Apple crates for roaches

[biomarine2000]

I have a colony of B. lateralis that I started as juvie's. They have thrived in my aquarium. I used apple crates instead egg crates thinking they are the same. Well since I have done some reading have found out some of them can have pesticides in them from the apples. My question and concern is, what should I do with the colony? I dont want to risk harming the T's with pesticides that the roaches might of injested. Here is my original post, there are pics of the crates if you dont know what they look like.


http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=144212&page=3


The colony doesn't seem to be slugish at all. They actually seem to be flurishing. They are growing very quickly.

 

[ThyTempest]

I think it mostly depends on if you know where your apple crates came from. My family owns a small orchard here in Michigan, and they run all of their fruit through a rinse cycle before it even enters the packaging facility. I don't think you have much to worry about, but again, if the orchard is heavy on the chemicals and not so heavy on safety protocols, I suppose problems could come up.

 

[biomarine2000]

I think it mostly depends on if you know where your apple crates came from. My family owns a small orchard here in Michigan, and they run all of their fruit through a rinse cycle before it even enters the packaging facility. I don't think you have much to worry about, but again, if the orchard is heavy on the chemicals and not so heavy on safety protocols, I suppose problems could come up.

The longer the crates are in there the less I am worried. The roaches have gone through several molts without showing any signs of being affected by any kind of chemical. I got the crates from a middle school.

 

[Matt K]

One key indicator: Are your roaches alive? B.lateralis tend to die off in the presence of insecticides....

 

[biomarine2000]

One key indicator: Are your roaches alive? B.lateralis tend to die off in the presence of insecticides....

They are thriving. The apple crates have been in with them for about a month.

 

[elportoed]

i use them too with the eggflats. I alternate the stacking, eggflat, appleflat, eggflat, and so on. I guess I have been using it out of ignorance, I didn't consider the peticide factor in appleflat. But my colony is surviving.