# Is there ANYTHING that eats roaches? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 19, 2011, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-that-eats-roaches/596858 "2011-09-19T20:05:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-that-eats-roaches/596858/41 "2011-09-20T12:38:21Z")
Almost everything eats roaches. They aren’t poisonous, they are slow moving and they can’t fly. Anything that eats insects eats roaches: any vaguely insectivorous bird, bats, rats, mice, humans, frogs, lizards, salamanders, cats, dogs, stoats, foxes. spiders, centipedes, tiger beetles and so on and so forth. Basically, if an animals is even vaguely inscetivorous, it will eat roaches. > [@Odesio](#): > > Most human predation by sharks is strictly catch and release. Likely because the shark ends up thinking “this isn’t a #%#%#% seal.” Sharks hunt seals exactly the same way. Seals have a really vicious bite, so sharks attacking seals make one rushing attack, and then swim away and wait for the animal to bleed to death. The reason so many humans\* aren’t\* eaten is because the body is recovered before the shark has the opportunity. Ask yourself this: if sharks are simply biting and then realising the human doesn’t taste good, why are there so few accounts of bodies washing up on beaches? Basically if a human is attacked by a shark, they are either returned to shore within a few minutes, or they are never seen again. ---
**Author:** ![JBDivmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@JBDivmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBDivmstr)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-that-eats-roaches/596858/42 "2011-09-20T12:46:38Z")
> [@pikey\_pete](#): > > Humans. I know for a fact that fried giant chinese cockroach is a delicacy. tastes kinda like almonds. when in rome ya know… _ **Ewwwwwww!** _ Wished I would have waited until _ **after** _ breakfast, to check the Dope. ☹ Yeah, yeah! I know… Be careful what you ask for, you just might get it. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-that-eats-roaches/596858/43 "2011-09-20T12:47:41Z")
> [@Blake](#): > > Almost everything eats roaches. They aren’t poisonous, they are slow moving and they can’t fly. Actually, roaches, at least in West Africa, _do_ fly. And let me tell you, I don’t like them the better for it. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-that-eats-roaches/596858/44 "2011-09-20T13:04:56Z")
They fly down here in Texas, too, and all along the gulf states. ---
**Author:** ![Capitaine\_Zombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@Capitaine\_Zombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capitaine_Zombie)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-that-eats-roaches/596858/45 "2011-09-20T13:05:29Z")
> [@Sal\_Ammoniac](#): > > Actually, roaches, at least in West Africa, _do_ fly. And let me tell you, I don’t like them the better for it. I’m getting curious **Sal Ammoniac** , where did you live in Western Africa? ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-that-eats-roaches/596858/46 "2011-09-20T13:05:41Z")
> [@Sal\_Ammoniac](#): > > Actually, roaches, at least in West Africa, _do_ fly. And let me tell you, I don’t like them the better for it. The night I discovered that was one of the worst nights of my life. Few things will reduce you to a puddle on the floor like being alone in a strange land with a house seething with roaches that occasionally dive bomb you. The right cat can take care of a roach problem. I lived in a tropical, roach infested climate and had a cat that would come eat them on command (“Cat, come here. Kill!”) ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-that-eats-roaches/596858/47 "2011-09-20T13:24:29Z")
> [@Capitaine\_Zombie](#): > > I’m getting curious **Sal Ammoniac** , where did you live in Western Africa? Perhaps I should say that I know flying roaches to exist in a certain apartment on the west side of Niamey, Niger. Specifically in the bedroom. ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-that-eats-roaches/596858/48 "2011-09-20T13:24:53Z")
> [@outlierrn](#): > > The bat video doesn’t do the speed of their attack justice > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qf8pAwGsuF4](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qf8pAwGsuF4) > > don’t be so sure. > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XE-LMPHR\_TY](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XE-LMPHR_TY) Oh, I’m quite sure. But that tiny scorpion vs. a giant centipede and in a fixed fight? Sure anything’s possible. A puppy is stronger than a lion too as long as the puppy gets the cub at 2 weeks old and someone has declawed the cub before filming an entertaining fight video. In my unfortunately extensive experience with tropical scorpions anyway, his tail would have actually been stinging the centipede instead of laying there paralyzed and only trying to use his pincers. Considering they also added ridiculous sound effects to that video I’m taking a guess it was produced for entertainment and not documentary purposes. My guess is the scorpions stinger was damaged before the camera started rolling. > [@even\_sven](#): > > The night I discovered that was one of the worst nights of my life. Few things will reduce you to a puddle on the floor like being alone in a strange land with a house seething with roaches that occasionally dive bomb you. > > The right cat can take care of a roach problem. I lived in a tropical, roach infested climate and had a cat that would come eat them on command (“Cat, come here. Kill!”) In Texas we had flying tree roaches, 2 inches long and they would dive bomb right for your face if threatened. The old joke is Texans wear boots with pointed toes to kill those things when they run into the corner. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-that-eats-roaches/596858/49 "2011-09-20T13:37:20Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > How does a centipede catch anything? If you’re a bug or any other critter that it can catch, it’s a locomotive with a mind of its own, poison claws, and a serpentine body with lots of legs for wrapping you up and tying you up. If a centipede is on your trail, your best chance of survival is to be somewhere else. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-that-eats-roaches/596858/50 "2011-09-20T13:41:42Z")
Bugs are a huge problem in the laudromat I go to, because nasty people bring them in with their clothes. The attendant stopped me from killing a centiped the other day because “they usually hide and they kill and eat the roaches.” _shudder_ ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-that-eats-roaches/596858/51 "2011-09-20T13:51:24Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > [Tropical jewel wasp](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emerald_cockroach_wasp), sorta. How in the love of fuck does anything like that ever evolve? That single Wiki article has done more to make me believe in a creation deity than decades of persecution. And for the record I name that deity: Cthulhu ---
**Author:** ![Testy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c37758/32.png) [@Testy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Testy)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-that-eats-roaches/596858/52 "2011-09-20T14:02:42Z")
Another vote for chickens. They will grab a large bug and body-slam him on the ground, repeat until he stops wiggling, and then crunch him down with every sign of enjoyment. Testy ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-that-eats-roaches/596858/53 "2011-09-20T14:30:38Z")
so basically everything eats cockroaches, and yet they thrive… ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-that-eats-roaches/596858/54 "2011-09-20T16:57:34Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > Where are you getting this stuff? A shark won’t eat a human? The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Organization. Generally they taste the person, but don’t finish him off when they discover it isn’t a seal or their normal prey. (Though I think maybe tiger sharks will.) > [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > Also, have you ever seen a bass or a pike hit a bug? It’s in one motion, not a series of nibbles. Even if the fish changed it’s mind, it would be too late. Exactly–it’s just that these aren’t natural prey, and I don’t necessary agree that fish don’t like to eat roaches. In any case, I can’t see why a fish would deliberately want to eat metal “knowing” it’s metal. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-that-eats-roaches/596858/55 "2011-09-20T17:10:54Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Organization. Generally they taste the person, but don’t finish him off when they discover it isn’t a seal or their normal prey. The reason for that behavior was given unthread. Proof that sharks will eat humans has been documented numerous times in the past. ---
**Author:** ![BlinkingDuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eada6e/32.png) [@BlinkingDuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlinkingDuck)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-that-eats-roaches/596858/56 "2011-09-20T19:33:11Z")
> [@drachillix](#): > > [Common house gecko - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_House_Gecko) > > an ex of mine worked in a pet store and could get these guys for dirt cheap like $1-$2 each at the time. A friend of hers had a huge roach problem. Ex got her like 18 of the geckos. Turned them loose in the kitchen, and the hunting began. Took a few weeks but the roaches pretty much disappeared, alonge with spiders. A few geckos turned up dried out and dead here and there over the next few months. Every once in a while you would see one on a wall somewhere. if you are not sqeamish about tiny reptiles running loose, they are fabulous pest control systems. When I lived in Southern Georgia many locals actually used lizards (not sure if geckos). They actually had a formula for # sq feet per lizard initially and number to ‘restock’ every 6 months. Coworker tried it and she said it was fantastic. Seldom saw the lizards (though you had to be careful with putting on shoes) and the roach population plummeted dramatically. ---
**Author:** ![Foxy40](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a9a28c/32.png) [@Foxy40](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foxy40)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-that-eats-roaches/596858/57 "2011-09-20T19:47:23Z")
> [@BlinkingDuck](#): > > When I lived in Southern Georgia many locals actually used lizards (not sure if geckos). They actually had a formula for # sq feet per lizard initially and number to ‘restock’ every 6 months. > > Coworker tried it and she said it was fantastic. Seldom saw the lizards (though you had to be careful with putting on shoes) and the roach population plummeted dramatically. Some how I managed to get roaches in my garage. Totally grossed me out. Someone suggested putting some lizards in there. So I sent the kid out with a coffee can and we dumped them out on the garage floor. Unfortunately, my dog decided that lizards were simply a hoot to play with and kill. Ultimately I ended up with a bunch of dead lizards dragged in through the doggie door and a 100 bill from the exterminator. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-that-eats-roaches/596858/58 "2011-09-20T20:23:20Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Um…when you catch a fish using traditional hook and line, the fish bites whatever you are using to conceal the hook, ie, the bait. I suppose on some planet a fish may bite something as an expression of solidarity with the universe, but here on Earth, fish bite things they are trying to eat. Ergo, I reason that fish will, in fact, eat roaches when such are available to be eaten. You are such a grumpy old curmudgeon sometimes (and I say that with affection) but this post just made me snort with laughter. Well played, sir. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-that-eats-roaches/596858/59 "2011-09-21T01:35:12Z")
> [@MEBuckner](#): > > They scuttle like the wind and have venomous pincers. Scuttle like the wind? ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-that-eats-roaches/596858/60 "2011-09-21T01:45:04Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > If you’re a bug or any other critter that it can catch, it’s a locomotive with a mind of its own, poison claws, and a serpentine body with lots of legs for wrapping you up and tying you up. If a centipede is on your trail, your best chance of survival is to be somewhere else. I’m just surprised they can catch anything–I didn’t know they could move fast. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-that-eats-roaches/596858.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-anything-that-eats-roaches/596858.md?page=4)