Boxelder bugs for my scorpions

[Leon945]

Hi!
Well.. I have a question..
I recently found out that alot of boxelder bugs live in my backyard, and I wanted to ask how safe it is for my scorpions to eat them

I usually go buy crickets to the pet store here.. but.. it's a bit far from my house.. and having all those bugs in my backyard makes me wonder if it would be OK to feed them that.

I know the potential danger of insecticide in the bugs, but.. we don't use insecticides in our house..
Also I caught some the other day to "quarantine" them, and they lasted about a week.. i think they could have laasted more.. i just don't know what they eat..

What do you guys think? should I try it??

 

[Stylopidae]

I wouldn't...parasites, insecticide and bright colors normally indicate some toxin produced by the organism that would probably be harmful to your pet.

 

[MattM]

I wouldn't feet them any kind of bugs like these. They must taste horrible (you'll smell it when they crack open), and these kind of bugs often have a "natural chemical" kind of reaction/fluid I believe? Correct me if i'm wrong

If the trip to the shop is too far, why not consider breeding food yourself?
I must do that too, since my two Pogona vitticeps eat around $100 a month :wall: Selfbreeding will reduce that quite a bit I hope hehe

 

[Leon945]

Alright, alright.. I guess i'll go buy crickets! hehe..
thanks for the advice!

But.. do you think there is ANY use i can get out of boxelder bugs? I've got hundreds on the tree in my backyard.. there's gotta be SOMETHING i can do with them!

 

[Normski2020uk]

If you can captive breed them, i would say go for it, so long as you are happy these critters do not produce their own toxin. The risk you run with feeding wild caught is:

1. Pestacides are a nurotoxin. Their effects are acumalative, meaning 1 bug may not kill a larger bug, but aver a priod of time 3 or 4 effected bugs could kill. Nrotoxin damage is not reperable.

2. Parasites, internal parasites rely on their host being eaten so they can continue their life cycle. Most are critical or will damage your scorp.

3. Natural deffenses, Unless you know what you are feeding to your scorp, you dont know how it defend itself. A recent post identifyed how a "glue gun Roach" disabled a Scorp.

I'm very picky on what i feed my Scorps, any sign of weekness, infection, parasite, i scrap the whole culture. I breed my own roaches, and crickets. If they are 2 easy for me to catch they go in the bin, only aparently health fighting fit specamins go in. Even that is no 100%, but you can only do so much.

 

[Leon945]

good idea

Ooh.. well there's an IDEA.. maybe i can try and breed them.. now i just need to know what they eat... hehe whatever it is.. it should be available in my backyard.. haha.. anyway.. i'll be heading to the "insects and other invertebrates" to get some help on the breeding..

thanks!!

 

[kahoy]

3. Natural deffenses, Unless you know what you are feeding to your scorp, you dont know how it defend itself. A recent post identifyed how a "glue gun Roach" disabled a Scorp.

QUOTE]


its a harlequin roiach nyph,

when they mature, they stinks like skunks

 

[kahoy]

3. Natural deffenses, Unless you know what you are feeding to your scorp, you dont know how it defend itself. A recent post identifyed how a "glue gun Roach" disabled a Scorp.

its a harlequin roach nymph,

when they mature, they stinks like skunks

 

[sowis]

Box elder bugs will breed in your house like unwanted roaches (or ants or whatever you don't want in your house). Where I live you have to have the pesticide companies in to your house or building to get rid of the Box elders. They literally infest your house. I killed one over an inch in body length the other day. Asian beetles are just as bad. But they're an introduced species with no natural predator that the DNR in their infinite foresight brought in to get rid of some "pest". Make sure you don't let any out. I can't get rid of the ones in my house without jeapordizing my tarantulas. If anyone has an invert safe method I would be glad to hear it.

 

[bananaman]

Box elder bugs will breed in your house like unwanted roaches (or ants or whatever you don't want in your house). Where I live you have to have the pesticide companies in to your house or building to get rid of the Box elders. They literally infest your house. I killed one over an inch in body length the other day. Asian beetles are just as bad. But they're an introduced species with no natural predator that the DNR in their infinite foresight brought in to get rid of some "pest". Make sure you don't let any out. I can't get rid of the ones in my house without jeapordizing my tarantulas. If anyone has an invert safe method I would be glad to hear it.

Answer from whatsthatbug.com

"Box elder bugs can be killed very inexpensively at home with warm water and dish-soap. Approximately 1/8th cup to a sprayer of warm water. Dawn works best as it has detergents that can penetrate the oily substance on the box-elder bugs backs. It will stick to them and suffocate the bugs It is funny to watch them fall from their perches in clumps after a soaking! ... This is a very well tested remedy! You may have to repeat as these bugs have a lengthy life cycle. Seems it took an entire summer to get the tiny crawling nymphs without wings to the medium sized and adult with wings".

 

[sowis]

Thanks. I'll have to try that out. Inexpensive and safe for tarantulas as well.

 

[Venom]

i think they could have laasted more.. i just don't know what they eat..

Well, if you do decide to use them as feeders, you should know that they actually feed on box elder trees, hence the name. Box elder is a very common species of tree, and if you have the bugs, you will have the trees nearby.

 

[Leon945]

Alright!
Well, i did find a page that pretty much explains it all.. and I THINK the tree i got is a boxelder..and i would think that is the reason the live on it..
I thought about breeding them myself, to avoid any pesticides or whatever...
But, according to the page i was recommended, they do not breed in captivity..

Here is the page i was recommended to check out:
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74114.html

So, I'm not sure.. but thanks for the info!