Uninvited guest

satchellwk

satchellwk

Fourth Instar
Well, when I was doing the rounds with my bugs, and I checked the spot in my communal giganteus/tesselata/portentasa terrarium, and I looked in the spot where the hisser nymphs usually chill out, I saw something that just wasn't right. There is a single Blatta germanica just hanging out with my pet roaches! Now, I will admit, there is a (very small) population of them that live in our kitchen and bathroom areas, but we do our best to keep them in check without using pesticides (for obvious reasons). They normally are killed on sight (sorry to fellow roach lovers, but there's really no other choice), and I have never seen one venture into my room. I'm not sure what to do, though, because the little guy keeps dashing into crevices in the large piece of wood in the terrarium, and when I start disturbing it, the giganteus go crazy ,and, because I have a background on one side, they can reach the top and potentially escape. So, for now, I've just let him be. I was just wondering, has anyone else has ever had any uninvited roaches take up residence with their pets, mooching off of the free food and roach-friendly environment? Also, would it be a best to try to remove this squatter, before it starts inviting friends, reproducing, possible spreading pathogens to my pets, etc.? It feel like the thoughts going through the German's mind right now (if thoughts can go through the mind of a roach) is something along the lines of "SCORE! This is just a roach par-tay up in here!"

 
We also have a small German cockroach problem here and now and again they get into my bins. My only advice is to be swift in smacking it down, haha. When you see it go stealth mode and open the container as slowly as possible so as to not scare it into running, then get that sucker.

 
Our local zoo has a tiny bug wall (row of small terrariums behind part of a small wall) and they also have a Periplaneta infestation in their building. They don't keep up on the bug wall exhibit so a few times over the years they've pretty much just had the Periplaneta on display (not on purpose). You have to keep a close eye and smashing finger ready. Maybe try vaseline somewhere on the outside edge of the cage.

 
You might want to try sprinkling a little diatomaceous earth around in areas where there are known B. germanica. It will get into the waxy coating on the exoskeleton and they will die of dessication with no residual effects. Of course this works on the desirable roaches so be sure that they are not going to be the ones to pass it off to your pets. You will have to use your own discretion, but as a former employee of a termite and pest control company and one who always wanted to use non-chemical means, this is a good way to rid your place of unwanted pests. It even works on bed bugs, termites and other no no insects that may frequent your abode.

 
Well, he was evicted yesterday, so that individual is no longer a problem. Furthermore, I will try to be swift whenever I see any near the terrarium.

Termite48: I never heard of using diatomaceous earth, but that sounds great! I will definitely try using that to squelch the remainder of the population. One question, though, where does one purchase this?

Also, would you think that the diatomaceous earth would be useful for drying out roach specimens for preservation? I have been planning to make a display containing my inaugural group of roaches (7 B. giganteus) when they die (of old age, of course) and one problem I have heard about with larger species is getting them dry enough before preserving them. Would this get the job done?

 
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No, this is not the dessicating agent like some of the salts that are placed in the packaging of photographic equipment, etc. The reason it kills the bug is that is scratches the sealed surface of the exoskeleton and therefore allows the moisture of the organism to leave. For drying the specimen, you might try placing it in borax, and there are other salts you can use. There is a few presentations on You tube showing the efficacy of diatomaceous earth. This stuff is easy to find online or at any well stocked Nursery.

 
Did you even tried diatomaceous earth against B. germanica? The building that we are living in have some German roach and I do not want to use chemicals to fight against them. I cannot see nowadays but I want to be sure they will not coming back. Please tell me if somebody had successfully killed the German roaches.

I love roaches but these are pests. You know. :/

Zoltan

 
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