# Eating bugs **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 18, 2016, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-bugs/766296 "2016-09-18T19:09:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![copperwindow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@copperwindow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/copperwindow)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-bugs/766296/1 "2016-09-18T19:09:30Z")
Is it dangerous to eats bugs in your house? ---
**Author:** ![Yersenia\_Pestis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/e495f1/32.png) [@Yersenia\_Pestis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yersenia_Pestis)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-bugs/766296/2 "2016-09-18T19:10:48Z")
Probably not but not a wise thing to do - like mushrooms in your in your backyard ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-bugs/766296/3 "2016-09-18T19:12:10Z")
Its just as dangerous to eat them outside. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-bugs/766296/4 "2016-09-18T19:33:52Z")
Running a little short this month?😉 Most common household insects are not toxic. Some, however, may carry diseases. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-bugs/766296/5 "2016-09-18T19:38:35Z")
You also have to be cautious about pesticides. If you live in a single-family residence and don’t spray or use insecticide you’ll be far better off than if you live in an apartment tenement where everything with an exoskeleton is soaked in toxins from the egg with the intent of killing them. ---
**Author:** ![copperwindow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@copperwindow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/copperwindow)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-bugs/766296/6 "2016-09-18T20:04:40Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Running a little short this month?😉 > > Most common household insects are not toxic. Some, however, may carry diseases. Is it dangerous to eat insects that carry diseases? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-bugs/766296/7 "2016-09-18T20:13:10Z")
> [@copperwindow](#): > > Is it dangerous to eat insects that carry diseases? It can increase the likelihood of getting some of those diseases. If you wash and fully cook the insects, you’ll be minimizing this risk to very low levels (IANAD). ---
**Author:** ![copperwindow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@copperwindow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/copperwindow)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-bugs/766296/8 "2016-09-18T20:17:04Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > It can increase the likelihood of getting some of those diseases. If you wash and fully cook the insects, you’ll be minimizing this risk to very low levels (IANAD). Which diseases and when my stomach acids kill them off anyway? ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-bugs/766296/9 "2016-09-18T20:29:05Z")
> [@copperwindow](#): > > Which diseases and when my stomach acids kill them off anyway? Hepatitis virus can certainly be transmitted in food regardless of stomach acid, and while most insects can’t catch hepatitis, you don’t know where that insect was walking last before you eat it. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-bugs/766296/10 "2016-09-18T20:51:37Z")
> [@copperwindow](#): > > Which diseases and when my stomach acids kill them off anyway? I don’t know, but stomach acid doesn’t kill all diseases (some of which can infect you through the mouth, or through inhalation, or other means). ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-bugs/766296/11 "2016-09-18T21:21:47Z")
Many people think all Thais eat insects when it’s really only the Northeasterners. Other Thais look down on them for doing that. You’ll often see bug carts set up in Bangkok, but what your average tourist doesn’t realize is that without exception, they’re set up in areas with a large concentration of Northeasterners such as bar areas and construction sites. The Northeast has traditionally been Thailand’s poorest region, and insect consumption has provided some much-needed protein. But my wife, born and raised in Bangkok, shudders at the mere thought of eating anything like this. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-bugs/766296/12 "2016-09-18T22:51:33Z")
> [@copperwindow](#): > > Which diseases and when my stomach acids kill them off anyway? [A cockroach’s typical diet consists of feces, trash, and uncovered food, giving them ample opportunity to come into contact with dangerous bacteria and then spread it all over your next meal. It’s believed that roaches can transmit a wide variety of diseases in this manner, including dysentery, cholera, leprosy, typhoid fever, and salmonella, as well as also carrying parasitic worm larvae on their bodies.](http://www.stopzbugs.com/blog/2014/12/30/how-cockroaches-spread-disease-and-what-you-can-do-about-it-) You can get infected by these pathogens before they reach your stomach. ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-bugs/766296/13 "2016-09-18T23:01:26Z")
Yes, don’t eat cockroaches. Only their milk is good. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-bugs/766296/14 "2016-09-18T23:03:31Z")
How does one milk a cockroach? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-bugs/766296/15 "2016-09-18T23:12:07Z")
First you warm your hands . . . ---
**Author:** ![jjakucyk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3d9bf3/32.png) [@jjakucyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjakucyk)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2016, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-bugs/766296/16 "2016-09-18T23:16:29Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Many people think all Thais eat insects when it’s really only the Northeasterners. Other Thais look down on them for doing that. You’ll often see bug carts set up in Bangkok, but what your average tourist doesn’t realize is that without exception, they’re set up in areas with a large concentration of Northeasterners such as bar areas and construction sites. The Northeast has traditionally been Thailand’s poorest region, and insect consumption has provided some much-needed protein. But my wife, born and raised in Bangkok, shudders at the mere thought of eating anything like this. Of course they’re much better once they’re cooked. 🙂 I can’t think of a good reason to eat bugs raw, which vastly increases the risk of disease transmission. Even Survivorman cooked his bugs. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2016, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-bugs/766296/17 "2016-09-19T00:24:19Z")
> [@jjakucyk](#): > > Of course they’re much better once they’re cooked. 🙂 I can’t think of a good reason to eat bugs raw, which vastly increases the risk of disease transmission. Even Survivorman cooked his bugs. Yes, I think they’re all cooked, I’ve never heard of anyone in Thailand eating bugs raw. Some of those insects are rather large too. I once went to a restaurant in Changchun, China that specialized in “cuisine” common during the Cultural Revolution. Meaning bugs. The silkworms I did not care for, but there were some small scorpions that were downright tasty. Kind of buttery-tasting. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2016, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-bugs/766296/18 "2016-09-19T15:16:49Z")
I would not eat bugs in a house. I would not eat them with a mouse. I would not eat them here or there. I would not eat them _anywhere!_ 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2016, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-bugs/766296/19 "2016-09-20T00:04:47Z")
I’ve never eaten a whole bug on purpose (especially raw and dirty) but food made from [cricket flour](https://www.sixfoods.com) can be delicious. It’s nutty and a bit sweet. Kind of addicting. I just wish it was more affordable. I think if we had industrial cricket farms someday it would be. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2016, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eating-bugs/766296/20 "2016-09-20T15:37:53Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Many people think all Thais eat insects when it’s really only the Northeasterners. Other Thais look down on them for doing that. You’ll often see bug carts set up in Bangkok, but what your average tourist doesn’t realize is that without exception, they’re set up in areas with a large concentration of Northeasterners such as bar areas and construction sites. The Northeast has traditionally been Thailand’s poorest region, and insect consumption has provided some much-needed protein. But my wife, born and raised in Bangkok, shudders at the mere thought of eating anything like this. That’s interesting to know - thanks for taking the time to explain.