Another amazing roach escapee survives

Keith

Keith

Megaloblatta
Hissing cockroaches really are incredible escape artists!

I had trouble with first instar nymphs escaping in my room, but as they got larger none escaped.

So in my room I'm organizing papers on my desk when suddenly I see this large black roach run away and I quickly grab it. Its a young hissing cockroach. Nearly all mine are adults and they are all siblings so is this guy, but he is the size my nymphs were 5 months ago!!! So either he has been surviving since a 1st instar nymph loose in my room all this year, or he escaped 5 months ago and has never shed, because he ate enough not to die. I don't know how he would survive so long without water or food but I know for a fact his escape wasn't recent. Mabye he was smart to eat any water droplets or food residue on the cage top? Either way I was very shocked and except for being very small and skinny he ate like a pig and is doing well. No clue what instar he really is but I'm going to keep an eye on himself now!

God knows if any more are loose in my room eating my stuff! Mabye that dream of one in my bed wasn't a dream after all!!!

 
I'm having the same problem with my first instar nymphs getting out. I find them all over my room and if my mom finds one out and about she is forcing me to get rid of everything! ? if you guys have a salution please help!

 
RomanBuck said:
I'm having the same problem with my first instar nymphs getting out. I find them all over my room and if my mom finds one out and about she is forcing me to get rid of everything! 😰 if you guys have a salution please help!
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My cover had large holes that was my mistake, once I got a fine mesh cover they no longer escaped. You could also put a thin line of Vaseline as a barrier they can't climb over so won't escape. As they get larger average cage covers are too small to escape from, and they will be noticeable and shouldn't escape you can just move any adults hiding under cage cover.

 
I don't even have a lid on my hisser cage anymore. I just put a 5in layer of vaseline around the top. How large is your enclosure?

RomanBuck said:
I'm having the same problem with my first instar nymphs getting out. I find them all over my room and if my mom finds one out and about she is forcing me to get rid of everything! if you guys have a salution please help!
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I stretch a pair of women's tights over the top of the tank, tie the legs off and cut them off to stop roaches getting trapped in the legs. That plus a vaseline layer... Never had an escape from that setup yet, adult or nymph, much to my parents' delight! I thoroughly recommend ladies' tights to anybody who has a lot of escapees!

 
Mine is a custom tall 2.5 gallon. The front is a pexiglass door that warps a lot for some reason. I tried that vasoline thing, doesn't work. I might try to fill gaps with screen. The ladies tights won't work for the tank for obvious reasons :) but the parents don't know about nymphs getting out. If they do find something they think it's a big from outside so I guess I'm lucky?

 
Keith said:
Hissing cockroaches really are incredible escape artists!

I had trouble with first instar nymphs escaping in my room, but as they got larger none escaped.

So in my room I'm organizing papers on my desk when suddenly I see this large black roach run away and I quickly grab it. Its a young hissing cockroach. Nearly all mine are adults and they are all siblings so is this guy, but he is the size my nymphs were 5 months ago!!! So either he has been surviving since a 1st instar nymph loose in my room all this year, or he escaped 5 months ago and has never shed, because he ate enough not to die. I don't know how he would survive so long without water or food but I know for a fact his escape wasn't recent. Mabye he was smart to eat any water droplets or food residue on the cage top? Either way I was very shocked and except for being very small and skinny he ate like a pig and is doing well. No clue what instar he really is but I'm going to keep an eye on himself now!

God knows if any more are loose in my room eating my stuff! Mabye that dream of one in my bed wasn't a dream after all!!!
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I'm very glad you found him and he's doing well!! Blessings. Maybe he ventured into the kitchen in that time and ate crumbs. It's probably colder in the apartment than in his tank and that must be what caused him to grow so slowly. You probably know if the room is below 70F, that species won't eat either. Sounds like he turned up at just the right moment for you to save him. Good for you.

 
RomanBuck said:
I'm having the same problem with my first instar nymphs getting out. I find them all over my room and if my mom finds one out and about she is forcing me to get rid of everything! if you guys have a salution please help!
Click to expand...
You could get a large mini vacuum and look everywhere for the roach. That's how I reclaim my escaped Germans. Don't leave a stone unturned. You could also try some sents that roaches like to draw him out of whereever he's hiding. Though I don't like this idea you could also leave traps around and if he gets stuck try to pull him out cutting the glue around his legs. But when I did that with my Germans, I would always end up mutilating them!! Since hissers are a lot larger, though they're probably not as fragile. Best of luck.

 
Keith said:
Hissing cockroaches really are incredible escape artists!

I had trouble with first instar nymphs escaping in my room, but as they got larger none escaped.

So in my room I'm organizing papers on my desk when suddenly I see this large black roach run away and I quickly grab it. Its a young hissing cockroach. Nearly all mine are adults and they are all siblings so is this guy, but he is the size my nymphs were 5 months ago!!! So either he has been surviving since a 1st instar nymph loose in my room all this year, or he escaped 5 months ago and has never shed, because he ate enough not to die. I don't know how he would survive so long without water or food but I know for a fact his escape wasn't recent. Mabye he was smart to eat any water droplets or food residue on the cage top? Either way I was very shocked and except for being very small and skinny he ate like a pig and is doing well. No clue what instar he really is but I'm going to keep an eye on himself now!

God knows if any more are loose in my room eating my stuff! Mabye that dream of one in my bed wasn't a dream after all!!!
Click to expand...
This guy finally shed, he is still pure black, his horns are small, he looks nothing like his siblings . Either he is subadult or an oddity as he is vanwaerebecki Hisser they don't come in pure black. Or mabye living in my room changed his DNA or something :P

 
Keith said:
Decorated 20 gallon long glass tank. Can't use Vaseline for it so I have a screen top.
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Even just a smidge of vaseline under the black part of the lid might slow the first instar nymphs down enough! I have a 5 gal with screen top. I have about 1" vaseline around the lid... and a generous application on the power cord running out of the tank (my heat source... reptile rock). I've seen one escapee... crawling across the room while I was teaching... OOPS! I don't have a mom to worry about, rather the school administration!

:-)

 
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