Who eats cockroaches is interesting to those who would like to defeat them with the help of natural enemies and pets. Do you know where cockroaches hide? Then read about how they are found by their natural exterminators and destroyed en masse.
Natural enemies of cockroaches are mammals, amphibians, wasps and other reptiles. For example, hedgehogs will eat cockroaches. Among those who like to eat cockroaches are geckos, skinks and other species of lizards, frogs, turtles, some species of birds and even rats and mice. Lizards, which are reptiles, are even known to hunt cockroaches when they encounter them and are eager for a snack.
Who eats cockroaches
You will be surprised to learn how many animals in nature eat cockroaches. This is a natural protein product for birds, rodents, and amphibians.
Even domestic animals, cats, dogs, do not hesitate to taste the insect.
To understand the importance and place in the chain, you need to know who feeds on them. Zoologists use any species as food: red, black, large Madagascar, American. The largest (length up to 9 cm) are the most delicious types, since they contain more meat, so they are juicier.
In nature
The cockroach is not the main food for any animal; rather, it is a favorite delicacy, a delicacy eaten with pleasure. In nature, there are natural enemies that hunt them.
The peculiarity of these insects is their excellent survival rate. This is a practically endangered type of food; it is not afraid of changes in high and low temperatures, high humidity, drought, and radioactive radiation.
If a nuclear war occurs, cockroaches will remain alive, serving other animals and people as a source of food.
Brachypelma smithi
The red-knee spider is native to the southern states of the United States and Mexico. The legspan of the predator reaches 17 cm, and the body is no longer than 8 cm. The predominant color is black, less often dark brown. Individual phalanges are distinguished by an orange color with a yellow or white border.
You can see sparse dark hairs on the spider's body. Representatives of this species cannot be called aggressive or restless. They come into contact with humans quite easily and at the same time have extremely low toxicity of poison for him.
Females live a very long time - up to 30 years. Males in ideal conditions will last 4 years. In addition to cockroaches, the predator is not averse to profiting from small rodents. The optimal temperature for spider development is 24-28 degrees, humidity is around 70%.
Red Knee Spider
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.
Avicularia purpurea
The homeland of the purple tarantula is the South American jungle. The maximum concentration of individuals was observed throughout Ecuador. The span of the predator's paws ranges from 14 cm, and the length of the body is about 5-6 cm.
At night and in the evening, the tarantula's hair appears black, but as soon as sunlight hits it, the spider begins to shimmer in purple. A rare reddish tint is visible in the mandible area.
In its natural habitat, the predator prefers to settle in tree hollows, as well as near pastures. Individuals are also found in residential areas. The purple tarantula is shy but non-aggressive. The spider moves quickly and is easy to care for. For forgetful owners, this is an ideal pet. The main thing is that the temperature in the terrarium does not fall below 25⁰C, and the humidity does not exceed 85%.
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.
Brachypelma boehmei
Individuals of this species are protected by the CITES convention as endangered. Over the past ten years, the popularity of the spider as a pet has increased greatly, and at the same time, smuggling has increased.
The predator is indeed extremely attractive in appearance, easy to care for and completely safe for humans. The length of the body of sexually mature individuals reaches 7 cm, and the span of the legs is 18 cm. The color of the spider can be called at least unusual for a representative of arthropods: bright red colors and dark as night transitions. The soft hair is pleasant to the touch and non-toxic.
The predator is not toxic and even if it bites there is no pain, not to mention any serious consequences. Males of this species live at most 4 years, while females reach 20 years of age in optimal conditions. The latter are considered to be a humidity of no more than 70% and a temperature of around 25⁰C.
It is also worth mentioning the brother of Brachypelma boehmei - Brachypelma klaasi. Spiders resemble each other almost like two peas in a pod, especially before the first molt. The Klaasi subspecies is also protected by CITES, but unlike boehmei it is more toxic and is more suitable for experienced breeders than for hobbyists.
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.
Acanthoscurria brocklehursti
This massive tarantula predator is distinguished by its stern disposition, fast growth and bright, attractive coloring. The size of the body does not exceed 9 centimeters, while the leg span reaches a length of 20-23 cm. You can meet the predator in the Brazilian jungle. It hides between stones, fallen trees or a lonely large plant, but sometimes organizes a home for itself in shallow burrows.
Females live about 15 years, while males rarely reach 5 years. Ideal conditions for keeping and breeding a predator are a spacious terrarium with air humidity within 80% and a temperature of about 25 degrees. If a person is always nearby, then the spider quickly gets used to it and with each subsequent contact it reduces its level of aggression.
Insects
It is also interesting to know which insects pose a danger to the cockroach. For example, the emerald wasp. This is an opportunity for her to lay eggs. The wasp injects poison into the insect's body, paralyzes it, and then drags it inside the nest.
In the body of a paralyzed but still living cockroach, the wasp calmly lays its eggs; after a week, the larvae hatch and eat the cockroach from the inside. After another week, pupae are formed, from which the formed wasps subsequently hatch.
Thus, these insects eat cockroaches.
The dead insect will be happily dragged into the hole and ants.
They will cut it into small parts and transfer it to the nest for winter supplies, to feed the larvae and the queen.
Mammals
In nature, mammals also love cockroaches. For example, small monkeys will happily eat insects and treat their young ones.
By eating marbled cockroach meat, they replenish their body with nutrients; breeders include them in their daily diet.
But there is a peculiarity: despite the fact that these insects are not aggressive and timid, they can also eat mammals. If there is no alternative food for a long time, they attack a hibernating animal, since it does not pose a threat to them.
How to get rid of scoleciphobia - fear of worms: treatment
Worms are vile and disgusting. They, like huge inhabitants of dungeons, became heroes of ancient myths. Not everyone dares to pick up a worm. But those who are terrified of them are said to suffer from scoleciphobia.
Art therapy is used to treat scoleciphobia.
In addition to desensitizing fear, a psychiatrist, as part of the treatment of fear of worms, can recommend art therapy to the patient - draw a worm as the monster the patient imagines it to be, and then destroy the drawing.
Pets
When red or black cockroaches appear in an apartment, you can notice how dogs or cats begin to hunt for them. Most do it for fun, pleasure, and bring it to show the owner.
But scientists say that cats love these insects, chitin is useful for them, especially after surgery (castration, sterilization).
Who else is eating:
- If there is a lizard living at home, you can let it out for a walk; it also feeds on domestic cockroaches.
- Spiders that live in every house hunt for insects. They weave a web and wait for one of them to fall into the net. The spider releases its poison with acid inside the body, which paralyzes and digests the insides, which later becomes an excellent meal. A dried cockroach from the inside becomes a bait for its other relatives.
- The domestic hedgehog also feeds on small insects. He hunts for them in corners and catches colonies.
As you can see, the list of those who like to eat unpleasant insects is quite extensive. Therefore, at home you can successfully fight them; to do this, it is enough to have pets.
TOP 9: New facts about cockroaches that you would rather not know
Cockroaches don't make people decide whether to love them or hate them. Most of us would dream of seeing every cockroach on the planet burn in the flames of hell. The only people who have a weird affinity for these insects are the “I feed them to my snakes” weirdos. This says a lot. But there is a side to cockroaches that you probably didn't know about. The side you don't want to know. These running little insects are truly amazing creatures. There's a reason for the cliché that cockroaches will survive the apocalypse. That's because they're super terrible. And that's why…
9. Their milk could be the world's next superfood
There is one species of cockroach in the world whose females, contrary to God and all that is holy, give birth to live babies and actually produce milk for these creepy newborns. The Diploptera punctate species of cockroach receives a rich protein liquid from its mother that is four times richer in nutrients than cow's milk. And science believes that this “milk” could become the new superfood. For people.
One protein crystal of this cockroach milk contains three times more energy than buffalo milk. And buffalo milk is better than cow milk. Obviously, scientists know that creating cockroach milking facilities is a fool's errand, so they want to create the same protein crystals in the laboratory. The benefits are obvious: it's incredibly rich in calories and nutrients, and it's long-lasting, so your body will get the benefits when it needs it. Science believes that such crystals will be especially useful for poor countries, since they can provide a large amount of calories. Cockroach milk calories.
8. They can run at a speed of almost 5 km per hour. And even faster
Most cockroaches you encounter are scurrying, running creatures. As soon as you turn on the light, they rush in different directions. But if you witness a major invasion, they will not even consider it necessary to leave the room. They will stare at you as if you are trespassing on their territory. Perhaps they are right.
Most likely, you did not pay attention to the speed of their movement because you froze in horror. But they are very fast. Just unbelieveble. The speed of the cockroach was detected and it was almost 5 km per hour. You may have noticed that if you live in a cool enough climate, they usually don't unfurl their wings and fly. But if it's hot enough where you live, they can also fly.
7. Females can save sperm for later.
Like a group of girls fighting off a bunch of jerks at a club, female cockroaches are known to crowd together to fight off thirsty males. Since female cockroaches are larger, together they repel aggressive males who want to mate.
It turns out that females don't need males that much, period. Of course, they need males for mating, but even then they can take the male's sperm and store it in their bodies until a more opportune moment. In fact, in one mating they can produce so much sperm that they will never need to mate again in their lives (usually for about a year).
6. If you have termites, then you have cockroaches.
One of the common fears of those who buy a house is: will there be termites in the wood? Once they're there, who knows how much damage they've already done? Termites do not sleep, so they constantly feed on wood. Another interesting fact: some termite queens can lay up to 40,000 eggs per day. And here's another addition to your nightmares: termites are cockroaches!
Without any need other than to annoy ordinary people, science has discovered that termites are social cockroaches. Although there are certain differences in that termites, for example, build colonies, and cockroaches are less friendly, and they eat different things, science has long known that they are genetically related. The predilection of cockroaches for eating feces was the very fact with which science connected these types of insects. Scientists believe that long ago, their ancestors' ability to eat feces evolved into the ability to eat wood, leading to the evolution of termites.
5. They fart (a lot)
Of all the farting creatures that live in this world, insects seem to be the least prone to it. But, amazingly, they do it! Considering the size of their bodies, there are so many questions that arise. Can you hear them doing it? Do they giggle at their own farts? Do they smell bad?
Science has no answers to these questions. It is difficult to say whether the gases produced as a result of digestion actually come from the insect's anus. We know that cockroaches have intestines and anus, and that they sometimes release an insane amount of gas. One interesting piece of evidence that ancient cockroaches emitted gases is ancient cockroaches encased in amber surrounded by bubbles of their own gases.
4. You ate more of them than you think
When you hear about "acceptable levels" of pests and animal droppings in your food, this is something that has been scientifically measured and something that will not harm you. Food products may contain insect parts and, in some cases, insect heads. Spices like oregano and cinnamon seem to be particularly rich in insect limbs and bodies.
Cockroaches are very good at finding food, so they often become part of it. They secrete special chemicals to “recommend” to their relatives the newest “restaurants” nearby. As we have already said, cockroaches are usually not dangerous to humans, but sometimes they can create certain health problems. Crushed cockroach parts in chocolate cause allergic reactions that most medical professionals have previously attributed to the ingredients in the chocolate. In most cases, it turns out that cockroach parts were the cause.
3. They have their own "neighborhoods"
In the vast New York City there are many different, distinct areas. They vary in landscape, topography, local population and other factors. They smoothly flow into each other, but each has its own character. Oddly enough, urban cockroaches have similarities with them.
Just like individual areas, the cockroaches in some of them are distinct and do not extend beyond this radius. Moreover, they may recognize that other cockroaches are “native” to other areas. And although they are known to mate with each other, they prefer to stay in their own "neighborhoods." It's pretty cute.
2. China has huge cockroach farms
There is a huge food waste problem in the world. And China is no exception. There is a real crisis there because too much food is going to landfills. And all this can only rot. But what to do with an incredible amount of food? Beijing alone accounts for 9 million tons of food waste per year. What did they come up with? You are reading an article about cockroaches. So of course their proposed answer is an unrealistic number of cockroaches.
To solve this problem, billions and billions of cockroaches are being raised throughout China. On one particularly busy farm, more than a billion cockroaches can deal with about 50 tons of food waste a day. There are other ways to use the cockroaches in these huge cockroach farms, such as to create cosmetics or as livestock feed, but just imagine a billion cockroaches feasting on rotting waste and save your lunch.
1. They practically defy the laws of physics when they walk upside down.
If you're looking for a ninja from the insect world, the cockroach is a great choice. They manage to do a great job of avoiding any moves you make that could result in their death, and that's partly because they're tiny and fast and can squeeze into tight holes, but that's not all.
The ability of a cockroach to run to the edge and then quickly roll over and disappear may seem like something normal, but in fact the laws of physics come into play. The cockroach grabs the edge of the ledge with its tiny claws on its hind legs, and then, like a pendulum, makes a 180-degree flip and ends up upside down, under the ledge. Scientists couldn't understand the complexity of this movement until they used high-speed cameras. The cockroach looks like a small, shiver-inducing ballerina.
Human
Another part of the food chain who eats cockroaches is humans. People eat insects as a separate dish, with a side dish or sauce.
Grown in specialized insectariums and properly fed, they are harmless and tasty for humans. Expensive restaurants may recommend such an exotic dish.
Dietary protein meat is very popular in Asian and African countries. Eating cockroaches is quite common in third world countries. To prepare it, it is simply fried in a pan, with the addition of sauce, or eaten alive.
It is recommended to eat only large species: Madagascar, American, marbled.
Few people eat red and black cockroaches. This is explained by the fact that domestic insects feed mostly on waste, carrion, and can carry infections and diseases. Special conditions are created for growing large species.
Predator and prey
Small spiders live in apartments and houses. They feed on insects that are careless enough to get caught in the web. When there are 3-5 spiders in a house, they place their webs in all rooms.
An inattentive victim falls into the web, and the predator wraps it in a cocoon and injects the secretion of the digestive glands. Soon the prey is ready for consumption.
When there is a lot of food for spiders, they actively reproduce. If too large a population of arthropods is noticed in the house, then some of them should be destroyed or removed from the house. Otherwise, instead of cockroaches, a new scourge will appear in the form of spiders running everywhere.
House spiders go out hunting at night. During the day they hide, just like their prey - cockroaches. And after there is silence in the house, the struggle between insects and arthropods begins.
If there are too many cockroaches, the spiders are unlikely to cope with them. It is recommended to use this exotic method only if there is a small population of cockroaches in the house.
