How much longer?

[ZooRex]

So I bought 100+ B.dubia almost two months ago. I've been feeding them and giving them ample heat. Yesterday I counted 18+ adult females and 10+ adult males along with the rest of the mid sized nymphs. I'm wondering how much longer its gonna take before I've got a fully fledged colony and i don't have to worry about harvesting. Thanks ~ Rex

 

[Takumaku]

The answer depends on your particular situation, particularly how many feeders you need per month. The rule of thumb: If you let N equal the amount of roaches you feed per month, then when the colony is producing N+1 per month, it's safe to starting feeding off. The +1 is the one lone female each month that will survive to sustain the colony.

 

[Andrew273]

I'd say once you see a pile of babies running around you should be safe. The N+1 rule is good but you don't take into account certain variables

 

[james]

roaches

I get this question more than any other. It really does depend on how many you need, but I always recommend letting the first batch which takes 2-3 months to fully get breeding. Then I would prefer to let all first generation nymphs like 200-400 raise up (another 3-4 months) and then you have a very strong breeding colony. Now once you get the first 200-400 hundred then anything after that goes into the feeder pool. Now depending on the size feeders you need it could be right away your ready, or possible a couple more months till the feeders reach a larger size. Bottom line it's much easier to slow them down from breeding if you get to many vs trying to speed them up if you feed them out to early.
James
www.blaberus.com