When we talk about the dietary habits of roaches, you have to understand that they are not very choosy or picky in terms of the food they eat.
They will virtually eat anything they can get hold of!
They are omnivores and organic feeder, so nothing is off their list except plastic, metal etc.
In this article, you will learn everything you need to know about the cockroaches and their food habits- from what they usually prefer to eat to what they can feed on if their choice of food isn’t available!
So keep reading to find out more.
What Do Roaches Eat?
They are similar to us regarding what they feed on; they find the diet we enjoy tasteful and worth eating.
Don’t be amazed we share the same taste; we are both omnivores; that is the answer if you are wondering why roaches love infesting and hiding in your kitchen, food storage, or prep areas.
If we are to assume that your kitchen was a restaurant, and roaches were allowed to place an order, roaches will go for sweets, starches, and animal protein before any other food types.
They also have different tastes if their favorite diet isn’t available in your kitchen; they would go for greasy food, cheese, or anything they can find that is fermented.
Because of their excellent taste for sugary foods, you should keep all sugary foods in airtight containers and properly clean debris off your meat prep stations, counter, and any other places with leftovers.
Keeping your home clean is one important move to prevent roaches from infesting your homes.
Roaches are obstinate, less picky insects; they wouldn’t turn back because they can’t find their favorites food items.
They will keep crawling around to see what they can find, and it doesn’t matter what they come across, as long as it organic – it a gourmet meal.
Decaying matter in your waste bin or garbage will definitely make a happy meal, including human waste, plant, soap, makeup, in fact, anything!
What Would They Feed on if Nothing is Left?
Although they are omnivore scavengers having similar appetites, they still find other items we wouldn’t imagine a viable food source.
For us, our starchy foods are limited, majorly potatoes, bread, or pasta; however, roaches have more items on this list, book bindings, papers, wallpaper paste, etc.
Also, for protein, they are other viable food items – dead insects, animal skin, human hair, fingernails, etc. unbelievable; they feed on younger and baby roaches when feeding becomes extremely difficult.
They could go as far as feeding on people, though this hardly occurs and only occurs when there is a massive infestation with harsh cataclysmic levels.
Although rather than feeding on a living tissue like you, they would prefer to go for eyelashes, dead skin flakes, fingernails, and a lot more.
The reason for this isn’t far-fetched; roaches have weak jaws, with mandibles ideal for only carrying and chewing.
The mandibles move sideways and are not designed to puncture your skin easily, so they focus on food items with keratin easy to feed on – nails, eyelashes, hair, etc.
What Options Do Roaches Have if There is No Food Anywhere?
This is an exceptional case; scavengers like them, without being choosy, can hardly run out of options; they can feed on almost everything organic.
Aside from indoors, roaches can get many options like decaying plants, dead woods, waste, sewage, and waste.
But a scenario in which cockroaches run out of options; I mean virtually nothing!
More than 3000 species of roaches can survive up to a month without eating, as long as there is a water source.
Exterminating Roaches with Pest Control
If you see one or two roaches rummaging through your kitchen or your dirty dishes, you can adopt various alternatives to kill them and keep them away.
However, the same can’t be said in the case of a serious roach infestation! At such times, it is better to hire a licensed exterminator who could deal with this problem more efficiently and permanently, making your house 100% roach-free.
To know more about this, fill the below-mentioned form to get free multiple quotes from the professional Pest Control Companies in your vicinity so that you can choose the most economical, effective, and long-lasting service for your infestation.
Don’t worry, all your personal details are completely safe here! And by filling the form, at least, you’ll know how much you will have to pay if you take the help of your local exterminators
Final Words
Roaches are known to have survived mass extinctions and nuclear traditions! They are creepy and stubborn and impossible to starve!
Have you ever heard of a starving roach? Of course not, because they can survive for weeks without food and water.
As we’ve already established that roaches are less picky scavengers and are known to utilize every possibility effectively, you need to ensure that you don’t provide them with plenty of food opportunities within your home.
Because once they get comfortable inside your house, it’s then very difficult to eliminate and get rid of them.
How do you deal with these voracious eaters away and keep them away from your home? Let us know in the comments below!