks that were running for their lives. By the time he came back with the paper towels, the survivors were likely already three feet away, tucked under the baseboard trim, motionless and waiting for the lights to go out.