A Roach Exterminator Exposes What Cockroaches Eat in Your Home
You know the saying, “If there is one cockroach, there are 100.” A cockroach infestation is a nightmare for most homeowners. They are disgusting to look at and contaminate the food you eat and the beverages you drink. Their saliva is chocked full of bacteria that can lead to health conditions ranging from diarrhea to food poisoning to serious staphylococcus infections. After you call the roach exterminator, the best way to keep roaches from coming back is to eliminate their food sources.
What Do Cockroaches Eat?
Cockroaches are omnivores. That means they eat everything. When it comes to food, they are not picky. They are opportunistic. Whatever they can find, wherever they can find it, they have an ideal meal.
You will see cockroaches eating human food, pet food, decaying plants and animals, and waste materials. The more you know about what cockroaches find appealing, the easier it will be to keep these unwanted pests away from your home.
Learn From a Roach Exterminator How Cockroaches Pick Their Home
Although cockroaches are not the pickiest eaters, they do have some criteria when choosing the homes they infest. They look for a place where they can breed, get access to water, and have ample food supplies.
Any roach exterminator can tell you that what looks like a small crumb dropping to a human is a delectable feast for a cockroach. They are attracted to crumbs on the counters and floors. If you leave your pet food out, dishes in the sink overnight, or have uncovered food, cockroaches will find it and make themselves right at home.
What Foods Do Cockroaches Like the Most?
Although cockroaches aren’t picky, they do have their favorite foods. Pest exterminators have learned that cockroaches are more attracted to foods that are sweet and full of sugar. They love starchy foods, and they are happy to feast on meat.
Some cockroaches can go several weeks without food, more than two weeks without water, and even live several days without their heads. So for a cockroach, being able to find a few crumbs every couple of days is more than enough to keep them happy.
According to experts in pest control in Las Vegas, cockroaches see potential sources of food where most humans don’t. For example, fabric, paper, grease, or leather all make a suitable meal for a hungry cockroach. Sometimes, when food is scarce, cockroaches have even been known to make a snack out of humans.
You may be surprised to learn that different species of cockroaches each have their own meal of choice. Understanding what the cockroaches that are common in your area like and learning to keep these things under wrap can help minimize cockroach infestations in your home.
A German Cockroaches’ Favorite Snack
Contrary to what their name might imply, German cockroaches do not have a preference for Brot & Brötchen or Kartoffelpuffer & Bratkartoffeln. These pesky critters that are often found in warm, humid environments are happy to make your bathroom, kitchen, or dining room their home.
True to their omnivore nature, you can find German cockroaches eating just about anything. But you’re more likely to find them attracted to sugary beverages, like soda or juice, cereal, bread, your pet’s food, or meat products.
An American Cockroaches’ Favorite Meal
While these insects will be happy with pizza, hamburgers, and apple pie, their food of choice has a dark nature to it. A roach exterminator will usually find American cockroaches in the dark, damp spots in your home. However, when it comes time for cockroaches to search for food, they will even go outdoors. When you look in a sewer or lift up the drains in your floor or bathtub, these are the cockroaches you find.
American cockroaches enjoy eating things like wounded or dead cockroaches. They prey on small insects, fungi, decaying leaves, and wood particles. They are attracted to dairy products, like spilled milk or rotting cheese, when they are in your home. They have a taste for bakery items and food crumbs that are found on the floor.
The Diet of Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches
While you will likely not see these monsters outside of a zoo, unless you take a trip to Madagascar, hissing cockroaches have a unique diet contributing to their massive size. Their lifespan is up to five years, and they are up to two or three inches in length. Hissing cockroaches make noise by forcing air through modified openings in their abdomen.
A constant supply of water is essential to keep these behemoths of the cockroach world alive. They may clump together to prevent water loss when they don’t have ready access to water. Unlike their smaller omnivore cousins, Madagascar hissing cockroaches are detritivores.
A detritivore is an organism that feeds on decaying plants or dead animals. For this reason, animal carcasses, small insects, and decaying plant material are the food of choice for these cockroaches.
The Culinary Preferences of Rhinoceros Cockroaches
Although it is improbable that you will find one of these cockroaches in your home, unless it is an escaped pet of the neighbor, these giant burrowing beasts have one of the most unique diets in the cockroach world. Their preference is dead gum leaves. They get these leaves from the ground or dying trees and branches. They are very picky and refuse to eat yellow, green, or damp leaves. If a leaf has moisture in it, it is a no-no for these cockroaches.
They prefer their leaves served crushed. When possible, they try to avoid aromatic leaves. They might take a bite out of the bark of certain trees and are known to enjoy an occasional bite of lettuce, carrot, apple, or potato. While more common types of cockroaches can survive on anything, the rhinoceros cockroach won’t last very long without a diet of dry leaves.
Where Do Common Cockroaches Like to Eat?
Common cockroaches, like the American and German types, love to eat behind furniture and in cracks. And nighttime, they will scavenge for food wherever they can find it. Their preference for dark, damp environments makes it easier for exterminators to find their lairs and knock them out.
Make Your Home Unfriendly to Cockroaches
Cockroaches are nobody’s friend. When they infest a home, it can be hard to get them out without the help of an experienced exterminator. The best course of action is to make your home unattractive to cockroaches by removing the sources of food and moisture they need for survival.
Make a habit of washing dishes and putting them away, tightly sealing garbage bags, and putting away pet food at night. Doing this will go a long way in making your home an unfriendly environment for cockroaches.
