New B. germanica culture

[P.jasonius]

I just moved into my new apartment, and, as a lease signing bonus, they threw in an established roach colony for free!

B. germanica, I'm sure. Question is, do they make good feeders? I know they breed well:wall: , but how do they smell in a culture? I have scorps only, so relate the answers to that perspective. They seem to be slow enough so as not to be a problem as prey. I would, of course, wait a few generations to weed out the pesticides and parasites.

Ok, second question; if the answer to question #1 was hell no avoid trying ot breed these at all costs you idiot, how do I get rid of them without spraying pesticides?:? Would a different, perhaps larger species of roach drive this species out? Say I establish my own colony of roach spp., whose characteristics aren't suitable to the environment without my assistance, and release enough to push B. germanica out. Then they either die out or (hopefully) are reclaimed.
Any opinions, questions, comments, flames?

 

[TNeal]

Hi,

I used to have a horrible roach problem a few years ago. It was really nasty. I to had to find a natural solution as I was breeding tropical fish at the time for the pet trade and could not spray pesticides all around the place.

My solution was Tokay Geckos. I released 3 into my apt and basement. Within a month roaches were pretty much gone.

Hope this helps,

Tom

 

[P.jasonius]

Well I guess that gives me an excuse to buy something new!!!

 

[Crotalus]

Sorry to say but germans are one of the more difficult roaches to get rid of
I would contact a professional exterminator, they have good advice and can probably sell traps to you
I would be careful using them as food, since they might be full of pesticide.

/Lelle

 

[Dom]

I also had a friend use geckos quite successfully. Keep in mind that you will come across gecko poo if you go this route.
One problem with roaches is that even if you eliminate them from your apartment they will probably reappear unless the units surrounding yours are treated as well.

 

[P.jasonius]

I would contact a professional exterminator, they have good advice and can probably sell traps to you
I would be careful using them as food, since they might be full of pesticide.

Um, you didn't actually read the thread, did you?:?

"I would, of course, wait a few generations to weed out the pesticides and parasites." just to reiterate.
and: "how do I get rid of them without... pesticides"
No traps, no poisons, not good. Blood pressure... rising...

 

[Stylopidae]

I just moved into my new apartment, and, as a lease signing bonus, they threw in an established roach colony for free!

Those three words were what he was referring to. You just moved in, it's doubtful you know the full extent of the chemicals the previous owners used. The roaches are probably full of pesticide already, so not only can you not use them as feeders, you can't let them into your animal enclosures as well.

Boric acid, along with diatomaceous earth and sticky traps aren't bad ideas for controlling roach populations without toxins.

However, I'd go with either Tokay geckoes or house geckoes.

If you're wondering how G. germanica is as a feeder, just think glasswalking and vaseline scaling B. lateralis, only faster breeding

Their nymphs are tiny. Smaller than lateralis. Much smaller.

As for the second half of the question...if you introced enough B. dubia into your house, it could theoretically push the germans out, but you'd need at least a couple hundred thousand of them.

 

[Rizzolo]

i think you are being unrealistic about getting rid of them without poisons. if that were easy, they would not be such a big problem.

perhaps the most effective strategy for dealing with roaches in a environment where they are established all around you is to use one of the various boric acid concoctions. it is not volotile so it i will not affect your pets (in cages), and as long as you are not feeding the roaches to your animals also, it will cause you no problems. over a period of weeks to months, it is extremely effective for elimination of roach infestations, especially if you can get your neighbors to cooperate and use it too. you can make baits with it and you can use it as a barrier to keep them out. you place a line of the powder, either pure boric acid, or a mixture with other adjunct materials, around all of your rooms and at all points of entry (also, in concealed spaces, cavities, etc.). it is kind of ugly, but amazingly effective, and low toxicity.

i use the boric acid as a preventative for ant incursion and to wipe out B lateralis that might escape from my colony (no matter what, some get away).

 

[P.jasonius]

I'm ok with using acids, cedar oil, stuff like that. In my last place the ants kept the roaches out, and I used chili oil to keep them out. They would just line up where their scent trail ended, and just collect there, not going back to the nest. They'd just sit there for days! :?
--
As for the first part of the thread post, about the established colony, it was merely an (apparently) poor attempt at humor. :8o :wall:
--
How long do you think it would take to breed a couple hundred thousand B. dubias?
mua ha ha haa!

 

[P.jasonius]

I'm going to paint a giant cockroach on my wall in tribute to the current residents.

 

[roach dude]

IF their full of pesticides already then wouldny it harm a tokay gecko to eat them......just like useing them as a feed to anything would!:?

 

[IguanaMama]

hell no avoid trying to breed these at all costs you idiot

Sorry, had to say that. I'm a New Yawka, BIG problem in this city. They aren't good feeders because if only a few nymphs escape unnoticed, or one pregnant female, then it's all over.... I recommend boric acid, combat baits and glue traps or roach motels to catch the wanderers. You don't want any of the poisoned roaches to get into any of your enclosures because if your pet eats a poisoned roach, it will be poisoned too. You can use micro screen or pantyhose over your enclosures to keep them out until they are gone. You might want to take Crotalus's advice and hit them hard with an exterminator. They use gel bait these days and unless your pets eat the bait or a poisoned roach, it will not harm them. Spray pesticides are not used anymore (at least in NY they aren't.)

Also, Tokay geckos are fine, but as mentioned, they leave their droppings and eventually they are so effective at roach control that you will have to start leaving roaches and or crickets out for them or they will starve or you can try to recapture them. They are hard to recapture once out of an enclosure, but if you are brave, go for it ow ow ow. Pesticides in small amounts will not harm the geckos as the pesticides are meant to work on invertebrates.

Good luck.

 

[Crotalus]

Um, you didn't actually read the thread, did you?:?

"I would, of course, wait a few generations to weed out the pesticides and parasites." just to reiterate.
and: "how do I get rid of them without... pesticides"
No traps, no poisons, not good. Blood pressure... rising...

Umm yes I did.

And cockroaches dont stay in ONE place. They might go over to your neighbor, eat some yummy pesticide and go back to you which foolishly think the roach is poison free and of course kill your precious tarantula named Fred.

BTW I did write "traps". Capice?

Bah why even bother,....

 

[Vermis]

Yeah, but when he talked about 'weeding out pesticides and parasites', I think he meant in a container, not just letting them run around the apartment for another few generations. :}

Although, to P.j: if they're already causing a pest problem and they escape easily (glass-climbers... not for me, ta), I think it would be safer to get the exterminator in and get yourself some dubias.
And sorry, but I can't bring myself to scream 'idiot' in your face. I hope you can still accept my POV, regardless.

 

[Crotalus]

Yeah I see that now.
Oh well..

 

[bugmankeith]

If you want to breed German's you can try and get some of these interesting mutations.

http://everest.ento.vt.edu/~watson/pages/Photoalbum.html

 

[P.jasonius]

Umm yes I did.

And cockroaches dont stay in ONE place. They might go over to your neighbor, eat some yummy pesticide and go back to you which foolishly think the roach is poison free and of course kill your precious tarantula named Fred.

BTW I did write "traps". Capice?

Bah why even bother,....

How would they go to my neighbor and then come back to me? Do you really think someone is foolish enough to just try and feed the roaches on the walls and expect the next generation to be safe to be feeders? I think you are assuming everyone around you is on the same level you are, Scrotalus.
Oh, and the "traps" thing was to cover anyone else wanting to suggest poisons.
I have a very good sense of humor, and I thought the thread reflected that, but saying "Capice", and "why even bother" definitely constitutes blatant rudeness and is an insult to my intelligence. If you were here in Texas, I would have politely asked: would you care to step outside?
-Capice?

 

[P.jasonius]

hell no avoid trying to breed these at all costs you idiot

Sorry, had to say that.

lol, I was hoping someone would take me up on that 1!