Tips for removing roaches from substrate

[Krissim Klaw]

A while back I got some Panchlora nivea in hopes I could get a colony going both to enjoy as pets and act as feeders for my pet mantises. To say it was a success is an understatement. My colony is way overproducing for my needs. I've tried to keep up with culling the numbers occasionally, but these little guys reproduce like roaches. Everytime I peak in the tank I see adults doing the dirty tango and the ladies are constantly pooping out more mouths to feed. The substrate has become a withering mass of roaches. It's the stuff of nightmares, well at least for someone with Katsaridaphobia. Although the adults are topside enough I can gather some for removal, the nymphs don't tend to leave the substrate so I'm not sure how best to remove some of the excess. Any tips for removing excess nymphs from semi moist coco fiber?

 

[Forcep]

It's pretty much impossible to separate all the nymphs and substrate, I would just take some substrate with enough nymphs which keep the colony going, and sell/give away/freeze the rest substrate.

 

[Krissim Klaw]

It's pretty much impossible to separate all the nymphs and substrate, I would just take some substrate with enough nymphs which keep the colony going, and sell/give away/freeze the rest substrate.

Nooooooo, digging out all my soil seems like messy work. lolI was thinking about trying a trap since the nymphs can't climb. Stick in a little slick glass/plastic container. Dig it down in the soil/place some texture stuff so the nymphs can climb the outside then stick food in it so they are drawn in and will be trapped since they won't be able to climb back out.

 

[NRoach]

Meanwhile my Panchlora colony is crashing! Some folks have all the luck <_<

 

[Loosey]

you can use a series of buckets with drilled holes in them, start with a larger bit, then the last bucket use a very tiny bit to drill the holes..., pour into the first bucket and shake it into the next, youll get your roaches sized this way and mostly only substrate will pass into the last bucket.

just what I have done before dunno if it will work for your application.