Marijuana for Roaches?

E

EricSJCA

First Instar
Recreational marijuana is now legal in my state, but I really don't have any use for the stuff.
Would a roach colony be able to celebrate legalization or would it just kill them?
Also, if roaches could safely eat marijuana, would gut-loading them on weed harm any pets you might feed them to?

 
So to awnser this question I will first talk about plants and why they develop the way they do. In the case of marijuana the plant produces thc as a deterrent to warm blooded herbivores. In the wild if a deer or rabbit eats it and gets high it's likely to get eaten it self. It also has properties that promote dependence on humans ensuring that it will be propagated and spread. Plants are actively very intelligent and reactive to their environment. Since this plant is geared towards mammals warm blooded digestive tract to activate the the it maybe possible to feed to inverts but they will likely ignore it as it isn't something they naturally would eat. 

 
I don't think the roaches would get anything out of it, and it might kill them, so just save your money and give them a chunk of fruit or something like that as a treat. 

 
I don't see any reason why you would try that. The cost of growing/buying cannabis for roaches doesn't make sense. There's a chance it would harm them and anything that eats the roaches. It's better to just stick with typical fruits and veggies.

 
I don't see any logical reason to want to do this, but it does make for an interesting question.  I don't partake in the substance myself, but someone that does and didn't mind sharing with their roach colony, it wouldn't be too hard to separate out a small batch of nymphs and adults in a quarantined bin (more or less) and do an experiment.  They would (of course) have to be willing to provide the marijuana for a long enough term and as the primary source of food so you knew they were ingesting the plant and not other types of food.  The whole thought of it makes me chuckle.

 
Try it with a few individuals, and tell us what happens. They may not be affected by it. Bees for example, I believe are not.

 
lovebugfarm said:
So to awnser this question I will first talk about plants and why they develop the way they do. In the case of marijuana the plant produces thc as a deterrent to warm blooded herbivores. In the wild if a deer or rabbit eats it and gets high it's likely to get eaten it self. It also has properties that promote dependence on humans ensuring that it will be propagated and spread. Plants are actively very intelligent and reactive to their environment. Since this plant is geared towards mammals warm blooded digestive tract to activate the the it maybe possible to feed to inverts but they will likely ignore it as it isn't something they naturally would eat.
Click to expand...
Thank you for this answer lovebugfarm; it's very insightful!

To the OP:

I smoke marijuana regularly, for me it is a medicinal thing; I am a combat veteran and smoking pot helps when things get "hazy." That being said this could be a very expensive experiment, so here's my 2 cents on this subject... I don't think you could get your roaches passed the odor of the flower. Marijuana usually had a pretty distinct "skunky" smell that is generally not appetizing to anybody. I have never witnessed a person smell a marijuana plant and have an appetite flare... they want to smoke it then the hunger follows :D Also these days plants are being grown with such concentration that a single plant could smell up the entire house; I almost feel like the smell would repel the roaches and you would have to trick them into eating it.

If they do eat the marijuana I'd be careful feeding them to other animals... I have not heard of a human overdosing from THC but I know that it can be toxic to dogs and cats in moderate doses; I'm unsure of any effect it would have on a reptile or other invertebrate. There are many studies on the benefits of THC on humans and even large animals, but to my understanding these are medicinal in nature aimed at treat a symptom opposed to the effects of a diet change.

 
lovebugfarm said:
So to awnser this question I will first talk about plants and why they develop the way they do. In the case of marijuana the plant produces thc as a deterrent to warm blooded herbivores. In the wild if a deer or rabbit eats it and gets high it's likely to get eaten it self. It also has properties that promote dependence on humans ensuring that it will be propagated and spread. Plants are actively very intelligent and reactive to their environment. Since this plant is geared towards mammals warm blooded digestive tract to activate the the it maybe possible to feed to inverts but they will likely ignore it as it isn't something they naturally would eat. 
Click to expand...
Q: Can animals get high from raw plant material?

A: no, https://vivosun.com/growing_guide/get-high-from-raw-cannabis-leaves/ 

Q: Do insects insects even have cannabinoid receptors to even get high?

A: Not in the insects we've tested, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11447587/

Q: Can I feed weed to my roaches?

A: Probably, will they like it? Maybe. Will it harm them? Try it on a few and see what happens. 

 
Based on the information offered here, I most likely wouldn't feed this to my insects.  The expense for me would be prohibitive.

 
Marrader21 said:
Thank you for this answer lovebugfarm; it's very insightful!

To the OP:

I smoke marijuana regularly, for me it is a medicinal thing; I am a combat veteran and smoking pot helps when things get "hazy." That being said this could be a very expensive experiment, so here's my 2 cents on this subject... I don't think you could get your roaches passed the odor of the flower. Marijuana usually had a pretty distinct "skunky" smell that is generally not appetizing to anybody. I have never witnessed a person smell a marijuana plant and have an appetite flare... they want to smoke it then the hunger follows :D Also these days plants are being grown with such concentration that a single plant could smell up the entire house; I almost feel like the smell would repel the roaches and you would have to trick them into eating it.

If they do eat the marijuana I'd be careful feeding them to other animals... I have not heard of a human overdosing from THC but I know that it can be toxic to dogs and cats in moderate doses; I'm unsure of any effect it would have on a reptile or other invertebrate. There are many studies on the benefits of THC on humans and even large animals, but to my understanding these are medicinal in nature aimed at treat a symptom opposed to the effects of a diet change.
Click to expand...
Roaches literally eat poop, and they eat plants...Getting past the smell would be pretty easy. 🙄

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top