Screen Mesh Size
- Thread starter Tex
- Start date
Gyna babies can't climb, the adults however climb and fly, so those are the ones to look out for. But yeah, the screen sounds good! 
Yes, so the reason I mentioned Gyna as well is that I am adding a vent at substrate level to increase circulation. Do you use fine mesh on anything? If so, what size?Gyna babies can't climb, the adults however climb and fly, so those are the ones to look out for. But yeah, the screen sounds good!
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I don't use mesh in my cages, I have yet to buy a roach species that climb and can fit through drill holes.
Wire mesh is available in many different materials, grades, and sizes. All else equal the material is going to dictate relative price. Among the fine mesh sizes suitable for this application plain carbon steel and 304 stainless wire are most economical followed by brass, other copper alloys, and other nickel alloys. The most common grades are mill, market, and bolting grade. The standard for each grade dictates which wire diameter and mesh count combinations are available for that grade. These combinations give a verity of % of open area for air flow and mesh aperture sizes. These are the characteristics along with cost that I am looking to optimize for everyone's benefit.
So please , EVERYONE share your experiences, good or bad, regarding mesh size e.g. "I tried window screen, 14x18 mesh, and my oriental babies walked right through." or "I use 50 mesh mill grade and even springtails can't get through"
So far I have found 304 stainless bolting grade to be most economical now I need some collaboration to determine what the maximum opening size is to contain even the smallest roach nymphs. I found a 30x30 mesh with a .027" opening size and 65% open area. Of course I could get 100, 200, etc, mesh but that would be overkill, air flow would be reduced, and cost goes up.
So is .027" a small enough opening to contain small nymph species?
Will something a little bigger, .041", still do the job?
Is .027" too big, need to go smaller?
Thanks for the feedback
Doc
Sixth Instar
I use fiberglass window mesh. It doesn't say what grade it is, but baby lobster roaches can't get through it. I just hotglue it to the bin and never had a problem with escapes. Just make sure to sand the bin down so the hotglue can have a better bond.
You won't have a problem keeping Therea, Gyna nymphs, or lats inside. My adult Gyna lurida, especially the males, love to fly.
You won't have a problem keeping Therea, Gyna nymphs, or lats inside. My adult Gyna lurida, especially the males, love to fly.
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Hibiscusmile
Sixth Instar
I have fiberglass 20 x 20 but have yet to find metal mesh, give us a link?
Just go to McMaster-Carr.com and type "screen mesh" in the find box. This will bring up a wide variety of materials and grades, even precut discs. The "High-Volume Lightweight-Particle-Filtering Stainless Steel Wire Cloth", aka bolting grade in 304 stainless seems to be the best bang for the buck.
Keep in mind though that most if not all of the 20x20 metal screen will have bigger openings than your 20x20 fiberglass because the metal wires used will be thinner than the coated fiberglass.
I'm have some of the 30x30 with .027" openings that I described in the first post and so far works great for the lateralis babies. I place some lateralis and Periplaneta americana oothecai in condiment cups covered with the mesh and placed them back in their respective containers to test. I'm still waiting for the americana to hatch and I will be doing the same with a gravid Gyna and Surinam as well as some Therea oothecai.
Keep in mind though that most if not all of the 20x20 metal screen will have bigger openings than your 20x20 fiberglass because the metal wires used will be thinner than the coated fiberglass.
I'm have some of the 30x30 with .027" openings that I described in the first post and so far works great for the lateralis babies. I place some lateralis and Periplaneta americana oothecai in condiment cups covered with the mesh and placed them back in their respective containers to test. I'm still waiting for the americana to hatch and I will be doing the same with a gravid Gyna and Surinam as well as some Therea oothecai.
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lecole4
Third Instar
I use nylon or polyester mesh utility fabric. Doesn't rust, easy to cut, hot glues super well, and it's really cheap. You can pick it up from fabric supplies like JoAnn's. I don't know about the hole size measurement, but I can tell you it's just barely big enough to let a human hair through.
whistlingmedic
First Instar
Tex,
How did the final results of your testing turn out? I've been looking around at your suggestions to contain Surinam and Periplaneta without the loss of air flow of sealed containers.
How did the final results of your testing turn out? I've been looking around at your suggestions to contain Surinam and Periplaneta without the loss of air flow of sealed containers.
RomanBuck
Simandoa
For my surinams I use a 24 oz deli cup (I dont have many do to breeding issues) that has that cloth like material that covers the holes. They use these lids for things like fruit fly cultures. Works pretty well for me.
whistlingmedic
First Instar
I considered something similar but was a little hesitant with Periplaneta after I had one of them eat through an improved aluminum tin foil cap with a few small ventilation holes.
Does anyone have any experience with rough size estimates for mesh for various or most species?
Does anyone have any experience with rough size estimates for mesh for various or most species?
RomanBuck
Simandoa
I will have to ask Kyle about what grade his mesh is. Its brass mesh screen. Periplaneta spp. chew through everything lol.
Doc
Sixth Instar
I found some very cheap aluminum mesh on amazon. It's a massive 36"x1200" and only $68
Link
I might get some for myself because a handful of species have been damaging the fiberglass mesh. Some E. javanica and Bytsotria sp. "Cuba" nymphs even slipped though. If I do get some and it works well, I'll happily share some with you guys because there will tons leftover.
Link
I might get some for myself because a handful of species have been damaging the fiberglass mesh. Some E. javanica and Bytsotria sp. "Cuba" nymphs even slipped though. If I do get some and it works well, I'll happily share some with you guys because there will tons leftover.
That is standard window screen which is 18x16 mesh size, same as what you can get at your local home improvement store. It's cheap so you don't really need to buy100 feet of it. Most likely the fiberglass screen you are already using is also 18x16. So the holes in the aluminum window screen will be the same size as fiberglass screen. You mentioned some of your nymphs slipped through, red runner nymph walk through this size mesh as well. Do yourself and your wallet a favor and buy a smaller quantity at any home improvement store to try out or better yet get a smaller mesh size as I mentioned in the posts above.
whistlingmedic
First Instar
Tex, how did your 30x30 experiments go? Any escapees? I was looking at either that or the 70x70 (for Blatella, Parcoblatta, etc) on the website you suggested
Hi Tex,
Thank you for the wire mesh link!! I too am curious as to how your testing turned out. I am looking for mesh that will contain the parthenogenetic Surinam roaches as well as the tiny Kenyan species.
David
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