Communal Blatticomposting Bin- Setup and Questions

[Slappy]

TLDR: questions at the end.

I had a composting bin with red wiggler worms, but after I read about how much faster roaches get the same amount of work done, I went a little crazy and added 3 species of cockroaches.

• Eublaberus serranus: ~65 total, mixed nymphs and some winged adults
•Eublaberus sp Ivory: ~65 total, mixed nymphs and some adults.
•Dubia: around ~20 adult females, 10 adult males, 100 mixed nymphs.
So far, the ivory’s are my favorite! E Serranus is my least favorite. I’ve only had each species between 3-5 weeks, so they are all still pretty new. I’m looking forward to seeing the colonies grow! Eventually I might separate the species when their numbers are large enough, and will need help telling the adult male Dubai’s from the E. Serranus. They look so similar and the pattern variations for each don’t help.

The enclosure is a 27 gallon, plastic bin kept outside. Ventilation holes are drilled on the lid and all four sides near the top. The center of the lid is cut out and covered with steel mesh for the heating element.
I keep my roaches comfortable with:
seedling heat mat underneath the bin to warm the substrate— thermostat controlled and set to 78F (so the worms don’t get too hot).
100 watt ceramic heat emitter.
Closer to the top of the “eggcrate mountain” it’s about 90-100F (still in June-gloom weather), and the roaches have the option of moving down lower for cooler temps, or dig down into the substrate.
They also have some buried egg crate for the Eublaberus, buried and exposed pieces of wood, dried oak and magnolia leaves ontop of and buried in the substrate.
substrate is a mix of compost, planting soil, coconut fiber, a little bit of wood char, coffee grounds, dried leaves, shredded paper, etc
I mist the enclosure anywhere from twice a day to every couple days.
The roaches are offered fruit and vegetable scraps, sometimes little bits of egg or very small amounts of meats (I don’t want the bin to stink or attract flies), ground eggshells, ground bird seed, sometimes high quality fish pellets. Variety is the spice of life

There are also various species of isopods, mites, springtails, and a few buffalo beetles.
So far everyone seems to be getting along. I was worried the burrowers would mess with the worms, but the wrigglers are thriving and popping out babies like crazy. Since acquiring all ~250 roaches, only a 5 have died, and none in the last week or so.

I look forward to any recommendations you guys have for my new hobby, and am trying to create a mini-ecosystem where my critters are content and productive.
Let me know if there’s anything else I ought to add.


(I missed the enclosure after seeing the low humidity. I try and keep it 50%+)
QUESTIONS:
I’ve read on other posts that Eublaberus species do not hybridize, and hybridization with Dubia is impossible as they’re the only member of that genus in the hobby. Let me know if this isn’t the case.

Since I’m already on the communal composting bin train, any interesting species you’d recommend adding?
requirements: cannot climb well, cannot fly well

Do E. Serranus adult females have wings?
can someone post a picture? The google doesn’t work that great for roach questions/ pictures. Not a lot of information on Eublaberus. I know with E. Sp. ivory, both males and females are winged.

whats the best way to tell adult dubia males and E. Serranus apart?
Id like to know so I can keep track of their numbers as the colonies grow, and for potentially separating species down the line.

 

[olll]

Um, if you just keep them inside the house you can save a lot of money. They are petty easy to keep so anything will work

 

[Slappy]

Um, if you just keep them inside the house you can save a lot of money. They are petty easy to keep so anything will work

the critters themselves don’t really smell, but I figured the composting part would be noticeable. If I moved them indoors they would probably end up underneath the 150gallon aquarium in my bedroom

 

[olll]

Ok, well everything looks great. Don’t forget to feed them

 

[pannaking22]

I'm guessing one of the Eublaberus will eventually outcompete all the rest since they can reproduce at a much higher rate. But otherwise if they've got enough food they should be fine. I'm doing the same thing with E. sp. Ivory and it works pretty well, though I have to keep mine indoors.

 

[Arthroverts]

I will post here once again in a bit, I have something I'm working on that should answer these questions...

Thanks,

Arthroverts

 

[Slappy]

Thanks so much for the replies, I appreciate your time

I'm guessing one of the Eublaberus will eventually outcompete all the rest since they can reproduce at a much higher rate. But otherwise if they've got enough food they should be fine. I'm doing the same thing with E. sp. Ivory and it works pretty well, though I have to keep mine indoors.

Are you composting inside? If so, any unpleasant odor? I dig around in mine and the only thing I typically smell is “earth”. If I did move them indoors, the 150gal aquarium can probably fit two bins underneath. I have a ton of space on my side patio for roaches, and nobody usually cares what I do back here lol.

If I get too much of one species, my fish and turtles would be happy to help find a solution. And hardly anybody sells roaches locally. But for now, any increase would be wonderful, as we have a lot of great produce scraps going to waste in landfills
we will likely need multiple bins to house enough to keep up with the supply of food. Then it’ll all go back into the fruits and veggies and herbs we grow.

my main concern is the hybridization between different Eublaberus species. They have the best reputation in composting, and I was considering a culture of E. Distanti and/or E. Posticus. There isn’t much info out there about it, but I found two posts from others suggesting they do not hybridize.
they are older posts, so perhaps there is new information out there. Hybrids are shunned, and I’d rather not screw up the genes of the entire colony.


Either way, if/when I get more enclosures, I’ll be moving B. Dubia in with non-Serranus— can’t tell ‘me apart.

 

[pannaking22]

Thanks so much for the replies, I appreciate your time


Are you composting inside? If so, any unpleasant odor? I dig around in mine and the only thing I typically smell is “earth”. If I did move them indoors, the 150gal aquarium can probably fit two bins underneath. I have a ton of space on my side patio for roaches, and nobody usually cares what I do back here lol.

If I get too much of one species, my fish and turtles would be happy to help find a solution. And hardly anybody sells roaches locally. But for now, any increase would be wonderful, as we have a lot of great produce scraps going to waste in landfills
we will likely need multiple bins to house enough to keep up with the supply of food. Then it’ll all go back into the fruits and veggies and herbs we grow.

my main concern is the hybridization between different Eublaberus species. They have the best reputation in composting, and I was considering a culture of E. Distanti and/or E. Posticus. There isn’t much info out there about it, but I found two posts from others suggesting they do not hybridize.
they are older posts, so perhaps there is new information out there. Hybrids are shunned, and I’d rather not screw up the genes of the entire colony.


Either way, if/when I get more enclosures, I’ll be moving B. Dubia in with non-Serranus— can’t tell ‘me apart.

Correct, I've been keeping mine indoors and haven't noticed any smell. Granted they're in a different room, so I could be missing it, but whenever I'm in there I haven't noticed anything.

Those would likely sell well as feeders if your populations get too high, so between that and your other pets you shouldn't have too much trouble with them.

Worst comes to worst, if you decide to sell some, you can note that you kept the two Eublaberus species together, but show them the various posts on AB or Roach Forum showing that hybridization isn't really a concern.

 

[Slappy]

Hey guys, so I think the guy I bought the E. Serranus from put adult dubia in with the nymphs the “adults” looked extremely similar to B. Dubia.
I was going through the bin a couple days ago and found a “weird” adult. Based on what I thought Serranus adults looked like, I assumed it was a Ivory that had just molted and was working on its color. Today I found the same roach, and determined that it is what an adult Serranus is actually suppposed to look like.

here is a picture of the “weird” one next to my gimpy ivory (my favorite one, as s/he came to me missing most of its legs). If this is indeed what Pantanal should look like, telling them apart from dubia will be easy.

 

[Slappy]

Correct, I've been keeping mine indoors and haven't noticed any smell. Granted they're in a different room, so I could be missing it, but whenever I'm in there I haven't noticed anything.

Those would likely sell well as feeders if your populations get too high, so between that and your other pets you shouldn't have too much trouble with them.

Worst comes to worst, if you decide to sell some, you can note that you kept the two Eublaberus species together, but show them the various posts on AB or Roach Forum showing that hybridization isn't really a concern.

awesome! Since it’s going to get nice and hot for summer, I think I’ll keep them outside for now, when it gets cooler again, I’ll use that as an excuse to move them indoors. If I get more containers, olll would be correct on saving a lot of money.

so far I’ve only fed culls (adults with disfigured wings), freshly dead, or dying from bad molts to my other animals. My big Oscar always looks for more and gets mad at me about it
on CL there is only one person in Orange County selling roaches currently, and only dubia.

If its substantiated that Eublaberus don’t hybridize, I will probably get one or both of the aforementioned species. I have not come across any post/article confirming they hybridize, and I’m pretty much in love with this genus

here is a pic of all the adults together. Dubia and Serranus are unmistakable. I’m going to assume male and female serranus both have wings, since ivory and posticus females do.

 

[Arthroverts]

awesome! Since it’s going to get nice and hot for summer, I think I’ll keep them outside for now, when it gets cooler again, I’ll use that as an excuse to move them indoors. If I get more containers, olll would be correct on saving a lot of money.

so far I’ve only fed culls (adults with disfigured wings), freshly dead, or dying from bad molts to my other animals. My big Oscar always looks for more and gets mad at me about it
on CL there is only one person in Orange County selling roaches currently, and only dubia.

If its substantiated that Eublaberus don’t hybridize, I will probably get one or both of the aforementioned species. I have not come across any post/article confirming they hybridize, and I’m pretty much in love with this genus

here is a pic of all the adults together. Dubia and Serranus are unmistakable. I’m going to assume male and female serranus both have wings, since ivory and posticus females do.

View attachment 348282

Actually, if you look closely, the Dubia male has much lighter legs than the E. serranus male, aside from the obvious size differences.

Also, just made a post about my blatticomposting project with E. serranus. Check it out here.

Thanks,

Arthroverts

 

[Slappy]

Actually, if you look closely, the Dubia male has much lighter legs than the E. serranus male, aside from the obvious size differences.

Also, just made a post about my blatticomposting project with E. serranus. Check it out here.

Thanks,

Arthroverts

thank you! Very interesting post. I’ll keep you updated on how my composting bin turns out. It’s a blatti/vermi hybrid, though the worms have clearly taken a backseat in this endeavor. I have more species together than I probably should, but 3 of them will be of the Eublaberus genus (expecting Posticus on Thursday!). All evidence I’ve found indicate they shouldn’t hybridize.
I’m planning on doing a total count the middle of each month to keep track of the progress for each species, but I foresee that dwindling as numbers start booming

I’m already thinking about expanding the enclosure. Home Depot sells galvanized steel tanks, and the 180gal 6ft long one is like $90. I have one set up as a pond already, so getting a matching one for composting would be awesome. Then I could section off the tank and maybe have 3-6 side-by-side and separate the species out a bit if so inclined. But if they all reproduce well and do their job and don’t mess with each other (aggressively or sexually), keeping them together is pretty neat.