Are Praying Mantis Dangerous To Dogs? (7 Key Facts)

People often express interest in knowing whether praying mantises are dangerous to dogs. In this article, we seek to answer that question – by finding out, among other things, what happens when a dog is bitten by a praying mantis, what happens when a dog eats a mantis and so on.

Are praying mantis dangerous to dogs? No, praying mantis are really not dangerous to dogs. Granted, a mantis can bite a dog, but the bite is usually quite minor. And while a dog that eats a praying mantis may suffer bruises and stomach upsets, those tend to resolve easily and quickly.

Thus when thinking of dogs and praying mantises, there are two key concerns. The first is with regard to the possibility of the mantis biting the dog – and especially what happens when praying mantis bites dogs.

The second is with regard to the possibility of the dogs trying to eat the praying mantises. Here, the worry would be mostly on what happens when the dog eats the mantis, especially with emphasis on the potential for poisoning.

Thankfully, in both aspects, praying mantises are not really very dangerous to dogs.

Can Praying Mantis Hurt Your Dog?

Here, we need to start at a more general level, by asking ourselves, can praying mantis hurt animals? And the answer is ‘yes’ – though the praying mantises’ potential to hurt animals is minimal.

For sure, a praying mantis can bite an animal. But mantis bites are usually not serious to the bigger animals.

Further, an animal that eats a praying mantis can also suffer gastrointestinal problems. But these tend to be minor, and most self-resolving.

Now applying the same to dogs, we see that whereas mantises can bite dogs, their bites are not usually very serious. They have no venom. And their jaws are not strong enough to inflict very deep bites on animals like dogs.

Dogs that eat praying mantis can suffer minor harm in two ways. Firstly, the serrated praying mantis limbs can bruise the dogs’ guts as they go down.

And secondly, once they reach the dogs’ stomachs, the mantises can cause minor upsets.

So there is a possibility of a mantis hurting your dog in those ways. But whether the potential for harm is really high enough for us to declare the mantises ‘dangerous’ to dogs is a different matter altogether.

What Happens If A Dog Is Bitten By A Praying Mantis?

As noted earlier, one of the things that a mantis can do to a dog is bite it.

This leads to an interesting question: does a praying mantis bite hurt dogs? And the answer is that a mantis’ bite may indeed be painful to a dog in a small way. Thus the bite does hurt.

However, the mantis bite is usually not deep enough to cause a major wound. And the pain from the mantis wound tends to subside after a short while.

Here, one may ask, is a praying mantis poisonous to dogs when it bites? And thankfully, the answer is ‘no’. Mantises have no venom. So there is really no question of a mantis injecting any venom to a dog when it bites.

Thus what happens if a dog is bitten by a praying mantis is that it may feel some pain. Close examination at the bite site may reveal some swelling. That is all. The pain and swelling tend to resolve on their own, after a short while.

What Happens If A Dog Eats A Praying Mantis?

If a dog eats a praying mantis, there are two things that may happen.

Firstly, in the course of the dog ingesting the mantis, it may suffer some minor injuries from the mantis’ serrated limbs. So those can bruise the dog’s mouth and throat, as they go down.

But you can take comfort in the fact that dog’s mouths and throats have adaptations to pull through rougher things…

Secondly, once the praying mantis is in the dog’s stomach, it may cause stomach upset. However, note that the mantis isn’t poisonous to the dog.

The stomach upset will be on account of the fact that the mantis is a new ‘food’. And the stomach upset will tend to resolve on its own, after a while.

Thus if you had the question on what happens if my dog eats a praying mantis, that is the answer to it.

Are Praying Mantis Dangerous To Dogs?

So far, we have seen what happens when a dog is bitten by a praying mantis. We have also looked at what happens if a dog eats a praying mantis.

Now considering what we have said, are praying mantis dangerous to dogs? The answer, for the most part, is ‘no’. The harm that praying mantis can inflict on dogs is too minor for us to declare the mantises ‘dangerous’ to dogs.

As we have seen, even if a mantis bites a dog, the only effect is minor pain and perhaps swelling. These are usually self-resolving.

And if a dog eats a mantis, the only effect may be minor injury to the mouth and throat (due to the mantis’ serrated limbs). That alongside the possibility for minor stomach upset…

These things don’t quite reach the threshold at which we would refer to mantises as being ‘dangerous’ to dogs.

Why Do People Think That Praying Mantises Are Dangerous To Dogs?

People may think that mantises are dangerous to dogs because of the mantises’ strange appearance.

There are also all manner of myths about mantises that people believe. Those can drive them into thinking that mantises are particularly dangerous to dogs.

It is mostly on account of those factors that we find people asking questions like, are praying mantis dangerous to all dogs? Or are all praying mantis dangerous to dogs?

As observed earlier though, while the mantis can hurt the dogs in minor ways, the potential for harm is low. It is certainly not of a level that would warrant terming the mantises as ‘dangerous’ to dogs.

Can Praying Mantis Kill Dogs?

It would be highly unlikely that a praying mantis would kill a dog.

While a mantis can indeed bite a dog, the bite is usually never serious enough to kill a dog. In any event, a mantis’ bite is non-venomous.

And while a dog that eats a mantis may suffer stomach upset, that is usually not serious enough to kill a dog.

So it is highly unlikely that a mantis would kill a dog directly.

Should You Keep A Praying Mantis As A Pet With Dogs?

In most cases, there should be no problem when it comes to keeping both dogs and mantises as pets.

Granted, the dogs may try to eat the praying mantis. And the praying mantis may respond by biting the dogs… But such conflicts are not very commonplace.

The only challenge you may encounter is with regard to how to introduce your dog to a praying mantis: considering their respective sizes. So there may be some awkwardness there.

The dog may not even know whether you are introducing the mantis as a ‘colleague’ or as a food item.

Final Verdict – Are Praying Mantis Dangerous To Dogs

Praying mantis are really not dangerous to dogs.

While the praying mantis can indeed bite dogs, the bites are usually not too deep nor too painful. Praying mantis bites also don’t entail injection of venom. So they can’t really be said to be dangerous in that regard.

Dogs that try to eat praying mantises may have their mouths and throats bruised by the mantises’ serrated limbs. But such scratches are usually minor and self-resolving.

Further, dogs that eat praying mantises may suffer from stomach upsets. But these are usually minor, brief and also self-resolving.

In light of these facts, we really can’t say that praying mantises are ‘dangerous’ to dogs. They may cause dogs minor harm: but certainly not to the level where the mantises can be said to be dangerous to dogs.

As a pet lover, make sure to learn about pet more and give your pet mantis a good and comfortable life!

Rajkumar Ravichandran

Welcome to Learn About Pet. My name is Rajkumar Ravichandran and I love all pets, travel, and amazing food. I write about my passion and personal experience caring for multiple pets in this blog! ❤️