Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i know they are not supposed to climb glass, and a strip of vaseline or bugstop will stop any would be escapees

However, i have seen the younger, "baby" roaches climb glass with some proficiency, Does anyone know why they can? because they are smaller, something on the glass?

I live in an apartment and i don't want any getting out and starting little roach colonies(i really dont care but my neighbors will). I've been told they won't because they need warm temps...but summer(in NJ) is coming and even in teh winter my apartmetn never dropes below 75

is it possible for these pests to infest my apartment

i've read a lot about it online...but i just wanted soem personal accounts from someone who is trying to sell them to me.

tupperware/plastic container or glass aquarium?

i know with crickets they can climb on the sealer in all the corners of the fish tanks you might want to look into gettng some form of tupperwhere or a cricket corral becareful when using and bug strips that get chemicals from the roaches to snakes

thx for the post. Yes, i did just notice the possibility of climbing the sides of glass aquariums when inspecting my 20gal for escape possibilities. I bought a 70 something quart rubbermaid container for the roaches. Even though they supposedly can't climb, i put vaseline strip around anyway.

The guy i nabbed them from at the ny convention did not mention the defensive odor lol.

seems to be about 20-25 adults and sub adults with countless babies.

stays above 75 in my apartment year round and hotter now since summer is coming( but i still need to figure out heating for breeding, sigh)

still better than crickets i guess( i get them in 1000's and they absolutely stink no matter how clean i keep them)

With the vaseline they won't be able to climb out. Do be sure to keep a lid on though as the males can sort of jump/fly 6-8" high. I either drill holes in the lid for air or better yet cut out the center and rivit or hot glue screen or hardware cloth to the center for air venilation.

Yeah, they stink when you clean them but I don't think they're as bad as crickets! And they're a lot easier to keep alive.

At 75 an escapee may live a while but they shouldn't thrive and become an invasive pest. For optimal breeding you need about 90. I keep a heat tape under my tub hooked up to a thermostat set at 90. When it gets lower than that breeding almost stops.
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Marcia - FroggieB Dragons
www.froggieb.com/MHDHome.html

You probably got them from roachman and he's not very helpful. Eublaberus prosticus (orange heads) has one of the stronger defense odors of all the roach species. With that said you only really smell them when you shake them up some. I keep most of my collection in 18 gallon rubbermaid bins and have never seen one climb in 4 plus years. They only way they will climb platic or glass is if it's not clean. Dirt build up or water spots, but even then usually they don't make it far up. Vaseline or bug stop (boundary will stop them for sure). Orange heads do make good feeders for some species, but most people prefer the B. dubia and they are easier to sex, keep, and don't have any smell. Either way breeding your own feeders gives you control over:
1. The amount of $$ your spending on feeders.
2. Never oh crap I have to drive to the pet store ($3 a gallon)
3. Control of the nutrition of the insects your pets are eating.
4. Any size anytime.
5. No hopping or chirping (well some like the outdoors effect indide)
6. smell, smell, smell, couple dead crickets and the STINK!!!
7. You do not need a fancy set-up to breed them. A simple rubbermaid and I cut out most of the top and add screen door material. Some egg crates and your ready to go.
8. Tropical roaches will not infest your home. If they did I would not have been able to get permits from the USDA to ship them. There are over 4,000 species of roaches and less than 100 are pests. Most of the species look nothing like the common pest species.
So I guess I'm trying to say I think you'll be very happy in the long run with your new feeders.
James
www.blaberus.com