Do Roaches Eat Bed Bugs? Difference Between Roaches & Bed Bugs

Have you ever thought about bed bugs being eliminated from your home, not by your ways of removal, but by the cockroaches?

Cockroaches, bed bugs – both belong to some unpleasant pests we don’t want to have around our home, but can they be linked around each other?

It might sound weird, but cockroaches can involve themselves with the bed bug infestation.

Not something you expect, do you?

What if cockroaches can help you in removing bed bugs?

What if they don’t?

Let’s find out.

Do Roaches Eat Bed Bugs?

Cockroaches tend to eat almost everything around their surroundings, and we cannot just monitor what they eat when they get into our homes.

Since cockroaches usually feed on waste, garbage, tiny insects, and more, they will probably feed on bed bugs.

Both cockroaches and bed bugs are pests that we want to eliminate in our home, but roaches tend to eat bed bugs they can find lying around. 

Aside from bed bugs, clover mites are also considered a dinner for these roaches!

Bed bugs are just so tiny that we can also barely see them, but in the eyes of the roaches, they are big enough to feed their systems.

Can Bed Bugs and Roaches Live in The Same Place?

It is implausible for bed bugs and cockroaches to live harmoniously in the same place because both infestations can wreck the area, plus roaches can eat almost everything around them.

If living with bed bugs is what will happen, the cockroaches will probably make them as their food to feed themselves.

However, that does not mean that they can’t live together: both roaches and bed bugs can infest your home. Maybe not in the same specific area, but they can ruin the peace going on in your house.

Bed bugs infest soft furnishings like your sofa, cushions, mattress, curtain folds, while cockroaches can roam and infest anywhere around your home, most especially if they think it is a safe place.

But most of the time, you can see these cockroaches in the kitchen area—and might even be inside a microwave!

Both bed bugs and roaches have a few things in common: spending time in unhygienic areas like roaches eating garbage, bed bugs infesting unsanitary bedding, and invading places.

Can You Eliminate Bed Bugs with Roaches?

Cockroaches are a lot bigger than bed bugs, which means they are much faster than bed bugs on the move. However, if you think that roaches will help eliminate your bed bugs, you better think again.

When we speak about breeding, bed bugs are faster, which means they will multiply much quicker and easier than roaches.

Roaches might quickly eliminate them from the area, but that’s not the case: they might be removed from that particular place, but some bed bugs will still breed and make more of their group!

You don’t want that to happen, do you?

Plus, do you genuinely want to take the risk to let cockroaches infest your home to eliminate the bed bugs? That’s some add-up work to clear from your home, and it is not a feasible and effective method.

Even when found almost everywhere, cockroaches mostly live in the kitchen, while bed bugs are in the living room. They are not in the same place, so letting the roaches eat up the bed bugs would take some time.

Cockroaches might save you a little bit from the bed bugs, but you cannot afford to have both cockroach and bed bug infestation in your home.

Which is Worse Between Roaches and Bed Bugs?

We cannot justify whether the bed bugs are worse than roaches, or the other way around, because both pests infest different types of things, yet both can damage the peace in your home!

One can be worse than the other in different ways.

We can find bed bugs in things we don’t expect they live. They can be inside our upholstered furniture, backpacks, luggage, pillow, mattress, and even inside our purse! 

Bed bugs are so tiny that they are not noticeable in one glimpse, while cockroaches can be found in almost any part of our home.

They can be inside our bedrooms, even the bathroom, and roam around the living room, but they most commonly love to move around the kitchen.

Both bed bugs and cockroaches can bite you, but bed bugs are worse because they can make your skin go red, become itchy, and they come at you mostly during sleep, which means they’re hard to prevent from coming at you.

Cockroaches can also bite you, but they don’t do it more often. However, they can be considered worse not in bites, but because they can spread harmful diseases to humans, they can be visibly seen and can freak out people, and they can crawl over anything, including the food you have in store.

So places like microwaves, dishwashers, refrigerators, etc., are all common hiding spots for roaches.

Both bed bugs and cockroaches have a lot in common, but they differ in size.

Cockroaches are more giant than bed bugs, but bed bugs are almost invisible to our eyes, compared to roaches which can be seen almost anywhere.

How to Prevent Bed Bug Infestation

There are available chemicals to remove bed bug infestation; however, there are more straightforward and quicker ways to prevent a bad bed bug infestation.

• Reduce the clutter in your home by constantly cleaning around. Not only by cleaning the floor but also by including the items you left on your soft furnishings.

• Clean your closet once in a while because bed bugs can also infest your clothes. You need to clean the corners and wipe the surfaces, to ensure that no such thing is sticking on your closet. You also shake off your clothes to remove the dust hanging around.

• Frequently vacuum your carpet and upholstered items. Include cleaning your curtains and linens to prevent a bad bed bug infestation.

• Avoid leaving clothes and purses around the house and put them in the right place. Make sure no other items are inside them, so bed bugs, and even cockroaches, won’t come to crawl on your belongings.

Final Words

Never let the roaches eliminate your bed bugs because, worst-case scenario, you will have the infestation of both pests.

Yes, roaches can eat bed bugs, but it is not enough to eliminate all of them.

Instead, always clean your surroundings and discipline by not forgetting to keep everything in place and clean every corner of the house.

Bed bugs won’t harm you so bad, but it is better to keep them off the surface of your home.

Hopefully, this article helped you know more about the linkage between roaches and bed bugs.

Time to eliminate them, friends!