# Can lobster roaches infest your house?



## GartenSpinnen (Jun 22, 2008)

OK woke up this morning and was out on the patio and lo and behold a lobster roach staring at me. SMASH that was the end of him. Walked into the kitchen to get some cereal and lo and behold another one!!! SMASH and so on. Somehow the little devils got loose, i had a huge amount of them about 3,000+ and its hard to tell how many escaped. I layed down some contact poison around the doorway to the closet where they are kept so hopefully any more that somehow find a way out are killed. Also new petroleum jelly is going to be put on, but whats there is definately "still there" sort of speak. Are these bad to get loose? Or are they pretty harmless as far as infestations are concerned?


----------



## Moltar (Jun 22, 2008)

I'm of the opinion the in spite of the anecdotal evidence to the contrary, most exotic roach species are capable of infestation to a certain degree. I treat my roaches thusly and try VERY hard to immediately recapture anything that escapes my grasp. Those damn lateralis' are speedy!

If they can find year-round shelter from the cold we have in the northern parts of the country then I think they'll breed. Maybe not as fast as they do in their native location but i bet they'll reproduce to some degree. If i thought I had lateralis breeding loose in my house i'd probably take some pretty drastic measure to first, confirm their status and then eradicate the bejeezus outta them.

Of course, I'm not a roach expert, maybe somebody here has info to the contrary but that's my thought on the matter.


----------



## EightLeggedFrea (Jun 22, 2008)

etown_411 said:


> I'm of the opinion the in spite of the anecdotal evidence to the contrary, most exotic roach species are capable of infestation to a certain degree. I treat my roaches thusly and try VERY hard to immediately recapture anything that escapes my grasp. Those damn lateralis' are speedy!
> 
> If they can find year-round shelter from the cold we have in the northern parts of the country then I think they'll breed. Maybe not as fast as they do in their native location but i bet they'll reproduce to some degree. If i thought I had lateralis breeding loose in my house i'd probably take some pretty drastic measure to first, confirm their status and then eradicate the bejeezus outta them.
> 
> Of course, I'm not a roach expert, maybe somebody here has info to the contrary but that's my thought on the matter.


I really do not think B. lateralis could infect one's house. I see that because lateralis need lots of humidity to breed, and standard house humidity is about 40%. Even less than that with heating/AC. Lobsters also need warmth, like 90 degrees or more to really get ready for hot roach sex.


----------



## GartenSpinnen (Jun 22, 2008)

EightLeggedFrea said:


> I really do not think B. lateralis could infect one's house. I see that because lateralis need lots of humidity to breed, and standard house humidity is about 40%. Even less than that with heating/AC. Lobsters also need warmth, like 90 degrees or more to really get ready for hot roach sex.


LOL thats why they have been breeding rampant at room temps in my house? I dont keep a heating pad or anything on my roaches. They multiply like crazy...


----------



## Villosa (Jun 22, 2008)

Depending on where you live certain roaches may or may not breed in your house. I happen to live in the West Coast where it's usually dry, and temperate year round. I'm sure some of my B. lateralis have escaped but so far, I've only been able to find dead ones, on their backs, and dry to a crisp. I'm my opinion, even these "pest" species have a hard time getting a hold of establishing unless your house has leaky plumping somewhere or they have access to scraps of meals etc all the time. I'm my room unless they like to chew drywall and books or even my bed sheets, they're probably dead as all my food for them is sealed away in nice airtight containers. And the guy in my avy? He's lucky he doesn't run off on me or else he's really in trouble!!


----------



## Moltar (Jun 22, 2008)

EightLeggedFrea said:


> I really do not think B. lateralis could infect one's house. I see that because lateralis need lots of humidity to breed, and standard house humidity is about 40%. Even less than that with heating/AC. Lobsters also need warmth, like 90 degrees or more to really get ready for hot roach sex.


Yup. I take your point but at the same time I believe that nature has a habit of somehow finding a way. That's why i'm as cautious as I can be. For example, i can imagine some lateralis finding their way into my crawlspace in summertime. Here in MD temps and humidity in the 90's aren't that unusual in the summer. In the winter they may crawl back inside and just barely get by until next summer... Bugs can be pretty resilient.

I'd rather be overly cautious and right than overconfident and wrong when it comes to something like introducing a roach infestation to my row of townhouses.  


Also, Jadespider, are you absolutely sure they were lobsters? We have a species of wood roach around here that really is a spittin' image of turkistans. Maybe you just saw a similar local species?


----------



## Villosa (Jun 22, 2008)

You're absolutely right etown_411, when in doubt, prevent it from happening as best you can.


----------



## dtknow (Jun 22, 2008)

I could see lobsters infesting a greenhouse or something similar, but a well kept home would be really hard.

One thing good about lobsters and lateralis is that they have very high feeding drive. Sticky traps baited will take care of them.


----------



## GartenSpinnen (Jun 22, 2008)

etown_411 said:


> Yup. I take your point but at the same time I believe that nature has a habit of somehow finding a way. That's why i'm as cautious as I can be. For example, i can imagine some lateralis finding their way into my crawlspace in summertime. Here in MD temps and humidity in the 90's aren't that unusual in the summer. In the winter they may crawl back inside and just barely get by until next summer... Bugs can be pretty resilient.
> 
> I'd rather be overly cautious and right than overconfident and wrong when it comes to something like introducing a roach infestation to my row of townhouses.
> 
> ...



LOL trust me i have lobsters, they come from a VERY reliable source from on here (cheshire). So yea, they are definately lobsters. Everyone says they dont breed unless they are kept very warm, they must not know much about lobsters or something. I started with 100 MAYBE 200 and now i have well over 3000. The house stays room temps, dipping down in the high 60s staying mostly in the mid 70s (72-74). Maybe they are cloning themselves? hehehe....
Cheers

OH YEA i got them around 7 months ago i think?


----------



## kingfarvito (Jun 22, 2008)

if you think latterallis cant infest your insane and as for the high humidity thing im in arizona and i wont keep them because I find them wild here


----------



## Digby Rigby (Jun 22, 2008)

*Lobster not lateralis*

Lobster roaches are ones we never sold except for people who wanted to release them in old boy/girlfriends homes.  Its been a couple years since the last time.  I have heard of only one case where the lobster roaches actually infested someones house here in California.  By that I mean actually reproducing in the home they had high heat and humidity.  I have never heard of it before or since.  Lateralis are similar to the oriental cockroach Blatta orientalis which can and does infest some homes.  Orientalis like it about 75 degrees and very humid or damp.  Blatta lateralis also like lower temps than trpoical roach species about 85 or so and not quite so humidity loving as the orientalis.  I know of no one who has had infestations of lateralis however they do occur in feral populations in a couple of army bases in California and Arizona.

Digby Rigby balboa28279@mypacks.net
____________________________________
My feeders are cooler than your pets


----------



## Moltar (Jun 22, 2008)

jadespider1985 said:


> LOL trust me i have lobsters, they come from a VERY reliable source from on here...



I meant rather are you sure that what you saw outside was indeed a lobster roach. I don't doubt it's lobsters you have in captivity. You're probably right though that it was escaped lobsters you saw. Those things are pretty much little houdinis.


----------



## Rochelle (Jun 22, 2008)

etown_411 said:


> Yup. I take your point but at the same time I believe that nature has a habit of somehow finding a way. That's why i'm as cautious as I can be. For example, i can imagine some lateralis finding their way into my crawlspace in summertime. Here in MD temps and humidity in the 90's aren't that unusual in the summer. In the winter they may crawl back inside and just barely get by until next summer... Bugs can be pretty resilient.
> 
> I'd rather be overly cautious and right than overconfident and wrong when it comes to something like introducing a roach infestation to my row of townhouses.
> 
> ...


Absolutely correct.
Mother nature does not read AB and therefore does not realize that they are not SUPPOSED to infest...LMAO
Crawlspaces are PERFECT for infestation. Water heaters are warm year round and basements usually have some source of moisture,
VIOLA!


----------



## bluefrogtat2 (Jun 26, 2008)

*warning for sure*

i keep lots of roaches.lots.
but would not even consider either lobsters(including the giants)or lateralis at all.both have a major potential for infestation.
i have sold a bunch of both and discontinued due to a couple of heavy infestations.
you can risk it but i do know of a few people who accidentally infested house with either.and in one case both.
i wouldn't advise either at all.
stick with discoids or dubias
andy


----------



## clear (Jun 27, 2008)

I agree with keeping a clean house and use a good roach spray and you shouldnt have a problem.


----------



## Arachnobored (Jun 27, 2008)

...unless of course you have tarantulas, in which case you'll have them to worry about when you zap the escapees!


----------



## tacoma0680 (Jul 3, 2008)

*Lobsters breeding temps*



EightLeggedFrea said:


> I really do not think B. lateralis could infect one's house. I see that because lateralis need lots of humidity to breed, and standard house humidity is about 40%. Even less than that with heating/AC. Lobsters also need warmth, like 90 degrees or more to really get ready for hot roach sex.


Yeah same here my lobsters need no heat they are breeding like crazy at about 75. I dont know if its going to cause a problem if you are really worried about it turn a few tarantulas loose I think you are doing the right thing about setting a few traps you know what also works good for me is set a water bowl out in the middle of a room.
Good luck


----------



## Kamikaze (Jul 25, 2008)

Any roach escape here in Southeast Asia would be a disaster to ones house


----------



## Snake_Eyes (Jul 27, 2008)

EightLeggedFrea said:


> I really do not think B. lateralis could infect one's house. I see that because lateralis need lots of humidity to breed, and standard house humidity is about 40%. Even less than that with heating/AC. Lobsters also need warmth, like 90 degrees or more to really get ready for hot roach sex.


When I kept lateralis they were kept at room temp  (high 60's to mid 70's with the only humidity coming from apple's and water gel. It took quite a while for the egg cases to hatch but eventually they did and I had LOTS of them. I went from 24 to who knows how many in just a few months. I got rid of the colony and now just buy a half dozen at a time to feed my scorps.


----------



## rm90 (Jul 27, 2008)

Im getting a Roach colony (lateralis) but thinking of freezing some of the egg cases when there gets to be too many?? would this solve my problem from getting too many.


----------



## Snake_Eyes (Jul 27, 2008)

Yes, if I remember right each egg case contains like 30-40 babys.


----------



## Senses-Tingling (Aug 11, 2008)

Lobster roaches are not listed as a potential pest species. I keep 20+ species of roaches, including lobsters, but I won't keep a potential pest species. I received some free Periplaneta australiasse and I quickly destroyed them. I have never had any concern of my lobsters infesting my house - that is over a 6 year time frame.


----------

