Roach Colony and Allergies

[Katronmaster]

I'm thinking of starting a roach colony as feeders (I know, there's a million of these threads), but I have a bit of a different issue than just the usual "What should I get?" I'm seriously contemplating lobster roaches (Nauphoeta cinerea) and Blatta lateralis, but basically just need a fast breeder. I also hope to one day get some hissers, as pets, not food.

The issue that's holding me back from getting any form of roach, and that's knowing that I'm allergic to the two main "pest" species, the German cockroach (Blattella germanica) and American cockroach (Medicarus americana). I've already consulted an allergist about it... and got a shrug and a mumble of "I dunno", and was also unable to do allergy tests on any other species. I was unsure how closely related the feeder species were to the pest, and as to if It's comparing, say, lions to tigers, or Mice to Guinea pigs.

Any advice or assistance is appreciated.

 

[cacoseraph]

do you have other allergies?



how exactly did you determine you are allergic to those two species?




i have allergies to just about everything (i scored at least 3 on ALL tested allergens, did i think 4 backs' worth of tests, had lots of 4's and 5's too) and didn't particularly suffer from my roaches. i kept N. cinerea and some kinda mad hissers in large numbers

 

[Katronmaster]

I am allergic to quite a few other things, mostly plants as well as cats and guinea pigs. The only other inverts I'm allergic to are dust mites... which it seems almost everyone is from statistics.

The roach allergy was determined by scratch and blood test, I know German roaches were a 5. I can't recall what the scratch test was like, I was 12 or so at the time.

 

[hasani1408]

I keep 10 different species of roaches. And I also suffer from allergies. The only time I have a problem with them is if I am doing a major clean out. I can handle my hissers and my B.dubia without any issues. I guess the only way to find out is get a small colony and go from there.

 

[Matt K]

Roach allergies are extremely rare even among people who presently have other allergic reactions. If you are allergic to any roach, there is a very high chance you will be allergic to all others in the hobby as well.

By the way, the name of the American Cockroach is "Periplaneta americana" not Medicarus americana- theres no such thing.

 

[Katronmaster]

Roach allergies are extremely rare even among people who presently have other allergic reactions. If you are allergic to any roach, there is a very high chance you will be allergic to all others in the hobby as well.

By the way, the name of the American Cockroach is "Periplaneta americana" not Medicarus americana- theres no such thing.

:8o That's what I get for trusting the wikipedia latin name that came up.

 

[cacoseraph]

well...


here is the thing... are you allergic to dust mites that live in the poo? some secretion of the actual roach? something the roach ate?





my simplistic understanding of allergy tests is that the docs get some of whatever species is to be tested... be it pollen or oil extract from a plant and push some into you.... so, i mean, i don't think they just grind up a P. americana and push it into ppl... i think they have just a bit of fluid or something... and who knows exactly how it is prepared



anyhow, the rather nebulous point to this is that you should just try it out. you obviously (er, i hope) aren't deathly allergic... give it a whirl. at worst you have to get rid of a colony... at best you have a new feeder species on call

 

[Matt K]

Cacoseraph does have a point - there are alot of variables in those test preparations...or there could be. My vote is to try and see also....just keep an epi-pen handy!

 

[Katronmaster]

anyhow, the rather nebulous point to this is that you should just try it out. you obviously (er, i hope) aren't deathly allergic... give it a whirl. at worst you have to get rid of a colony... at best you have a new feeder species on call

Good point and sounds like what I'll do. Thanks all for input!

 

[gvfarns]

Also, with roaches you can keep them tucked away somewhere in a closet or basement or something. Then you seldom come in contact with their allergens.

Also, my two cents. I had more annoyance with smell and with allergies when I kept my roaches without substrate than with. I always keep the substrate just a hair moist and their poo sticks to it and gets mixed in, rather than turning dusty and getting in the air. There are downsides to using substrate also, but I think at least in the case of B lateralis it's a good idea. Lobsters, not so much.

I'm rather allergic to lots of things, and dubia seriously did a number on my nose. That's one reason I got rid of them. Haven't had the same kind of problem with either lobsters or lateralis.

Edit: also on the lobsters vs laterais thing. I have had them both. I like lateralis much better. The only real advantage of lobsters is the larger size. Oh and I think lobsters are a hair easier to breed by virtue of their live birth. Not so easy to sex, though. Well, there are lots of threads on that, so I won't discuss it further.

 

[Dark Raptor]

As I know, Blattodea, Orthoptera and Lepidoptera are the insects that cause the most cases of insect allergies (one reason is that they are common feeder insects).

If you are interested in this topic, try to find this article:
Lopata A. L., Fenemore B., Jeebhay M. F., Gade G., Potter P. C., 2005: Occupational allergy in laboratory workers caused by the African migratory grasshopper Locusta migratoria. Allergy 2005: 60: 200–205