Pest species

vfox

vfox

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I was thinking about what it must be like growing up in a home with pest cockroaches in it. I've never experienced it; my wife remembers "palmetto bugs" that occasionally found their way into her house in South Carolina...but they were peridomestic not really something like the German cockroach. This brings me to my question, have any of you, my fellow roach enthusiasts, every had the displeasure of living in an infested house or apartment? And has that experience effected how you viewed both pet and pest species?

On that same line, how many of you keep pest species as pets? I really want to get a culture of white eye morph American roaches but I'm unsure if it would be difficult to keep them from escaping and possibly breeding indoors.

 
I've never had pest species loose in my house but I was an exterminator long ago and saw some crazy infestations. My view of the German roach is certainly discolored.

I have kept white-eyes for close to two decades without a hitch but my colony has never done well (were I not averse to giving them my basement I might have a nice colony). White-eye Americans have been in continuous cultures since the 1940s.

 
I have lived in a relatively clean part of town devoid of all pest roaches. My only experiences with pests are hearsay from people I've met from Detroit, as well as a minor problem with some B. lateralis in my basement drains.

I think a lot of Periplaneta get a bad rep; I've got two P. americana nymphs I've raised from babies from a single ooth I found in a bag of cypress mulch; it's taken them over a year to even get close to maturity.

Coincidentally I had some escaped P. fuliginosa living in my basement at some point in the last 2 years; there's no trace of them now.

As for the lats, I do still keep them; They got out due to something I did wrong with their husbandry (always give them 3 inches of space at the top of the enclosure; otherwise they'll find a way to get to the rim of a container and get out.)

Currently I keep B. germanica (their container is completely sealed, just in case) P. americana "white eye", P. australasiae, P. fuliginosa, P. americana, B. orientalis, B. lateralis, and Pycno. surinamensis. Out of all these the only ones that have ever caused me any strife are the lateralis.

I'd relate owning a major pest species (like germanica) to owning a venomous snake; it can be very rewarding and enriching, but you have to be willing to ensure that you know what you're doing, and, most importantly, that they can't get out of their enclosure.

 
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Orin McMonigle said:
I've never had pest species loose in my house but I was an exterminator long ago and saw some crazy infestations. My view of the German roach is certainly discolored.

I have kept white-eyes for close to two decades without a hitch but my colony has never done well (were I not averse to giving them my basement I might have a nice colony). White-eye Americans have been in continuous cultures since the 1940s.
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Have you had many escapes Orin? I'm hesitant to even suggest it to my wife because they are a pest species but the white eyes seem like a less sustainable alternative to regular American cockroaches. Basically poor breeding is more likely to be accepted. I also wanted to get Periplaneta brunnea if possible, they are a very attractive peridomestic and don't sound like they would survive well in my cold dry home.

 
Zephyr said:
I have lived in a relatively clean part of town devoid of all pest roaches. My only experiences with pests are hearsay from people I've met from Detroit, as well as a minor problem with some B. lateralis in my basement drains.

I think a lot of Periplaneta get a bad rep; I've got two P. americana nymphs I've raised from babies from a single ooth I found in a bag of cypress mulch; it's taken them over a year to even get close to maturity.

Coincidentally I had some escaped P. fuliginosa living in my basement at some point in the last 2 years; there's no trace of them now.

As for the lats, I do still keep them; They got out due to something I did wrong with their husbandry (always give them 3 inches of space at the top of the enclosure; otherwise they'll find a way to get to the rim of a container and get out.)

Currently I keep B. germanica (their container is completely sealed, just in case) P. americana "white eye", P. australasiae, P. fuliginosa, P. americana, B. orientalis, B. lateralis, and Pycno. surinamensis. Out of all these the only ones that have ever caused me any strife are the lateralis.

I'd relate owning a major pest species (like germanica) to owning a venomous snake; it can be very rewarding and enriching, but you have to be willing to ensure that you know what you're doing, and, most importantly, that they can't get out of their enclosure.
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I think I'd be too worried to keep German roaches as pets. The schools I sub in are usually overrun with them and no amount of spraying ever completely removes them. The American cockroach is just an irregular visitor to the schools. I don't think they deserve their bad reputation honestly...but they are bigger and that freaks people out. I was actually going to buy the Australian roaches from you but opted for the firefly mimmicks instead lol. I will probably get them eventually though, they are a good looking species.

 
P. Americana is a very common sight here in homes, buildings, schools and etc. They are literally everywhere.

They can also be seen running around even during day time.

They are every difficult to eradicate. :angry:

We just keep our food safe and secured in order not to be contaminated.

 
makoygaara said:
P. Americana is a very common sight here in homes, buildings, schools and etc. They are literally everywhere.

They can also be seen running around even during day time.

They are every difficult to eradicate. :angry:

We just keep our food safe and secured in order not to be contaminated.
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wow, it must suck for that to happen......

 
I get plenty of what I assume is P. americana in my home. <_< I know some people keep them, but for me they are a pain in the patoot. My strange dog won't catch them and if he tries to and sniffs them, he gags and vomits, this is even more of a pain in the patoot. I used to have cats that enjoyed catching and eating them.

 
likebugs said:
I get plenty of what I assume is P. americana in my home. <_< I know some people keep them, but for me they are a pain in the patoot. My strange dog won't catch them and if he tries to and sniffs them, he gags and vomits, this is even more of a pain in the patoot. I used to have cats that enjoyed catching and eating them.
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If you're in the US send some my way. :D I've been trying to catch some locally without any luck...it's pretty bad when you can't even find a pest species Eh? Lol.

 
I had them in my home years ago from a neighbor, I was able to rid us of them, still cannot believe it to this day. I hated them and never thought in all my years that I could love a roach!

 
makoygaara said:
@vfox: Want to trade some of your Discoids to a P. Americana the common ones? We have plenty! :lol:
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If you were in the US I'd be happy to but I don't want to risk all the fines for shipping internationally without a permit. Discoids are readily available in most places though so I think you'll be able to find them pretty easy.

 
vfox said:
If you were in the US I'd be happy to but I don't want to risk all the fines for shipping internationally without a permit. Discoids are readily available in most places though so I think you'll be able to find them pretty easy.
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Hehehe. Yes it is difficult to ship overseas. As far as I know these are the ff. roach species that we have here that are captive bred - Dubias, Lateralis, Hissers, Orange Head, Lobster, Madeira, Peppered, and Domino. Maybe there are more that other hobbyists just don't share or show off to others.

 
makoygaara said:
Hehehe. Yes it is difficult to ship overseas. As far as I know these are the ff. roach species that we have here that are captive bred - Dubias, Lateralis, Hissers, Orange Head, Lobster, Madeira, Peppered, and Domino. Maybe there are more that other hobbyists just don't share or show off to others.
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You should have a bunch of very rare (to us) roaches running wild nearby. You should attempt a little trip to the forested areas near you.

 
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