Roaches are a longtime problem of all households: They are troublesome, destructive, and have a secondary role in transmitting many diseases. Thus, we’ve strived to eliminate these critters from our house. While many seek traditional methods, many utilize roaches’ natural enemies. But are mice one of those? and Do mice eat roaches?
If you want to know the answer, read on. We’ll also introduce the 4 best ways to eliminate roaches.
Table of Contents
Do Mice Eat Roaches?
If you’ve ever questioned this, you’re not the only one; householders who have either experienced this occurrence or who have seen these unwelcome creatures surrounding their houses, garages, or different places in their house have posed this question.
The quick answer is yes. Mice will gladly feed on many roach varieties, both big and little ones. Indeed, rats were even rated among the leading 3 roach adversaries.
While rats consume roaches, we should not use them to eliminate pests in your house, garage, or garden. Although roaches are an unwelcome problem for many reasons, rats may also be a bother for your home. These critters spread illnesses, ruin property, and multiply rapidly, frequently resulting in hard-to-control invasions.
Additionally, roaches are frequently tricky for rodents to capture, and people offer significantly more easily reachable food supplies for rodents in the cupboards and pet dishes. As a result, cockroaches may be more of a snack than a staple in a rat’s diet.
Do Cats Eat Roaches?
Roaches are an insect that is rich in proteins. Therefore, they are an excellent supply of nutrients for other species, including cats. Yet, cockroaches are not a favorite meal of cats.
A cat could feed on dead cockroaches, yet; it could also go the other way. Indeed, a peckish cat might swallow cockroaches, while a well-fed one may simply view cockroaches as a game.
Small or inquisitive cats might nibble on and consume cockroaches further from curiosity than necessity.
Find out more about flies here: Following A “Work-Life” Balance, Where Do Flies Go At Night?
4 Best Ways To Eliminate Roaches From Your House
Bait Traps Are The Best
Bait traps are the most effective. They combine tempting food with pesticides and lure the cockroaches into eating it. They will be poisoned if they swallow the lure. Yet, poisoned baits will not instantly kill cockroaches.
Rather, the cockroaches will return to their colony and die after 1 day. As roaches usually eat one another, some other cockroaches feed on the corpses and consume the poisonous pesticide.
They will also die during the following 2 weeks. So even when you can’t locate where the nest is, a top-notch cockroach trap will minimize the growth of their population.
Bait traps are also effective if the poisoned cockroaches do not return home before dying. This is due to the cockroach’s feces containing poisons. Different roaches might consume the poop and die afterward.
Check out some bait traps here:
Use Glue Traps For Roaches
If you prefer to exterminate cockroaches without using poisons, glue traps are the way to go. These super adhesive patches are coated with glue that cockroaches can’t crawl out of after walking on them. They are mainly provided in packets of 3 or 6 and are chemical-free.
Put glue traps in hidden, inconspicuous areas where cockroaches swarm, such as within closets and cupboards, around the outer edges of your fridge, and where windows are exposed to the outside. After you’ve caught cockroaches in your glue trap, throw it away and substitute it with a new one.
However, they won’t do much when it comes to eliminating the whole clutch.
Check these best glue traps for cockroaches here:
Apply Diatomaceous Earth
Diatomaceous earth helps kill many pests, especially roaches, mites, lice, termites, and others. For example, it’s an effective natural cure for eliminating cockroaches since it works as both a preventive barrier and a pesticide.
The harsh diatomaceous earth particles rip the waxy coating of the cockroach’s thick skin, eliminating it via dehydration. In addition, roaches take away part of the DE that adheres to the small follicles on their legs as they crawl over diatomaceous earth. They usually die afterward, at their home.
One of the advantages of DE powder is its adaptability. It is simple to scatter or spritz it underneath household items, beneath furnishings, within cabinets, and even outdoors!
In the kitchen, apply food-grade DE on counters and cabinets. In addition, Diatomaceous earth performs well against cockroaches in automobiles and vehicles since it is simple to clear using a vacuum.
Yet, different from filter-grade diatomaceous earth, which includes 60% silica dust (a dangerous substance linked to a variety of respiratory ailments), food-grade DE has under 2% of silica dust and, thus, is deemed safe to utilize.
However, keep the substance away from young kids and animals, and wear eyewear and a mask during the application to prevent the fine particles from irritating your lungs.
The best diatomaceous earth products include:
Utilize Boric Acid
If handled correctly, boric acid may kill a large number of roaches. The roaches will collect boric acid powder on their legs and exoskeleton as it moves over them.
Whenever the cockroaches clean themselves, they consume the boric acid passively. After entering the cockroachess’ stomach, boric acid impairs the neurological and digestive functions, finally killing the roaches.
Boric acid could also be used in lures and traps. In this scenario, the cockroaches will eat the lures and bring them back to their home. Several cockroaches will consume the covered lure and die as a result.
Moreover, as cockroaches are not fussy eaters, they will frequently consume corpse cockroaches. Thus, if a cockroach dies from boric acid intake and is eaten by some other cockroaches, the boric acid enters the alive roach’s system and kills them as well.
Since it is poisonous, people and pets can swallow, contact, or inhale it. Thus, boric acid should be used cautiously. If you use too much, the cockroach will notice and ignore it. You should also minimize your contact with it.
Lastly, as it is powdery, it may leave a huge mess. If you are concerned about using boric acid or think you are misusing it, your best choice is to contact an expert to handle the situation for you.
Here are some decent boric acid products:
Wrapping Up
While mice do eat roaches, this isn’t the most effective method. In the worst case, you might even face both rat and roach infestation. Thus, it’s best to use other methods like bait traps, glue traps, diatomaceous earth, or boric acid.
For more tips and advice, refer to our Science section and website Jobandedu.
Note: This blog contains relevant Amazon products that we earn a small commission to fund our blog while not incurring any extra cost to you.
