Roach escape! !!!HELP!!!

[basement pets]

I'm really sorry about posting a lot of threads lately, but to me this is urgent. One of my newly acquired Halloween hisser nymphs (Elliptorhina javanica) roaches recently escaped. I saw him run underneath my built in shelvewhich is hollow. it might be hopeless but I am still posting because I really want to find him.

 

[Polenth]

Hopefully you've dealt with why the cockroach escaped or they'll just keep escaping. You can put a ring of Vaseline on the inside top of the enclosure to prevent climbing.

As for catching them, can you see the cockroach? If it's reachable with something like a paintbrush, you can get them moving by gently prodding them and encouraging them out from under the furniture. First though, block off escape routes. You might want to cover the bottom of any room doors and block other routes under furniture. Second, put down things like egg boxes. Third, you want a container ready to put them in and a catch cup.

Now prod them and they'll bolt. If they run to an egg box, you can pick it up directly. If you get a clear shot whilst they're running, you can drop the cup over them.

If you can't see or reach the cockroach, still block escape routes and get everything else ready. Put some food and water out by your egg boxes. You might still be able to get them moving by puffing air under where they went, but if not, they'll come out for food and water eventually. The hope is they'll then go hide in the boxes provided, rather than back under the furniture.

 

[basement pets]

Hopefully you've dealt with why the cockroach escaped or they'll just keep escaping. You can put a ring of Vaseline on the inside top of the enclosure to prevent climbing.

As for catching them, can you see the cockroach? If it's reachable with something like a paintbrush, you can get them moving by gently prodding them and encouraging them out from under the furniture. First though, block off escape routes. You might want to cover the bottom of any room doors and block other routes under furniture. Second, put down things like egg boxes. Third, you want a container ready to put them in and a catch cup.

Now prod them and they'll bolt. If they run to an egg box, you can pick it up directly. If you get a clear shot whilst they're running, you can drop the cup over them.

If you can't see or reach the cockroach, still block escape routes and get everything else ready. Put some food and water out by your egg boxes. You might still be able to get them moving by puffing air under where they went, but if not, they'll come out for food and water eventually. The hope is they'll then go hide in the boxes provided, rather than back under the furniture.

Thanks for the tips!

 

[Major 78]

Bait it out, it need to eat eventually.

 

[Bob Lee]

Do you want to keep the roach?... Use glue traps if you are only worried about the roach infesting your house. If you want to keep it then just try to poke it out and catch it with a cup.

 

[Mini8leggedfreak]

The only possible way is to burn the house down. I’m sorry but it’s the only option you have

 

[Tarzanus]

Happened to me too. Whoever said that Dubia roach males can't fly, haven't seen my aviators. I have made a flaw in design of my breeder box. Fancy lid had a small holes on each side (where handles are) through which the roach can escape - looks like it was designed to let a roach through, perfect sizing! I wrote about it in my blog a while ago. Well, I saw 3 or 4 males escape in a matter of week or so when they were fighting and breeding the most ferociously. Now they stopped fighting and I fixed the issue, so they are contained.

I hope you manage to find them all. I was lucky, males can't breed with each other and dubia roaches are loud when they fly (I have heard a noise of a flying insect and the next second one landed on me while I was in my bed - heart attack possibility).
I got all of them...

 

[PidderPeets]

Do you want to keep the roach?... Use glue traps if you are only worried about the roach infesting your house.

It sounds like the OP only lost one nymph, meaning it would be impossible for it to infest the house. So no worries on that front

@carters critters, I unknowingly had an adult male hisser escape a while back, and he was on the lam for about a month before he gave me quite a fright when I went to move a large clear pet food canister on wheels I have. He was alive and well, just minus an antenna he must have lost along the way. So just keep your eye out for it, and perhaps put out food for it in a dark spot, under egg crates, or inside a toilet paper/power towel roll and check often.

Good luck!

 

[basement pets]

Thank everyone so much! I actually ended up finding the roach! I put out some dog food near where I had last saw it and also had put some water out in a bottle cap and put some cardboard over it.