# Do cockroaches bite?



## Felkon (Jul 9, 2003)

Do the cockroaches that live around houses bite? Such as the ones down south near oklahoma and texas? I see them alot at night but never pick them up because I don't know if they'll try to nip me. I've read somewhere a while ago that they do...


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## extrovertinvert (Jul 9, 2003)

yeah they can bite but it wouldn't hurt.   i wouldn't want to pick one up in the first place though


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## Code Monkey (Jul 9, 2003)

They *can* bite, but cockroaches rarely resort to their mandibles for defense. I am assuming you're talking about P. americana, which smells very nasty when you pick it up (defensive smell combined with fast running is their defense), and is also refused by many animals as a feeder if that was your intention.


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## Felkon (Jul 9, 2003)

Actually I was planning on using them as pets.  Although if they smell bad like you say they'd make awfully stinky pets...! Maybe I'll just go out and buy those expensive hissing cockroaches instead.


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## Code Monkey (Jul 9, 2003)

If you want roaches for pets, definitely go with a non defensive smell variety. Hissers are among some of the more dramatic looking roaches and can make good display animals. I've got cultures of P. americana at work and I would never want them in my home intentionally.

You might also consider things like B. gigantea, discoidales, crannifer, or dubia.


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## Wade (Jul 9, 2003)

I'd go with B. gigantea for pets. They're huge, dont climb glass, and don't reproduce in the huge numbers many of the others do. The later-stage nymphs are incredable, they look like trilobites.

Wade


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## chuck (Jul 9, 2003)

i would also take into consideration if its a "pest" species.  but living in the south, maybe most roaches would be a pest and able to acclimate to the climate

i would go with the hissers.  they look awesome, easy to care for, slow moving (compared to other roaches), easy to sex, and if youre keeping them as pets they have a great communal life - male domination, fights for the females, fights for territory.


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## jezzy607 (Jul 10, 2003)

Most roaches only bite or attempt to bite as a last resort defensively.  They may nibble on your skin, if moisture deprived.  What you should be more concerned with, when handling roaches, is the "spines" on their legs.  If handled incorrectly they may "kick" you, which results in you being poked/stabbed by the spines.  Defensive responses only occur if you squeeze the roach, or grab it.


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## Steven (Jul 10, 2003)

> buy those expensive hissing cockroaches instead


are they expensive in the US ?
i've got a lot of them, just let me know,.........


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## Code Monkey (Jul 10, 2003)

> _Originally posted by gongyles _
> *are they expensive in the US ?
> i've got a lot of them, just let me know,.........  *


Depends where you go, I've seen some pet stores asking for $6 a piece for them, essentially trying to sell them as "mated pairs" for $12. But, they can be found online for around $1.50@, and if you find a local person with an overgrown colony they'll be free or nearly so. That's how I got mine, I started the job in the enotomology department and my boss was asking me to take some off of her hands.


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## Wade (Jul 10, 2003)

When I sell them at reptile shows, I usually sell them for 6 to 10 dollars a dozen, depending on my mood that day.

Wade


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## Steven (Jul 10, 2003)

> When I sell them at reptile shows


hey Wade, i've send you a PM


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## Felkon (Jul 12, 2003)

I just got back from the oklahoma city reptile show and sale.. I bought 2 hissing cockroaches.. only 50 CENTS A PIECE! Now I wish I bought more.  They are really big and in good shape, too.

I also bought a 5 inch curly hair T, and a sub-adult avic. versicolor for $5.


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## MacCleod (Jul 13, 2003)

> _Originally posted by gongyles _
> *are they expensive in the US ?
> i've got a lot of them, just let me know,.........  *


Hey, I'm also interested in those bugs  

Maybe we can make a deal  

Damn....haven't got my assasin bugs, and already lookin' for some other creatures


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## Steven (Jul 13, 2003)

Hey MacCleod
Welcome on this board,... now there 4 dutchspeaking persons here,....

greetz


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## Valael (Jul 14, 2003)

Hissers are a buck a piece at the pet store here.  



I still really want to get a colony of roaches going, but who would have thought that roaches are actually EXPENSIVE?


I want them as a display and feeder thing.  Lobsters climb glass from what I hear, and the defensive smell pretty much eliminates them.



All of the other "good" ones seem to be $25+ a dozen.  I don't know if I have the experience needed to successfully get a colony going with only a dozen.  Or is it a lot easier than I understand it to be?


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## chuck (Jul 14, 2003)

lobsters have defensive odors???? i never noticed, but then again, i never cleaned their tank

roaches bread like crazy, you dont need to do much.  i used them for feeders only and i didnt pay much attention to humidity or temp.  i still ended up with a huge colony of hissers and lobsters.

and the price, just think, itll pay off in the future.  once they mate youll have too many to even feed to your pets


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## DarkPhreak (Jul 15, 2003)

> _Originally posted by Valael _
> *Hissers are a buck a piece at the pet store here.
> 
> 
> ...


Everything Depends on Temp! Keep it close to the 90's and feed them some Orange slices and you'll have babies in a week or so! I promiss, these roachs are so easy to take care of I love my Hissers.... Oddly I only started with females! There was not 1 male in there But since the Females have Sperm Retainers, they gave birth to like 40 babies in a few weeks!


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## Buspirone (Jul 15, 2003)

> _Originally posted by Valael _
> *
> 
> All of the other "good" ones seem to be $25+ a dozen.  I don't know if I have the experience needed to successfully get a colony going with only a dozen.  Or is it a lot easier than I understand it to be? *



With only a dozen you will need alot of patience but roaches are easy....keep them warm, give them some space, some places to hide and give them food and they will reproduce eventually. I think the price is high because they breed so easily that the dealers are only going to get one maybe two sales for any given species per customer. They are worth the price and effort  IMO to get away from crickets.


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## atavuss (Jul 15, 2003)

> _Originally posted by Code Monkey _
> *If you want roaches for pets, definitely go with a non defensive smell variety. Hissers are among some of the more dramatic looking roaches and can make good display animals. I've got cultures of P. americana at work and I would never want them in my home intentionally.
> 
> You might also consider things like B. gigantea, discoidales, crannifer, or dubia. *


ok CM, curiousity has got the best of me here........why do you culture the P. americana roaches at work?
Ed


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## jezzy607 (Jul 16, 2003)

Because he works in a lab that uses or experiments on pestiferous species of roaches?  I know that is why I rear them at work.


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## Valael (Jul 16, 2003)

He works for an exterminator and releases them in peoples' houses.  They come to the rescue and kill off the roaches and end up making money off of it.


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## Code Monkey (Jul 16, 2003)

Ed, go with Jezzy's explanation. I'm working for the Entomology department at Virginia Tech. One of the two profs who owns me is in urban pest management - cultures of American cockroaches, German cockroaches, subterranean termites, etc. live in the lab with me.


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## dangerprone69 (May 26, 2005)

DarkPhreak said:
			
		

> Everything Depends on Temp! Keep it close to the 90's and feed them some Orange slices and you'll have babies in a week or so! I promiss, these roachs are so easy to take care of I love my Hissers.... Oddly I only started with females! There was not 1 male in there But since the Females have Sperm Retainers, they gave birth to like 40 babies in a few weeks!


I don't keep mine that warm and they breed like crazy. Mine are typically 70 to 80 degrees. I feed mine cat food and various fruits and vegetables. I use cucumbers, oranges, apples, romaine lettuce, corn and carrots. I find them fascinating to watch and I recommend them to anybody!!

I've kept giganteas and dubias, but I've had problems breeding them. I used to have lobsters, but I couldn't stand them so I fed them all off to my tarantulas.  My H. minax loves to munch on roaches.


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## james (May 26, 2005)

*One of these days!!!*

One of these days when I actually have a free day I'm going to get pictures up of all my roaches. I have the true giant hissers that are massive, dwarfs(which are very cute), tigers, v-horns, and more. I'm trying to get some other new never been seen before hisser species as well. Not to mention my other super cool roaches like Hormetica subcincta, Therea petiveriana, and Neostylopyga Rhombifolia. 
James
www.blaberus.com


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## xelda (May 26, 2005)

I've never had any roaches bite me.  We had some massive roaches in the dorms when I stayed in China, and they were always found in the girls' rooms, probably because of their fruity lotions and creams.  The "tough" boys were total pansies but they still tried to save the day.  I was the weirdo who caught the roaches with my bare hands and put 'em outside.  The roaches probably just ended up coming back into the building, but at least it offered a temporary solution.  I hated seeing them get squashed.  Suffice it to say, I scared a lot of my dorm mates.

Anyway, if anything, it just feels like having a butterfly in your hands, but sometimes their legs do jab you.


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## reptillian (May 28, 2005)

*i got hissers*

i ogtt hissers there great pets and have never bitten me


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## reptillian (May 28, 2005)

*by da way*

by the way i htink hissers r the best cockorachers to have coz they have never bitten me and they dont have wings so they cant fly away and there very slow!so thus there r easr to handle


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## MikeHammelton (Feb 27, 2018)

I have heard that only very large individuals can bite a person, since small ones simply can not bite the human skin. Is it true?


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## TownesVanZandt (Feb 27, 2018)

MikeHammelton said:


> I have heard that only very large individuals can bite a person, since small ones simply can not bite the human skin. Is it true?


Cockroaches of all sizes have mouthparts, so of course they can bite a person regardless of their size.

Reactions: Agree 2


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## coniontises (Feb 27, 2018)

(I apologize in advance if thread revival is frowned upon)

Can bite and will bite are different things.

I have been bitten by a Zophobas adult beetle while handling. It is quite uncomfortable, but the insect will stop if you poke it. Roaches and adult tenebrionids (incl. Zophobas) obviously can bite, because they have chewing-jaws and can rasp carrots/wood. But in my experience they only do so when the human hand is mistaken for a carrot; they use other mechanisms to deal with predators and perceived threats.


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## Hisserdude (Feb 28, 2018)

Roaches NEVER bite in defense, I've grabbed many roaches, and not one species has ever bitten as an act of defense or aggression. However, some roaches will CHEW on you if you hold them long enough, just to see if your skin is edible, (and it is).


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