Are you interested to know about roaches’ diets and behaviors? If this is true, then you have come to the right place. Here we will find the answer to the question: Do cockroaches eat spiders?
Apart from the relationship between cockroaches and spiders, I will also disclose some unknown facts about these two pests. So, if you are anxious to know informative things, stay here.
I have a great love for pests, and cockroaches are my favorite, so learning and sharing about these insects is my hobby. Moreover, I have been doing research work on cockroaches.
Now, let’s begin the journey to gather knowledge!!
Do Cockroaches Eat Spiders?
Cockroaches eat anything that originates from plant or animal sources with natural ingredients, but they don’t feed on other insects during their lifecycle. However, roaches feed on decaying matter, including dead insects, mainly when other food sources are scarce so that they can feed on dead spiders and insects, even their fellows.
In addition, dead bodies of insects release a smelly secretion after death that captivates cockroaches to feed on them, and the same is the case for dead spiders.
Moreover, cockroaches are known to feed on edible food for humans and other things like plastic, garbage, paper, etc. therefore, they don’t prefer spiders.
Do Cockroaches Prefer Eating Spiders?
The simple answer to this question is no; cockroaches don’t prefer eating spiders because spiders are not their natural food.
Cockroaches choose to eat spiders when they have nothing to eat, but they have to survive, so they head toward them.
The notable point is that they don’t specifically search for spiders when they are hungry, but if roaches come in contact with a dead body of a spider, they can tear its skeleton to get nutrients.
Moreover, cockroaches don’t prey on other insects and kill them to fulfill their energy requirements, so they are only attracted to spiders that are already dead.
So, when cockroaches are hungry, they first try to find food that is left by humans unchecked, so never ever leave the food uncovered in your kitchen as cockroaches can smell it.
Nutritional Value of Spiders
Nutrients are the main factor that provides energy so let’s see what spiders offer to cockroaches, as roaches need nutrients for their growth and development.
| No | Nutrients | Percentage |
| 1 | Fat | 16 % |
| 2 | Protein | 126 % |
| 3 | Carbohydrates | 0 % |
| 4 | Vitamins | 0 % |
So a giant spider mainly contains protein and fat; Protein is the essential nutrient that cockroaches get by feeding on a dead spider.
Protein is more important for growing cockroaches as it mainly helps in the formation of new enzymes, tissues, and cells.
It is essential for carrying out various reactions in the cockroach body. So spiders are a healthy diet and a good option when food is not available.
Type of Spiders That are Harmful to Cockroaches
As I have mentioned above, cockroaches don’t eat living spiders, but apart from this, some dead spiders also cause harm to them.
Although spiders provide nutrition to cockroaches, some are even poisonous and can cause health issues in both humans and cockroaches.
So let’s have a look!
- Brazilian
- Red colored spider
- Brown spider
- Black colored spider
- The funnel-web spider
The above-mentioned types of spiders can cause health issues on biting and also cause allergies to humans, while cockroaches can also get disturbed stomachs on eating such spiders.
Things to Know About Spider-Eating Cockroaches
Before moving ahead, I would like to discuss cockroaches’ habits and some compelling details about their behavior, as it is essential to know the reason behind their response to spiders.
What do you know cockroaches for? If I am not wrong, cockroaches have a scary image in everyone’s mind because they look strange and somehow responsible for making us ill.
But, at the same time, these insects are very engaging; I have developed a great interest in these creatures after knowing that they are some of the most ancient creatures on Earth.
Cockroaches keep on modifying their behaviors as time passes by; therefore, they are flexible insects that can adapt themselves to different conditions.
Roaches are widely distributed with more than 4000 species, most of which live in the wild; out of these, 30 species have relations with humans as they choose our houses to live and reproduce.
1. Surviving Capabilities of Spider-Eating Cockroaches
Research has proved that cockroaches were even present 300 million years ago; Isn’t it captivating? So they have the capabilities to survive any condition.
Cockroaches are flexible insects that can survive a reasonable amount of time without food, water, and even without oxygen and head.
But how is this possible? These insects face hate for humans because it is hard to remove their infestation as they can survive adverse conditions as well.
In the absence of food, these insects reduce their energy needs by inhibiting the release of heat to save energy. They can save their energy for about one month and survive without food.
Moreover, they can also bear the unavailability of moisture by limiting the water loss from their bodies. They can stop their breathing process by closing their spiracles to save water.
So, roaches can prevent dehydration for about seven days without drinking water. The factor which I found the most fascinating is their survival without a head.
Can you imagine living without your head? Absolutely not, but cockroaches can do this as they can block the junction of the head and lower body to prevent blood loss.
Moreover, they have air openings in their lower body that can help in breathing and also contain complex channels of neurons that work as a brain to carry out normal functions for a week.
Cockroaches can also block the supply of oxygen to their cells for about 45 minutes, so they can also survive without breathing.
2. Common Species of Cockroaches That Eat Spiders
The most common species of cockroaches that love our houses, feed on our food, are dead spiders, and spread diseases are German and American cockroaches.
These two cockroaches are known by everyone, so if you have ever seen a cockroach in your house, it was one of these two. So let’s discuss these two.
Do German Cockroaches Eat Spiders?
Some essential characteristics of German cockroaches are as under so let’s go through these and find out whether they eat spiders or not.
- German cockroaches are small in size as compared to other species.
- They are brown to black in color and contain two broad lines on their upper body part.
- German cockroaches mostly get their nutrients from the food that is placed in our kitchens.
- These roaches can feed on dead spiders if food is not available.
- They are often found in bathrooms, near water pipes, and other water sources because they love to hydrate their bodies.
Do American Cockroaches Eat Spiders?
American cockroaches are also known to invade our houses, so let’s have a look at their characteristics.
- American cockroaches are also small but are slightly more in length as compared to German cockroaches.
- Some are brown, while others are red in color.
- They prefer to eat food related to the human diet but can also eat dead skeletons of spiders and even other cockroaches.
- They can travel on you by hiding in your luggage and boxes containing accessories.
- They live in small cracks and spaces in walls and enter your house from bathroom pipes.
- American cockroaches love to hide in dark places such as basements and corners of your bedroom.
3. Diet of Cockroaches
I have performed various experiments and fed different types of foods to various species of roaches and got the same results that are listed in other writings.
One of the main reasons for cockroaches’ flexibility is their ability to eat anything. Almost everything that you can think of is edible for cockroaches.
As I have stated above, about 4,470 species of roaches live in wilds where there is plant-based material to feed on, so they naturally eat food from plant sources.
They can consume plant-based material in both raw form and product form. The roaches living in the wild feed on leaves and wood as they can digest cellulose.
Some species of cockroaches feed on dead skeletons of other pests like spiders and even of one among themselves.
On the other hand, the species that live in our houses can feed on fruits, vegetables, and food containing fats, sugar, starch, and protein.
They can also feed on dead spiders and other insects; some love garbage because it contains decayed material, and they can feed on paper as well, as it is made from their natural food source.
Things to know about Spiders
You will definitely be aware of spiders as they are widely spread on Earth; they are found in almost every house and in every country.
They are an even more widely spread species as compared to cockroaches, as there are 45,000 species of spiders. Isn’t it fascinating?
It means no matter which part of Earth you belong to; you will definitely come in contact with spiders in your daily routine.
There are two types of spiders based on their habitats, spiders from the first type live in the wild; spiders live on trees and under the soil, while spiders from the second type invade our homes.
They vary in their physical appearances, like length, size, and shape, but it is hard to differentiate among their different species as they all look the same.
They are included in the insect group arachnids because, like other insects, they also possess an abdomen and thorax, having multiple legs.
Spiders are one of those insects that have a parental nature; they live in pairs and show a caring and protective response towards their eggs until their complete development.
They make net-like webs, especially in the corners of walls, that increase the cleaning workload, which is quite irritating but have you ever wondered why they do so?
Actually, they do this to catch their prey like other insects and feed on them once they are trapped.
Differences Between Cockroaches and Spiders
They differ from roaches in terms of some body parts as they don’t have spiracles for breathing; instead, they possess lungs to provide oxygen to their cells and exchange gasses.
They are also not included in flying insects as they don’t have wings, so they only differ from roaches in the presence of wings, as cockroaches are also not good flyers.
Moreover, spiders don’t have antennae which is the central part of a cockroach’s body that helps in sense and feel things.
In addition, in terms of presence on Earth, spiders surpassed cockroaches as they inhabited Earth 400 million years ago.
Similarities Between Cockroaches and Spiders
Both cockroaches and spiders are included in pest groups; they both are widely spread and cause trouble in our houses.
Although spiders are beneficial for humans as they are used in making a cloth material called silk, they also produce a horror image in mind, just like cockroaches.
Some people have allergies from cockroaches and a particular type of fear from them; they experience abnormalities in their bodies when come in contact with them
The same in the case of spiders; spiders can generate fear responses in some people, so they are like a horror dream for people having phobias.
Like cockroaches, spiders also like to hide in dark places that have minimum light exposure. They also have well-developed lenses to see things.
Summarizing Lines:
In this blog, we have found the answer to this question: Do cockroaches eat spiders? Cockroaches can eat spiders if they are dead, but they are not their preferred food.
I have also mentioned some interesting facts about both cockroaches and spiders. If you have read this blog carefully, you can also differentiate between both these pests.
I hope you have found this blog helpful and have learned something informative.
FAQs:
Do Spiders Love Roaches?
Spiders are known to prey on insects as cockroaches are also included in insects, and they both inhabit our homes, so they come in contact quickly so spiders can feed on roaches.
What Spider Kills Cockroaches?
The spiders feed on cockroaches by killing them; among these spiders, the most common are brown spiders and huntsman species of spiders.
What Do Cockroaches Don’t Eat?
Cockroaches eat almost everything; they only avoid things that produce odors that repel cockroaches, such as bay leaves, lemon, and crushed coffee beans.
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