Roach debate

[beckett5000]

Just looking for others opinion on whats the over all best feeder roach. I have three colonies of roaches at the moment; lobster roaches(Nauphoeta cinerea),then Madagascar hissing Cockroachs (Gromphadorhina portentosa), and the others are Guyana Orange Spotted Roaches (Blaptica dubia). My favorite ones are the lobsters. They for me are hands down the best ones I have. The animals love them, and I have never had any escape on me. The only problem I have is I can't feed them fast enough, and the colony is exploding. I have tried selling some, but people hate them with a passion. For some reason all they want are my dubias, which they can gladly have because I hate them as much as they hate my lobsters. My animals just don't get the same amount of food from them because they are mostly shell. I have to feed twice as many dubias then lobsters. That's about the only problem I have with those guys. Why is it that the lobsters have such a bad reputation?

 

[Introvertebrate]

I think its just the fact that they can climb glass.

 

[Travis K]

Lobsters are cool IMO, but for many they are one of the creepiest roach species due to their speed and swarming habits. If you have a large lobster culture then you know what a thrill it is to watch them feed. They literally swarm food when you put it in their enclosure. Using a high quality roach barrier is VERY important with this species, preferably a fluoropolymer resin based barrier, as I sure wouldn't want more than one pregnant female getting into my house. I think they would be very tough to get rid of once they found a nice spot in a wall somewhere.

 

[Introvertebrate]

........I think they would be very tough to get rid of once they found a nice spot in a wall somewhere.

Even in temperate regions such as ours?

 

[beckett5000]

Lobsters are cool IMO, but for many they are one of the creepiest roach species due to their speed and swarming habits. If you have a large lobster culture then you know what a thrill it is to watch them feed. They literally swarm food when you put it in their enclosure. Using a high quality roach barrier is VERY important with this species, preferably a fluoropolymer resin based barrier, as I sure wouldn't want more than one pregnant female getting into my house. I think they would be very tough to get rid of once they found a nice spot in a wall somewhere.

in the summer time they would rather be outside, so you wont have to worry about them living in the house for long.

 

[ZephAmp]

I love using lobster roaches as well. Very soft, plenty of meat; much different than the coarser dubias.
If they get out, don't worry about it. They are very susceptible to drying out. The reason why you can keep them in a sterilite bin (or in my case, with the lid off) is that extra humidity they retain from the containment of the enclosure or the folds in the egg crates.
I have had many lobsters get out in the past (dropped one here or there and couldn't find it) with adult females included, and I've never seen them again.

Now b. lateralis on the other hand... They seem to have pioneered into my basement drains...

 

[codykrr]

Even in temperate regions such as ours?

Yeah, Lobsters could easily infest your home. Like Travis said. a nice moist and warm spot inside your wall and boom. infested.

in the summer time they would rather be outside, so you wont have to worry about them living in the house for long.

Not really true.

While yeah, some would venture outdoors, most would most likely stay inside. in bathroom walls, and kitchen wall.

I wouldnt want lobster roaches if they were free!

I even kinda iffy about B. lateralis to be honest.

 

[beckett5000]

Are you sure? i dont think it would be warm enough for their liking. I have to keep my roach room at 90 degrees pluse have a heater under their tank just to get them to breed. When i started my colony I kept them around 80 degrees and they didnt do much of anything. I know they're a tropical species of cockroach that love to live in bark or leaf mulch, which in the summer time is blistering hot. Thinking about it I guess if you live somewhere where like southern Flordia and most of the year it's warm then maybe behind a bathroom wall they could survive and thrive well. I know for a fact B. lateralis will infest a home if they escape. They're in the same genus as the German roaches Blattella germanica that are a common pest in homes. I have never tried them for fear I would drop a female while feeding. Does anyone have an experiance with lobsters infesting a home? Noones giving their opinions about what roach is there favorite either. Help me out here peeps. I want to know whats your favorite feeders.

 

[ZephAmp]

Are you sure? i dont think it would be warm enough for their liking. I have to keep my roach room at 90 degrees pluse have a heater under their tank just to get them to breed. When i started my colony I kept them around 80 degrees and they didnt do much of anything. I know they're a tropical species of cockroach that love to live in bark or leaf mulch, which in the summer time is blistering hot. Thinking about it I guess if you live somewhere where like southern Flordia and most of the year it's warm then maybe behind a bathroom wall they could survive and thrive well. I know for a fact B. lateralis will infest a home if they escape. They're in the same genus as the German roaches Blattella germanica that are a common pest in homes. I have never tried them for fear I would drop a female while feeding. Does anyone have an experiance with lobsters infesting a home? Noones giving their opinions about what roach is there favorite either. Help me out here peeps. I want to know whats your favorite feeders.

"Blatta" lateralis is not in the same genus as Blattella germanica.

Blattella germanica is in the family Blattellidae. "Blatta" lateralis and Blatta orientalis are in the family Blattidae.

Blatta orientalis is a nuisance species. They grow considerably slowly and don't cause major infestations.
"Blatta" lateralis (Correctly, Shelfordella lateralis) is a pest species. They have taken over the American southwest and are currently working on my basement drain.

Yeah, Lobsters could easily infest your home. Like Travis said. a nice moist and warm spot inside your wall and boom. infested.

Nauphoeta cinerea will not infest your house. They cannot tolerate the dryness of the average household, and even if they did find a "nice warm spot in your wall", unless you're a total slob, they will die due to starvation.

 

[codykrr]

Nauphoeta cinerea will not infest your house. They cannot tolerate the dryness of the average household, and even if they did find a "nice warm spot in your wall", unless you're a total slob, they will die due to starvation.

I find that hard to believe. There are plenty of moist spaces in your average house. not to mention..I highly doubt they will starve to death. If this was the case, then why are their even such things as roach infestations?:?

your run of the mill roach doesnt seem to go hungry.

Also, just wanted to add, I know people who keep them at room temps, at around 50% humidity and they have TONS of them in there bins.

I am almost positive Lobsters, and lats can and will infest your house. In the summer here we have temps around 100F with 90% humidity. winters are pretty mild anymore. rarely staying below freezing for long.

I could see lobsters and lats seeking shelter in attics, crawlspaces, basements, behind walls...ect. They might not breed as fast as they can, but they could overtime in fact infest a house. especially down south.

They could basically thrive in attics and crawlspaces during summer months, and in winter months live in the walls near water heaters, basements...ect and barely get buy. then summer comes and it starts over again.

I mean, look at B. lateralis. They have found wild populations in AZ!!! cant tell me its humid there.

 

[beckett5000]

I don't think humidity is ever really an issue as long as there is water around. With the electric heaters I have running all the time the humidity for my colony stays around 20%, but they always have water. I keep the tank well ventalated so I know the humidity is not any higher in the tank than the room. I hear people guessing all the time that lobsters could infest a home, but every breeder that I have talked to that raises lobsters for a living all agree that they will not infest a home. The pet store I go to often hates lobsters too, because they didn't take the extra steps to keep them from climbing out of their tanks, But as soon as summer hit the lobsters went away. Noone has seen them since.

 

[ZephAmp]

I find that hard to believe. There are plenty of moist spaces in your average house. not to mention..I highly doubt they will starve to death. If this was the case, then why are their even such things as roach infestations?:?

Not all roaches are created equal. Those that can infest and take over have already established themselves, like Blattella sp. If you've ever kept N. cinerea you'd know they have a voracious appetite and will eat their own young and siblings if they are freshly molted. Assuming you do not put a buffet out in your walls for them, they will turn to cannibalism.

your run of the mill roach doesnt seem to go hungry.

They do. All the rumors about them "living off the glue on the back of a postage stamp" are false. They will chew on many things when they are hungry but that does not mean they can digest it. The Blattabacterium in their gut can turn many things into usable nutrients but not everything.

Also, just wanted to add, I know people who keep them at room temps, at around 50% humidity and they have TONS of them in there bins.

This is not the space between walls. There are microenvironments which you give them in your bins that they will not find outside of it. Egg crates can hold moisture, and the caregivers provide food and water. You are purposely trying to cultivate them; the environment outside isn't.

I am almost positive Lobsters, and lats can and will infest your house. In the summer here we have temps around 100F with 90% humidity. winters are pretty mild anymore. rarely staying below freezing for long.

Lobsters cannot. Lateralis can to a point. Lobsters will dessicate and consume each other. Lateralis will find your drains and colonize them. Lobster roaches are live-bearing and cannot maintain proper conditions within their bodies during the winter to sustain their oothecae. Lateralis oothecae are drought and cold resistant and can tolerate these conditions.

I could see lobsters and lats seeking shelter in attics, crawlspaces, basements, behind walls...ect. They might not breed as fast as they can, but they could overtime in fact infest a house. especially down south.

They would sooner move outside and colonize out there than they would indoors, unless there is plenty of food laying around.

They could basically thrive in attics and crawlspaces during summer months, and in winter months live in the walls near water heaters, basements...ect and barely get buy. then summer comes and it starts over again.

As mentioned before, they will not thrive in attics and crawlspaces. There is not sufficient food or moisture in either to allow them to reproduce. If the dryness and cold didn't kill the lobsters, starvation would. The lats would simply relocate to your drains or die.

I mean, look at B. lateralis. They have found wild populations in AZ!!! cant tell me its humid there.

Arizona has a drastically different climate and environment than a house.
In the winter, a household is generally kept at around 25% humidity. Adult and nymph lobsters/lateralis will dry out under these conditions. The waxy coating on lateralis ooths will allow them to survive in subpar conditions, hence the situation in Arizona.


It is no coincidence that north of approximately southern Tennessee there are no introduced, native, or pest live-bearing roaches.

 

[Enki40]

Anyone feeding Blaberus discoidalis roaches?

 

[ZephAmp]

Anyone feeding Blaberus discoidalis roaches?

I would use B. discoidalis over B. dubia any day; problem is it's hard to find pure B. discoidalis nowadays.

 

[recluse]

I live in NM and have kept lobsters for many years as a feeder. I think they are a very cool roach. I have had many escapees over the years and my home is not infested. I do have some blatta orientalis that try and come in from the neighbors house, as I am on a well and septic system. I dig up my septic system and there are the B. orientalis. No lobsters though. I have to agree with Zephyr.

 

[Thegloryfades]

Whats the issue with hybrid discoids Zeph?

 

[ZephAmp]

Whats the issue with hybrid discoids Zeph?

I don't care for them. I like to keep my stock pure.
The adults also seem to have a high mismolt percentage, which doesn't look nice and can cause them to have problems like fluid retention. Also, a lot of people don't know that their stock is hybrid, which means they can pass it on to people with pures, forming a vicious cycle of stock tainting.

 

[Thegloryfades]

Interesting, I've been considering switching from dubia to either discoids or lobsters. Overly worried about lateralis ability to infest out here

 

[hassman789]

Why is everyone worried about lobsters or lats infesting their houses and not dubias. I believe that dubias won't, because everyone swears they won't. But why are these other ones different? Why can't the dubias survive and the lobsters and lats can?

 

[ZephAmp]

Why is everyone worried about lobsters or lats infesting their houses and not dubias. I believe that dubias won't, because everyone swears they won't. But why are these other ones different? Why can't the dubias survive and the lobsters and lats can?

They are very sensitive to low moisture. They are advertised as being able to be kept "drier" than other roaches but in reality this is because only the males have full wings at adulthood and the females have wing stubs, so the effects of dehydration are much less drastic visually than they would be to say, Blaberus sp.