Cockroaches can eat human, dog, cat, and rodent poop because it contains undigested food and proteins that keep them healthy. Surprisingly, feces contains more than enough nutrients that can sustain them. However, fresh poop that is still warm attracts more roaches when compared to that which has been left in the open for a while.
It has also been observed that roaches are attracted to their own poop. It makes them identify their habitat and makes them feel safe since it is the only way they will know that their own are breeding there. If there is nothing to eat, cockroaches can eat their own droppings without any issues.
Roaches are common in sewer lines because apart from the warmth and constant moisture, they also have food. The constant flow of human and pets’ stools flushed down the drainage can feed them. Some of them can even leave and die in the drains without coming out. Most roaches thrive in dark areas thus they do not need to come out for light.
Why do roaches eat poop?
Roaches eat poop because it is waste from the stomach that contains traces of food. Not everything is digested after eating. Research has proved that roaches prefer stools from omnivores like humans and animals because the waste produced contains a mixture of beneficial nutrients. They tend to avoid waste from herbivores like cows and donkeys since their stool contents are not diverse in nutrients. Â
1. Faeces that contain proteins
One of the major attractions of roaches to human poop is protein. During the digestion process, the bone marrow and the liver produces red blood cells that have already been broken down. Actually, this is why roaches love brown poop since it is rich in proteins as compared to green or black poop.
Stools contain bacteria that release harmful and harmless components. Â Those compounds then give off gasses that are not pleasant to the human nose. However, roaches do not smell them like we do thus they may find it attractive. The fact that they have a different diet unlike animals and humans justifies their attraction to feces.
2. Diarrhea from poor digestion
Diarrhea due to poor digestion contains water and undigested fats and salts that are tasty to roaches. Undigested fiber and food especially diarrhea can attract lots of bugs. Roaches crawl on toilet bowls if there are stool droplets on them especially when you have diarrhea.
Poor digestion can also occur in pets like cats, dogs, rats, and mice and roaches will be attracted to their waste in large numbers. However, it also depends on what the animals consumed. For example, poop from poorly digested meat will invite more cockroaches as compared to greens. Roaches can eat anything but they prefer meat to greens.
3. Survival
During the cold seasons, outdoor roaches come indoors in search of food and shelter. Cockroaches in the yard and bush are used to eating dead and rotting organic materials. When they come into your space, the sewers and drains attract them more.
The sewers will also sustain them thanks to its warm, dark, and extremely moist environment. Once they get in there, all they can feed on is your waste and urine. In this case, roaches eat human waste as their only means of survival since it is the closest to what they eat out in the field.
4. Reproduction and nutrients
Sewer roaches that rely on poop for survival tend to be bigger than those that live in the kitchen. This is based on the fact that they get more nutrients from waste as compared to those that wait to eat in the kitchen at night.
Additionally, the Diploptera Punctata is a species that gives birth to live young ones and they need lots of nutrients for milk. This milk is always rich in proteins meaning that they have to eat a well-balanced diet for them to thrive. Therefore, stools provide all they need and they do well if that is their main source of food in the wild.
In the wild, droppings from carnivorous animals attract roaches as compared to those from animals that feed on pure vegetation. The contents of human poop are also tasty and nutritious to roaches since humans do not depend on one type of food. This makes their waste diverse and most bugs will also dine in it.
Do cockroaches eat their own poop?
Roaches can eat their own poop but only if they are extremely desperate for food. However, it is very difficult for them to lack food since they are adapted to eat almost anything you can think of. In most cases, roaches are attracted to their waste and that is how they invite each other if they find a good habitat.
Young roaches often eat their own poop because are still not good at hunting like the adults. Female roaches hide in dark areas when laying eggs and they poop a lot in their habitats during that time. After the eggs are hatched, their young ones need food to survive. They eat what is available right where they are hatched. Whatever is available is often the adult waste that is common around their hiding areas.
When you look at mouse vs roach droppings, they have a lot in common and you really have to be keen. If there is an infestation, roaches tend to eat mouse and rat poop. They only turn to their own droppings if that is not available.
Whenever those two are sharing a habitat, they tend to turn on each other at some point. Since rats can eat cockroaches, they will always live some around. Adult roaches can eat their dead ones. Basically, the droppings from rats and mouse is what they will eat. If that is not there, they feed on their dead. It is only when all those are not there that adult roaches go for their dropping.
When the young ones begin hunting, their sense of smell will also develop. It is therefore very rare for them to eat their droppings since they have alternatives. It does not matter whether they are indoors or outdoors because roaches can easily adapt to any environment.