How to- Complete colony housing for under $20.00

[GartenSpinnen]

So while rehousing my roach colony i came up with this, and figured i would post about it. Basically, you can get everything you need to house a roach colony for under 20.00 at Walmart. While moving my roaches out of their 20 tall, i accidentally made a big oopsie and killed off 90% of my colony . I put them in milk jugs and forgot to put air holes in them, and forgot to dry them out. Basically, all my roaches were...er... 'passed out' and dropping limbs, and such, it was an ugly sight. Anyway, so all purpose is not lost, here is a nice 'how to' setup that is cheap.

Go to walmart and buy sterilite containers like these-

These containers only cost me 5.00 a piece. I bought 2 of them so i can split my colony up. One half i wont use as feeders, the other half i will. Make sure you buy the clear containers that are smooth, the other ones are roughed up and the roaches can probably climb up them. I am not sure on this, but i did not want to find out!


And instead of buying egg cartons, which are hard to come by, i found these also at walmart for 2.00-2.50 per package. They work just as good, if not better, and are completely made out of peat for plants . As you can see, they come in 2 varieties. I decided to use both. All of these together cost me 7.00, and i had extra left over.

All of this cost me a whopping 17.00, plus tax. Not too bad if you ask me!


To start off i cut the one containers in half like this-

Then i put them in the bottom like this-

Then i threw in the other containers like this-

Drill lots of holes in the lid, and in the sides of the container for ventilation. This is a great roach setup because it is so cheap, stackable, and over all i think works out pretty well.

I hope this might have helped someone ...

-Nate

 

[gvfarns]

Not bad. I actually used to use that same stuff for them to crawl on but since I also use a water dish they would move it around until a piece got in the water and it wicked it all out. Then they become soft and messy. It was really annoying.

Look like you water them with fruit, though, so I guess it won't be a problem.

Thanks for sharing.

Are those discoids, btw?

 

[Spyder 1.0]

mark my words, that will all eventually mold, and you will get mite problems. Ive recently had to sterilize my roach colony due to mites. the problem was i was putting fruit and veggies on the egg crates i was using to house them. I also was using potting soil as substrate. bad idea.

i suggest having an area designated for food, apart from the crates.

 

[ZephAmp]

You may want to add some side-ventilation. I do a double layer of window screening on both sides. Otherwise the colony molds up and phorid flies start to run rampant. :/

 

[Matt K]

Seach for my pics- my bins cost me around $10 each total and are large and well ventilated.

 

[GartenSpinnen]

I do not leave the fruit in. Usually i will drop it in at night before i go to bed, then in the morning i pull it out. Other than that they get dry catfood and oatmeal and a misting every couple days. If i notice any issues i will increase ventilation.

 

[Ihaggerty1313]

I do not leave the fruit in. Usually i will drop it in at night before i go to bed, then in the morning i pull it out. Other than that they get dry catfood and oatmeal and a misting every couple days. If i notice any issues i will increase ventilation.

That's not what SPYDEROWNER 69 is trying to say. By putting the fruit on top your your crates the crates will absorb some of the juices. In turn it'll start to eventually mold. Move all of those crates to one side and put your fruit on a separate dish of some sort.

Don't spray down your colony at all either. This is a mistake I constantly see people doing and also will lead to mold. If you want the correct humidity all you need to do is to keep a dish of water crystals in the tub and get those temps up to 85-95 degrees.

The problem w/ mold is that you won't be able to catch it. If you can visually see mold than it's already too late. It'll most likely creep up on you in the crevises of the egg crates. The best way to prevent mold is to stop spraying. It'll save you a ton of headaches!

Hope this helps.
-Ian

 

[elportoed]

The eggcrates are really easy to find. Your neighborhood bakeries and breakfast places will give them to you for free. You can use fruit crates (apples, pears) too from grocery stores. Some people are concerned about pesticide on the fruits to get on the crates. I don' have any problem with that.

I'd put more ventilations on the container and no misting. If they are non climbers, you probably can leave the top off. And from the pictures, there is way too much fruit for the bugs. I'd put just enough so they can finish with in a few hours, then keep adding until they can finish in a day. And only give fruits and veggies only once or twice a week.

I have a theory, if you disagree please don't bite my head off. I think they like the ideas of being cramped up together. I believe that helps with the breeding too. So if you give them too much room, too many places to hide, they'd scatter and not crowded up together. I'd removed some of those poopy pot (I don't know if you saw the episode of dirty jobs when he made them).

 

[xhexdx]

Looks really good; only time will tell if it will work, though. Keep us posted as I'm pretty interested in it should it be successful. I would love to know if they continue to breed in them as well.

--Joe

 

[Miss Bianca]

These look really good and were IMO very affordable to set up.
Only one thing, I would definetely leave the tops off and/or
add ventilation holes. More o the side of extra ventilation holes...
it can't hurt. Good luck!