Which pets can eat cockroaches? Review +Video

For humans, cockroaches are considered one of the most unpleasant and annoying pests, which are extremely difficult to get rid of.
For decades, repellent and poisonous substances have been created against these insects, but cockroaches have many natural enemies in nature. The greatest danger to these pests are lizards, which some desperate people specifically keep to exterminate cockroaches. But who eats cockroaches from pets? This question worries many people who are faced with this problem. Among pets there are representatives who are not averse to feasting on these pests, and we will talk about them in our article.

Natural enemies

Some species of cockroaches are capable of moving quite quickly or even flying. This is why animals that eat these parasites must be fast and have good reactions. Answering the question of who eats cockroaches, it should be noted that in nature there are a huge number of natural enemies of longhorned beetles.

Who eats cockroaches from animals

Among mammals and birds there are many who want to feast on these insects, for example:

• Monkeys in the tropics eat cockroaches. To satisfy his hunger, a monkey needs to catch at least a dozen individuals.
• Hamsters and voles do not refuse to feast on barbels.
• A black or red specimen is a tasty protein food for a hedgehog.
• Birds often eat these insects in trees or catch them during short flights.

Insects

Who eats cockroaches from insects?

• The emerald wasp bites and injects poison into the arthropod, which paralyzes it. Then it takes the prey to its hole. After this, the wasp lays its eggs in the immobilized body. Then the hatched larvae are provided with food, as they feed on the insides of the parasite.
• Spiders feed on cockroaches, weave their webs and wait for prey in them.
• Dead longhorned beetles are excellent food for ants, which collect the remains into anthills for the larvae to eat.
• Praying mantises, which have the ability to turn their heads 180 degrees in search of prey, will also not refuse a cockroach. When the mantis finds its prey, it hides in ambush and waits for it. Since the praying mantis is very fast, the longhorned beetle has no chance of survival.
• Centipedes and house flycatchers, which are carnivores, eat not only fleas, fleas, bedbugs, but also other domestic parasites. They slowly eat their prey, as they first paralyze it using poisonous glands.

Interesting! Do cockroaches eat cockroaches? They can really calmly eat their fellow tribesmen - the weak individuals of the colony. Such cannibalism is usually associated with a lack of food. In favorable conditions they live quite peacefully.

In nature

It is difficult to identify a specific type of animal or bird that consumes arthropod pests. But these insects have natural enemies in nature. Some birds, as well as rodents, use longhorned beetles as food. If a colony of ants encounters a dead arthropod, it will move the entire body or its individual parts to the anthill. Live and large insects are consumed by hedgehogs. By the way, this is taken into account by people who breed “prickly” brothers.

Among those that feed on cockroaches in nature is the emerald wasp. The process of absorption of an arthropod pest by a wasp is interesting. This has been noted by scientists who conduct research in this area. Initially, the wasp bites the individual it encounters, injecting a toxic substance through the hole. The poisonous substance of the emerald wasp includes components that paralyze the insect for subsequent consumption by the larvae. To pull a cockroach away, the wasp grabs its whiskers. In the hole, the wasp fills the belly of the arthropod pest with eggs and leaves it for a certain time.

The emerald wasp blocks the entrance to the hole with the help of pebbles. She performs such actions to ensure that the fertilized arthropod pest does not leave the trap. The hatched larvae actively eat the insect in whose belly they developed. After this, they go through the pupal stage, using insect particles to create a cocoon.

Pets

Many companion animals eat these household pests. For example:

• The lizard will not only explore the house in search of the Prussians, but also destroy them.
• The cat is a natural predator. For her, any insect is prey. Therefore, if the animal is full, it may not eat the barbel. But he will definitely kill him.
• Owners of decorative rodents are interested in whether mice, hamsters, or rats eat cockroaches. Typically, the diet of such animals consists of cereals, vegetables and fruits, but if the parasite gets into the cage, the rodent will quickly eat it. But this fact does not mean that it is possible to specifically use Prussians and black individuals to feed these mammals.
• Cockroaches are used as food for pets such as frogs, iguanas, lizards and small snakes. If you want to feed them insects, remember that such food is purchased in pet stores or bred in separate terrariums.
• It cannot be said that the dog eats Prussians. Rather, for her the insect is an object for play. She will bite him, press him with her paw, and in the end will certainly fatally injure him.

When wondering who eats cockroaches, we must remember that only some species are suitable as food: Argentinean, marbled and Turkestan.

It is not worth catching domestic Prussians and giving them to your pets to eat. Since insects can eat poison, this will have a bad effect on the health of a pet that has eaten a longhorned beetle.

Description of cockroaches

Not all people have encountered cockroaches in practice, and therefore they are interested in what these insects look like:

1. Cockroaches have a flat oval body reaching up to 10 cm in length. The insect's belly consists of 9 dorsal segments and 8 abdominal ones. The body color is light with yellowish-brown elytra.
2. Winged and wingless varieties of these insects live in nature. Winged species have 2 pairs of wings, but they cannot fly long distances.
3. Prussians have 6 legs and have spikes on their hips and shins. The limbs of the insect are developed and designed for fast running. In one second, a cockroach can move 75 cm, constantly changing direction. Therefore, it is difficult to catch it with your hands.
4. The head of the Prussian is also flattened, made in the shape of a triangle. The jaws are strong with chitinous teeth adapted for gnawing food. The mouthparts are facing downwards.
5. The eyes are large, consisting of 2 simple ocelli.
6. The Prusak is equipped with a long, sensitive mustache. They are bristle-like and consist of parts.

Human

In many Asian countries, people enjoy eating insects. Who eats cockroaches in these countries?

• For some very poor families, cockroaches and other insects are a substitute for meat.
• Grasshoppers, ants, cockroaches and caterpillars in some countries are included in the daily diet of residents.
• If you want to try exotic food, cafes and restaurants prepare various dishes from these insects. They can be stewed, fried and even served alive. In tourist areas, a cockroach dish can be very expensive.
• It has long been known that the Chinese eat fried cockroaches and consider them a real delicacy. For food, barbels are bred on special farms.

At the same time, we must not forget about what kind of cockroaches they eat. These are American, Madagascar, marble.

Now you know who eats cockroaches in nature and in our homes. However, when trying to get rid of these pests, you should not immediately get pets that will exterminate them. All the same, they will not be able to cope with the entire population.

Exterminating cockroaches in an apartment is a process that should only be entrusted to professionals. Sanitary service specialists , having gone to the site, determine the degree of infestation and routes of entry into the house. After this, they will carry out the disinfestation procedure using innovative equipment and insecticides, and install disinfection barriers. The important thing is that all the drugs used by SES specialists are completely safe for humans and pets. You will not have to make repairs after treatment, since poisons do not leave marks on interior items and walls. The disinsection itself is carried out quickly, so residents do not have to leave their home for a long time.

In which countries is it common for people to eat cockroaches?

As surprising as it may be, some peoples really cannot imagine their daily diet without cockroaches. Often these are large species prepared according to special recipes. They are considered a very popular delicacy in South America and Southeast Asia. Very often found in the cuisine of Madagascar. Their taste is very similar to bacon.

Of course, the cockroaches that live in apartments in the CIS countries are not used for delicious recipes. They are somewhat larger and to some extent safer. Initially, they do not feed on waste and do not carry diseases. They can even be called harmless inhabitants of forests and jungles, whose existence does not in any way threaten humanity and the animal world.

Birds

Surprisingly, birds love to eat cockroaches. Crows, sparrows, and domestic chickens will enjoy eating protein meat.

Songbirds living at home (robins, nightingales) do not refuse the marbled appearance and eat it.

Some owners have learned not to buy expensive food, but to grow it at home inside containers.

What do cockroaches eat?

The cockroach is an extremely hardy insect that can survive up to 30 days without food. But if there is food, they become voracious. One Prussian can eat up to 30 g of food per day.

Prussians are nocturnal, and until darkness falls, they do not go hunting. They continue to feast until dawn, until they have tried all the available products in the kitchen. Constantly tasting the foods he meets along the way, he thus finds the most delicious ones.

Favorite foods of cockroaches include:

• bread and buns;
• sugar;
• meat;
• cereals;
• fruits;
• vegetables.

Unlike humans, cockroaches do not care about the freshness of the product. He eats stale bread, rotten meat, and rotten fruits or vegetables. If there is little healthy food, the Prussians are content with paper, wood glue, fabrics and organic matter.

This is how cockroaches appear to be omnivores, and one gets the impression that they will not die of hunger. But, since these insects themselves are a link in the food chain, there will definitely be predators that feed on cockroaches.

Rodents

Hamsters and rats in nature are among those rodents that are natural enemies of cockroaches and eat small insects. But at home, they are not in a hurry to eat it, because the insect can be dangerous.

It is a carrier of various diseases, and if neighbors have spread poison, they can bring the poison inside the cage with the rodent.

There have been cases when a cockroach calmly climbed inside a cage with a hamster, but the hamster did not touch it.

It makes no sense to buy insects specifically for domestic rodents; they have a different diet: cereals, grains, fruits or vegetables.

Reptiles

The main enemies of cockroaches are reptiles. Some people, having discovered these insects at home, buy a lizard, an iguana, or a small snake. The lizard is especially fond of red-colored individuals, and is capable of eating them all in a few days until not a trace remains.

If there is no more food, it will begin to look for new sources and may move to the neighbors along the ventilation hole.