Most of us tend to get a bit cranky when we haven’t eaten for a few hours, but some pests can go an incredibly long time without eating.
Mice fall in at the low end of the scale
If you’ve ever had a mouse in your house, it seems like they almost live forever, and some times you have no idea where they are getting food from. The good news is that if you can cut off that food source they won’t last very long without it.
Mice have a very fast metabolism and this causes them to need to consume food frequently. Most mice can only last 2-4 days without food, however interestingly enough, they can last quite a while without water as they can usually get enough moisture from the food they consume. The other thing to think about with mice and food supply, is although they are eating frequently, they are frequent nibbles so a small store of food could last a mouse a very long time.
Ants have a similar story to mice
We usually think of ants as eating everything in sight, and if we leave food out in the summer, ants will probably get their jaws on it, but how long can they really go without eating?
Ants typically will always be working together as a colony, and you will rarely find an ant alone for long. Ants have a much easier time surviving in a group and it makes meals more accessible.
Most ants only live about a year on the high end, but the average worker only lives for a few months. Without food ants can typically only last about two days.
Roaches are moving on up!
Now probably one of the most disgusting creatures you might find in your home actually has a lot of interesting facts about them. Roaches are very hardy and have a lot of features that help them survive desperate situations.
One crazy fact is that they can actually live up to a week without a head! Roaches have the ability to breath through holes across their body and the only reason they last a week is that they aren’t able to drink water without a mouth and end up dying from thirst.
Another interesting fact about roaches is that they are cold blooded. This helps them out in the eating department as they don’t need as much energy to keep their body warm. This allows roaches to go for about a month without eating. Unfortunately for them, they would still need water though to survive more than a week.
Don’t let the bed bugs bite
As the old saying goes “don’t let the bed bugs bite” that’s definitely true. Bed bugs are some tough pests. They go above and beyond when it comes to living without food.
Bed bugs are blood suckers and they typically feed off of humans, but they also have been known to feed off of other mammals and some birds. A little bit of blood can go a long way for these critters, so watch out or you might have some extra company for a while.
The average bed bug can live to about a year but some can live even longer without food in the right circumstances. Bed bugs have a wide range of how long they can go without feeding. One of the longest cases found when put to the test topped out at about 400 days without food.
Topping the charts are spiders
Now each species of spider is different, but generally most spiders can be inactive for long periods of time. This helps them use less energy and creates a lower necessity for eating food.
One of the longest cases of going without food for a spider was in the Rabbit Hutch spider. It lasted over 540 days without food or water in captivity. Overall spiders tend to have a much slower metabolism than many animals and this lets them go for extended periods without eating.
Unfortunately almost all of these pests can end up in your home or at least certain species of them can. With how long some of these pests can live without food, it’s no wonder they can start causing problems when left unchecked. We recommend setting up a general pest control service for your home to keep pests in check before they start causing issues.
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