There are American roach nymphs (I think) in my domino roach enclosure, and I want them out, but I don't want to risk hurting the dominoes. Anyone have any ideas on how I could build a live trap to put in? I figure I could just set it in, then sort the roaches inside and put the ones I want back. Maybe something like a pitfall made of a water bottle, baited with fruit?
Live trap for roaches?
- Thread starter Betta132
- Start date
Matttoadman
Blatta
That’s interesting. Here’s a thought. Domino nymphs can’t climb so if you make the trap above the substrate they couldn’t fall in. And if you put some sort of screen over it that would keep the domino adults out? Just a thought
Krissim Klaw
Second Instar
I would stick something tempting in a jar with a line of Vaseline on the inside or water bottle with the top cut off and turn around so it acts as a funnel trap. Then I would just add some really tempting stuff inside and let the roaches come to you. Just make sure to have something with moisture in the trap so your adult dominoes don't dehydrate if they manage to climb in and get caught in the trap too.
I do kinda like American roaches, but the container I have my roaches in isn't American-escape-proof, and I'm worried they'll outcompete my others if/when they start multiplying.
Probably gonna try a funnel trap with some fruit inside, that ought to do the trick. Maybe not all at once, but it should catch 'em over time. I'll just chuck them outside when I catch them.
EDIT: I've just seen my two adult male dominoes interacting with about a half-inch American nymph over some food. They didn't seem too pleased by the nymph and did their little intimidation-hops, but ignored it once it was a couple inches away from them. Kind of funny to watch, two little spotty bugs trying to intimidate another bug by hopping.
Probably gonna try a funnel trap with some fruit inside, that ought to do the trick. Maybe not all at once, but it should catch 'em over time. I'll just chuck them outside when I catch them.
EDIT: I've just seen my two adult male dominoes interacting with about a half-inch American nymph over some food. They didn't seem too pleased by the nymph and did their little intimidation-hops, but ignored it once it was a couple inches away from them. Kind of funny to watch, two little spotty bugs trying to intimidate another bug by hopping.
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So... I thought there were three, maybe five invasive nymphs in there.
Today I took the goat skull out and shook it over a bucket, and no fewer than seven American nymphs fell out. Caught those, put them in a container, shook the skull again, and more came out. 20 minutes of shaking and a small amount of poured water later, I had 30 roach nymphs in my container, ranging from tiny newborns to ones almost an inch long.
Shook the skull until roaches stopped coming out, then did the same with the driftwood, then removed the leaves and caught every roach that had nowhere to hide. Total was 47 roaches, and a few that got away.
Turns out they've been coming in a hole in the back of the lid, into the filter compartment of the aquarium, and then into the main enclosure. I've put a Vaseline barrier along the inside of the filter compartment, just on the enclosure side, so any remaining ones can get out and not starve but won't get in with the roaches I do want. Gonna put a bottle funnel trap in there tomorrow and try to catch the last few, but at least I've thinned 'em out.
Today I took the goat skull out and shook it over a bucket, and no fewer than seven American nymphs fell out. Caught those, put them in a container, shook the skull again, and more came out. 20 minutes of shaking and a small amount of poured water later, I had 30 roach nymphs in my container, ranging from tiny newborns to ones almost an inch long.
Shook the skull until roaches stopped coming out, then did the same with the driftwood, then removed the leaves and caught every roach that had nowhere to hide. Total was 47 roaches, and a few that got away.
Turns out they've been coming in a hole in the back of the lid, into the filter compartment of the aquarium, and then into the main enclosure. I've put a Vaseline barrier along the inside of the filter compartment, just on the enclosure side, so any remaining ones can get out and not starve but won't get in with the roaches I do want. Gonna put a bottle funnel trap in there tomorrow and try to catch the last few, but at least I've thinned 'em out.
Haha that's actually pretty funny, can't believe that many wandered into your house and went straight for that tank! XD Hope you can find a way to stop them from getting in!
Our house is really old and has no insulation in the walls, all sorts of bugs come into the walls for winter. My guess is a couple of eggcases ended up in there from adult roaches, plus a few others found their way in. Maybe they smelled the food in there and wanted in? At any rate, most of them are out now, and I can hopefully catch the rest when I renovate the enclosure.
I just can't believe there were so many in the goat skull. They weren't the only ones, either, that's where my peppered roach adult hangs out. And he's several square inches of occupied space on his own!
I just can't believe there were so many in the goat skull. They weren't the only ones, either, that's where my peppered roach adult hangs out. And he's several square inches of occupied space on his own!