Ever wondered if mice ate roaches? Would it help to control an infestation, or will it make the situation worse? I had the same thought when I noticed dead roaches disappearing now and then until I decided to get the answers. I was amazed to find out where were these dead roaches going. Let me share it with you in the blog below.
Do mice eat roaches? Yes! Mice eat cockroaches and other bugs because of the high protein content they offer, but catching them might be tricky since these little critters are faster than the mice; they often get away from their hunters.
Also, don’t confuse yourself with mice or rats. Both are almost the same, so an answer to do rats eat roaches is the same. Rats will equally like to feast on roaches.
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What Do Mice Eat?
Mice eat almost anything that comes in their way. Usually, when this question is asked, our instant answer would have been ‘mice eat cheese,’ but instead, let me tell you that cheese is one of the least liked mice foods. Instead, mice rather enjoy eating foods like chocolate, peanut butter, and candies. Other than the sweet delights, mice also opt for pet food, bird food, and cereal.
Not just eating, rats are also great at chewing things that they get their hands on. These little omnivorous creatures won’t leave anything without chewing. Only people who have got mice in their homes will know what a mess mice can be.
You will find small pieces of chewed paper, cardboard, clothes, furniture, and whatnot! There are many reasons why rats like to chew on different things. For instance, in the case of cardboard, they would chew it until they had reached inside the box to get the cereal.
They also keep their sharp teeth filed by chewing on things. If they stop filling their teeth, it will become impossible for them to eat due to the overgrowth of the teeth, resulting in their deaths.
Mice eat things with a strong odor and other readily available items, including the trash from the trash cans. They will never stop exploring and continue to chew on things.
Apart from the not-so-nutritious food, mice get all their proteins and other essential nutrients from feeding on various species of insects, including the roaches.
Roach is one of the most beneficial diets to rats; since it carries almost all essential amino acids. Even the legs and exoskeleton are full of protein. Other insects such as worms or snails are also their favorite meals.
Do Mice Keep the Roaches Away?
Although mice or rats can be one of the reasons that can decrease the number of roaches in a household, you should know that you can not entirely depend on them to get rid of the cockroach infestation.
Mice eat roaches specifically when they find them stuck on sticky traps or at times when they are killed due to any other reason, and catching them for their diet is usually not the case.
Mice will have to do a great deal of hard work to catch the roaches, and this will take even more time to clear out the infestation. So not only would it be a non-professional method, but it will also create an additional mess. In short, keeping mice or rats at your home to get rid of roaches is not a clever idea at all.
It’s better to adopt other professional methods to keep the roaches away; for instance, you can install sticky traps and use strong insecticides to clear out the roaches for good. You can also check out all my recommendations on the Best insecticides & traps to kill a cockroach here.
Why Rats Eat Roaches?
The answer is simple; mice eat roaches because they need proteins in their diet to survive in the long run, and roaches are the best and easy way to get them. In addition, the cockroaches have a lot of vital minerals that the mice require. Not just that, their wings and other parts of their skeletal system also play an essential role in the digestion of the mice.
Besides, mice will also eat up some specific species of roaches because they are safe and don’t cause any health issues. These roaches include hissing roaches and Dubai roaches. Any other roach is most likely to cause stomach aches and diarrhea in the rats. Nonetheless, their favorite meals among the roaches will always be the German and American roaches.
Adding to that, a mouse will only attack a roach when it gets no other scent of food near, and the roach is the only option left to kill its hunger. That means mice prefer any other food over the roaches. Along with the mice, many other animals eat the roaches. Check out what animals eat roaches here.
Do Mice Eat Dead Roaches?
Mice eat roaches that are not killed by any poisonous intoxicants, as even if they are dead, roaches carry all the essential amino acids and other minerals that the mice mostly search for. Also, finding a dead roach is more than heaven to the mice than a living roach because now they won’t have to run after and catch them.
In addition to that, dead roaches have a smell of decaying proteins that attract some predators, including the mice. However, these roaches can sometimes be a disaster for the mice as the decaying roach are colonies of bacteria; some of them might be carrying toxic insecticides and other deadly chemicals. Mostly, roaches live in dirty and unhygienic places, which can become harmful for the mice to eat.
Can Mice and Roaches Coexist?
Mainly, when you see roaches and mice roaming around your home, you would expect the mice to wipe out the infestation, but let me tell you that both of them can coexist without doing much harm to one another.
Yes! Roaches and mice can indeed coexist and sometimes even rely on each other to survive. As both are nocturnal, they live in a similar environment and often cross their paths. While mice eat roaches infrequently, roaches also feast on mice droppings occasionally. It means that roaches can pull through even if there is nothing left for them to eat.
If you are not sure about the pest infestation by the mice and the roaches, you should start to look for the sticky traps where a cockroach gets stuck. When the mice eat the dead roaches, they often leave without eating their legs and the wings as it becomes hard to swallow these parts. This clue should be enough for you to know that mice and roaches have taken over your home.
