Any trick to crushing dubia roach head without killing the roach?

[testdasi]

My P. met is easily spooked so if I as much as open the enclosure door, it would immediately retreat into its (deep) hide so I think I'll have to crush the dubia head and leave it in the tank.
Surprisingly after so many T's, this is actually the first time I have ever had to crush a dubia head and am having troubles doing it (without crushing the damn roach).

Are there any particular tricks you guys use to do it?

I'm having problem mainly with accuracy as the roach keeps on moving so by the time my tongs hit the roach, no matter how hard I aim, it would end up hitting some vital areas instead of the head.
Already killed 4 roaches!

Cheers.

 

[cold blood]

No trick, just squeeze....roaches live for days, sometimes weeks with a crushed head.

 

[basin79]

Pick the roach up and hold it by the body with your left hand. With your right hand get your thumb and index finger and squash the roaches head. This particular sophisticated technique allows you to switch hands too.

Job done.

 

[cold blood]

Pick the roach up and hold it by the body with your left hand. With your right hand get your thumb and index finger and squash the roaches head. This particular sophisticated technique allows you to switch hands too.

Job done.

jeez, i use a tweezers....i dont want that mess on my fingers (im quite allergic).

Your brutish ways both intrigue and impress me.

 

[DomGom TheFather]

Definitely with tweezers.

 

[chanda]

Definitely tweezers! I'd rather not have the roach goo all over my fingers. Just make sure you get in underneath the pronotum so you have the head in the tweezers - otherwise it's possible to just crush a portion of the pronotum but leave the head intact.

 

[spideyspinneret78]

I just apply pressure with a pair of feeding tongs and squish their heads that way.

 

[BepopCola]

I use cheap thread snippers.
I snip the head off over an isopod or beetle bin.

 

[basin79]

jeez, i use a tweezers....i dont want that mess on my fingers (im quite allergic).

Your brutish ways both intrigue and impress me.

Of course if you prefer not to get your nails dirty you could hold the roach in 1 hand and use tweezers/tongs to crush their heads CB. It's a very a very forgiving and adaptable technique.

 

[testdasi]

Ok thanks guys. I sort of combined @chanda and @BepopCola methods to decapitate the roach properly. Sort of pulled the head off with 2 tweezers and dropped it for the isopods.

 

[EpicEpic]

jeez, i use a tweezers....i dont want that mess on my fingers (im quite allergic).

Your brutish ways both intrigue and impress me.

I cut adult crickets in two pieces with my fingers and the only thing that bothers me is sometimes I'm wasting good guts (which i will sometimes rub back on the cricket before putting into enclosure) LOL

Are you allergic to only Roaches?

 

[cold blood]

Are you allergic to only Roaches?

Yes, and really just dubia....they kill me

 

[Royalty]

My P.Met Sling spooks very easily too. I always have to give it the smallest of crickets and leave them in there too.

 

[Smotzer]

another vote for the tweezer method