B. lateralis is the better roach.

[Tapahtyn]

I'm going to have to try the roach thing this time around I think.

Im right there with you, crickets are easy to breed, but they stink and are more cannabalistic and just dirty little creatures. Ugh, they will just have to do until I can order some dubia

 

[gvfarns]

Are dubias less of a risk in that department?

Yes they are considered lower risk. First of all they are terrible at escaping. They are large and easy to find (catch) and don't seem as well equipped to live in an average home as the other roaches we've been discussing.

 

[Moose9]

I use both lats and dubia as well. I like lats over crickets because they don't smell nearly as bad. Large colonies do have a little oder. I don't have any problem with them climbing my bins. I use dark colored Sterilite bins, no climbing at all, not even baby nymphs. As mentioned earlier, these are great feeders for slings, etc. because of there size. My dragons won't touch them. I also like them because they don't and never have bothered my tarantulas or scorpions while molting. I have read some people dispute this, but ime, never been a problem. Keep the temps and humidity up and they breed and grow quickly. I only use lats for my tarantulas and scorpions.

My experience with the eggs hatching is around 3 weeks. The warmer, moister the conditions, the quicker they will hatch. I pull my eggs and put them in a homemade incubator like you would use for hatching tarantulas eggs. When they hatch, there easy to collect and I have newborns for feeding my slings, etc..

I live in the S. Cal. deserts and in the summer there all over outside at night. They come in the house at night and head straight for my room. We have never had an infestation in the past 4 years we started seeing them appear. I even have a few escape here and there while I'm feeding, still never had an infestation. When temps here drop below 60F, they start to disappear. Basically if its cool and dry where you live, you shouldn't experience any infestations from escapes.

This species, although tropical, tend to survive here because there egg cases can lay dormant for up to 20 weeks in cooler climate. They disappear here around late summer when night time temps drop below 60F and reappear in February/March when we have a slight warming. If you get escapes in your home, put down deli containers of water along a wall, etc. They find it and drown. Living in the desert here, it is very dry and lats need moisture to survive long periods. Without it, they desiccate and die.

While others may have different opinions on how to raise lats or how lats behave, the above mentioned is my own personal experience with lats. If your using crickets and thinking of switching to lats, go for it, worth it imo. I will never switch back to crickets.

-Greg

 

[JimM]

Thanks much for the info peeps.
I'll wait until the new collection has grown enough to warrant a small colony, then order a handful.

Years and years of crickets, I think I'm about done. Getting rid of the smell alone will be worth it.
I'm liking a culture of mealworms in a large oatmeal container, that's working out nicely. Add a small colony of dubia, I think I'll be set.

One thing though, when the wife asks me what they are, I'm going to just call them "dubias" and leave "roach" out of it.

 

[Spunky]

Thanks much for the info peeps.
I'll wait until the new collection has grown enough to warrant a small colony, then order a handful.

Years and years of crickets, I think I'm about done. Getting rid of the smell alone will be worth it.
I'm liking a culture of mealworms in a large oatmeal container, that's working out nicely. Add a small colony of dubia, I think I'll be set.

One thing though, when the wife asks me what they are, I'm going to just call them "dubias" and leave "roach" out of it.

Agreed LOL, loads of T's and the worst part for my wife was the word "roach" coming out of my mouth when I switched from crickets to dubias. Some part of her would rather stare down and help me catch some OBT escapees that help me keep an eye on the roach colony. Best of of luck

 

[TalonAWD]

One thing I noticed is that Dubias can eat. They really consume large quantities of food. Lateralis does not in comparison. I have to feed my Dubias almost everyday and the Dubias food lasts a long time.

 

[bliss]

back in September I got 6,000+ B lateralis for my bearded dragons. At this point, seeing as how growing dragons eat so much, i think i might have 2000 or so left in total.

anyways, i'm gonna be switching to dubia. i'm tired of finding rogue babie Lats from time to time. I know that those babies might grow up to become adults, and if that happens and they start breeding, i'll be screwed royally.