# Those wonderful cockroaches



## Cowboy_Ken (Jul 6, 2019)

https://apple.news/AEt3N5iDmTfuysKvHA3OdfA


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## ZEROPILOT (Jul 6, 2019)

I don't have German cockroaches.
But I've been battling Palmetto bugs for quite some time.
Everytime I use a new bait or poison, they soon avoid the area.
They really are the perfect animal to inhabit the earth.


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## Cowboy_Ken (Jul 6, 2019)

ZEROPILOT said:


> They really are the perfect animal to inhabit the earth.


All we need do is adapt our eating habits and tastes and we’ll inhabit earth consuming them all along.


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## jaizei (Jul 7, 2019)

Cowboy_Ken said:


> All we need do is adapt our eating habits and tastes and we’ll inhabit earth consuming them all along.




idk chitin is a fairly common allergy, people just don't realize they are allergic because they don't eat bugs purposefully.


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## Cowboy_Ken (Jul 7, 2019)

Adding the fact that 80 percent of the world's population eats insects as a regular part of their diet didn't seem to make an impression. And neither did the fact that they contain lots of protein and hardly any fat. Americans' antipathy to bugs as food is well-entrenched.May 7, 2012
https://www.pbs.org › science › bug...
Bugs for Dinner? | PBS NewsHour


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## ZEROPILOT (Jul 7, 2019)

Cowboy_Ken said:


> Adding the fact that 80 percent of the world's population eats insects as a regular part of their diet didn't seem to make an impression. And neither did the fact that they contain lots of protein and hardly any fat. Americans' antipathy to bugs as food is well-entrenched.May 7, 2012
> https://www.pbs.org › science › bug...
> Bugs for Dinner? | PBS NewsHour


As an American that likes to eat HOT DOGS, I feel confident that I do my part in consuming insects....


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## ZEROPILOT (Jul 7, 2019)

My attic looks like CHRISTMAS.
I hired an exterminator to blow it full of diatomaceous earth powder.
That did help for a short period of time.


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## Tom (Jul 7, 2019)

jaizei said:


> idk chitin is a fairly common allergy, people just don't realize they are allergic because they don't eat bugs purposefully.


Natural selection...


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## Tom (Jul 7, 2019)

ZEROPILOT said:


> I don't have German cockroaches.
> But I've been battling Palmetto bugs for quite some time.
> Everytime I use a new bait or poison, they soon avoid the area.
> They really are the perfect animal to inhabit the earth.


There are about two dozen insect species that are referred to as "palmetto bugs". As a roach hobbyist, I would love to see some pics of yours to ID them. Can you bring yourself to catch one and take some close up pics?


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## ZEROPILOT (Jul 7, 2019)

Tom said:


> There are about two dozen insect species that are referred to as "palmetto bugs". As a roach hobbyist, I would love to see some pics of yours to ID them. Can you bring yourself to catch one and take some close up pics?


Unfortunately. I'm sure I'll have that opportunity in the next 24 hours or so.
Only the biggest ones have wings and can fly. I'll try to photograph one of them.
They seem to all be the same species, but they change in appearance (and in creepiness) when they get those wings.
They always get bad during the rainy season....And it's here.


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## Tom (Jul 7, 2019)

ZEROPILOT said:


> Unfortunately. I'm sure I'll have that opportunity in the next 24 hours or so.
> Only the biggest ones have wings and can fly. I'll try to photograph one of them.
> They seem to all be the same species, but they change in appearance (and in creepiness) when they get those wings.
> They always get bad during the rainy season....And it's here.


In some roach species, only the adult males have wings. Females and juveniles do not.

So your palmetto bugs can actually fly? Not just break their fall if tossed?


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## ZEROPILOT (Jul 7, 2019)

Tom said:


> In some roach species, only the adult males have wings. Females and juveniles do not.
> 
> So your palmetto bugs can actually fly? Not just break their fall if tossed?


Yeah.
They "fly" like a Flying Squirrel does.
They can glide if they fall from a height.
Unfortunately when they do fly, they like nothing more than to fly towards, and often land on my wife.
So if one is scrambling across the ceiling and you spray it, be prepared to run.
They are about 1.5" long.
But seem bigger.
They also run at amazing speeds.


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## ZEROPILOT (Jul 12, 2019)

Tom said:


> There are about two dozen insect species that are referred to as "palmetto bugs". As a roach hobbyist, I would love to see some pics of yours to ID them. Can you bring yourself to catch one and take some close up pics?


Here you go.
I found this one on my front porch.
The ants hadn't gotten to him yet.


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## TammyJ (Jul 12, 2019)

ZEROPILOT said:


> Here you go.
> I found this one on my front porch.
> The ants hadn't gotten to him yet.


That's what we have here in Jamaica too. That's an adult male. The adult females wings don't completely cover the abdomen. The immature ones have no wings yet and look like little tanks running around.


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## Tom (Jul 12, 2019)

ZEROPILOT said:


> Here you go.
> I found this one on my front porch.
> The ants hadn't gotten to him yet.


That is the American cockroach. Periplaneta americana. They are actually native to Africa or the Middle East... Apparently introduced over here a couple hundred years ago. Fun.


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## Yvonne G (Jul 12, 2019)

EW!


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## ZEROPILOT (Jul 12, 2019)

Tom said:


> That is the American cockroach. Periplaneta americana. They are actually native to Africa or the Middle East... Apparently introduced over here a couple hundred years ago. Fun.


They sure are doing just fine here!
I spend a lot of money killing them and keeping them out of the house and I'm still losing the battle


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## ZEROPILOT (Jul 12, 2019)

TammyJ said:


> That's what we have here in Jamaica too. That's an adult male. The adult females wings don't completely cover the abdomen. The immature ones have no wings yet and look like little tanks running around.


Is it just me, or do only the winged ones seem extra creepy?
When they're small, the house geckos usually eat them.


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## TammyJ (Jul 15, 2019)

ZEROPILOT said:


> Is it just me, or do only the winged ones seem extra creepy?
> When they're small, the house geckos usually eat them.


It's not just you. The winged ones are certainly more creepy - and empowered by their ability to fly!
My Jamaican Giant Green anole eats the immature ones so I actually breed the cockroaches (in a roach prison with no possibility of parole). Now and then I kill a mature one and my redfoot tortoises enjoy it.


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## Cowboy_Ken (Jul 15, 2019)

Tom said:


> That is the American cockroach. Periplaneta americana. Apparently introduced over here a couple hundred years ago. Introduced to help keep kitchen counters clean .


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## ZEROPILOT (Jul 24, 2019)

True ROACH story.
Last night my wife woke me up to tell me "There's a roach in the kitchen"
I sat on the edge of the bed for a moment, but it became CLEAR that it was an EMERGENCY!
I walked into the kitchen and saw him. A big sucker, crawling across the wall towards the refrigerator.
I sprayed him with some Raid and he did a 180 and scurried back towards the oven. I lunged at him with a paper towel...Wife screaming. Dog barking...And he fell behind the oven.
I was pretty sure I got him with the spray. So I told me wife he's as good as dead. "Let's go back to bed".
But NO
She demanded proof.
So I waited. Spray can in hand....And waited.
Nothing!
She demanded I drag out the oven. Not just to find him but also to try to see if there's a hole where he could've gone....or have come from.
The stove has only been moved once and that's when I put in our flooring a few years ago. It's heavy and we have a small kitchen.
I tugged and wiggled it out, sweating and cursing the whole time.
Finally it was pulled out enough that I could get behind it. Sure enough there was a dead roach. 3 of them actually. One still slowly twitching.
AND that's when things got GOOD. I noticed that there was NOW a leak in the natural gas line going to the stove from my pulling the stove out. It was a rigid copper line that got pinched and cracked.
I had to turn off the main valve outside.
She went back to sleep.
I took a cold shower (No gas for the water heater) and stayed up until 7:30 when the hardware store opened up.
I got a new flexible gas line, expanding foam and cement to patch up any gaps in and around the area. (Weather any bugs come through I have no idea)
Then I was able to replace the stove and clean up the mess that was created.
My already bad back is absolutely killing me. But I have another half dozen relatively important chores to do still.
All for a cockroach.
And a wife that freaks out about them.


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## Yvonne G (Jul 24, 2019)

You're a good husband, Ed.


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## TammyJ (Jul 24, 2019)

Ed, you have done the best you can, and suffered considerable effort, expense and pain. It has to count for something.
But they'll be on this planet (so I have been informed) long after the human species has vanished.
Even so...gotta keep fighting.
Thanks for that entertaining story! Hope your back recovers quickly.


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## ZEROPILOT (Jul 24, 2019)

TammyJ said:


> Ed, you have done the best you can, and suffered considerable effort, expense and pain. It has to count for something.
> But they'll be on this planet (so I have been informed) long after the human species has vanished.
> Even so...gotta keep fighting.
> Thanks for that entertaining story! Hope your back recovers quickly.


It's not so bad.
I think that the garage is the roach city central. But how they get in there I don't know.
The next free time I get I'm going to drag the motorcycles, tools and most other crap out of there and do a good dusting of BORIC ACID all around the walls.
It's getting out of hand.


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## Cowboy_Ken (Jul 24, 2019)

Friends of mine picked up roaches from doing the nice thing of storing a family members electronics for them. The roaches had moved into the dvd and blue ray players when they had gotten cold and the electrics kept them warm.


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## ZEROPILOT (Jul 24, 2019)

Cowboy_Ken said:


> Friends of mine picked up roaches from doing the nice thing of storing a family members electronics for them. The roaches had moved into the dvd and blue ray players when they had gotten cold and the electrics kept them warm.


Sounds like German roaches?
Those are nearly impossible to wipe out. I hear.


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## Tom (Jul 24, 2019)

@ZEROPILOT 

Our wives might be related... Or maybe that is just how all of them are...


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## ascott (Jul 25, 2019)

Tom said:


> There are about two dozen insect species that are referred to as "palmetto bugs". As a roach hobbyist, I would love to see some pics of yours to ID them. Can you bring yourself to catch one and take some close up pics?



Oh gross... Tom, that made me cringe....I apologize, I don't mean to insult your fondness of these critters...but ugh. I do have to say that from time to time one of those "water bugs" will make its way into the house and if my female dog does not see it first, (she face plants the bug over and over again and then looks at me proudly, waiting for me to pick up the body), I will make noises of gross surprise and then I have my bugger cup and piece of paper and I will scooch it into the cup and give er a good ole toss back outside....you know, have to have something for the lovely spiders to eat (eww).....


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## ascott (Jul 25, 2019)

ZEROPILOT said:


> Is it just me, or do only the winged ones seem extra creepy?
> When they're small, the house geckos usually eat them.



Super creepy....kinda like when you look up on the wall and you are eye level to a large Praying Mantes , with their little arms that reach out slowly towards you, their eyes that look in different directions and their head moving all around on their skinny little necks....ew.


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## ascott (Jul 25, 2019)

Cowboy_Ken said:


> Friends of mine picked up roaches from doing the nice thing of storing a family members electronics for them. The roaches had moved into the dvd and blue ray players when they had gotten cold and the electrics kept them warm.



Dirty bast%$#s....


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## ZEROPILOT (Jul 25, 2019)

ascott said:


> Super creepy....kinda like when you look up on the wall and you are eye level to a large Praying Mantes , with their little arms that reach out slowly towards you, their eyes that look in different directions and their head moving all around on their skinny little necks....ew.


I actually like them


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## Tom (Jul 25, 2019)

ascott said:


> Oh gross... Tom, that made me cringe....I apologize, I don't mean to insult your fondness of these critters...but ugh. I do have to say that from time to time one of those "water bugs" will make its way into the house and if my female dog does not see it first, (she face plants the bug over and over again and then looks at me proudly, waiting for me to pick up the body), I will make noises of gross surprise and then I have my bugger cup and piece of paper and I will scooch it into the cup and give er a good ole toss back outside....you know, have to have something for the lovely spiders to eat (eww).....


HA! "Water bugs" in the desert? I'll bet you've got Blatta lateralis out there. The females look like what most people call "water bugs", and the males are a dark tan color with wings. Sound familiar?

You can make fun of my roach interest. Its a weird thing and most people feel the way you do about it. I'm definitely the odd ball here, so I don't mind some ribbing. Having them around just makes feeding any insectivore so easy, and I have some insectivores. My chickens and my aquarium fish love them too!


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## Tom (Jul 25, 2019)

ZEROPILOT said:


> I actually like them


Roaches are universally despised and disliked all over the globe. But their closest living relative is the most revered, respected, honored and liked insect all over the globe. The mantis.

If you look at the two in profile, the similarities are obvious. I like them both.


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## ZEROPILOT (Jul 25, 2019)

We have something called WATERBUGS here.
Sometimes you'll see one after a big storm.
These are very large. Dark colored, long and have front arms that curve inwards like pinchers.
The exoskeletons are so hard that if you drive over one with your car, it sounds like it could puncture a tire.
They are formidable.
But too gigantic to sneak into my house easily.
I've never even seen one on my property.


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## ZEROPILOT (Jul 25, 2019)

Tom said:


> Roaches are universally despised and disliked all over the globe. But their closest living relative is the most revered, respected, honored and liked insect all over the globe. The mantis.
> 
> If you look at the two in profile, the similarities are obvious. I like them both.


The cockroaches being closely related to lobster has me put off of them as well.
Just watch one walk around under water.. ..pure roach!


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## ZEROPILOT (Jul 25, 2019)

Some roaches...Like the big Madagascar hissing ones, don't bother me.
There's something about the speed or the flying of the American cockroach that puts it over the top....
I just can't put my finger on it. (And I don't want to.)
Like I said, once they get large and get those glossy wings and those "hairy" legs....That's when they simply MUST DIE if I see one.
If you moved to Florida, you wouldn't need to raise roaches.
They're just here.


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## Tom (Jul 25, 2019)

ZEROPILOT said:


> The cockroaches being closely related to lobster has me put off of them as well.
> Just watch one walk around under water.. ..pure roach!


BUG HUNTING!!!

Term scuba divers use to describe searching for, and catching lobsters for consumption...


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## Relic (Jul 25, 2019)

Picked up a used cordless telephone base station and additional satellite phones many years ago at a garage sale. Brought the box full of electronics home and tossed the box on my favorite, most comfortable, leather recliner. Immediately a dozen or more roaches swarmed over the top edge of the box and scurried into the folds and crevices of the beloved chair. Without even giving a second thought I grabbed that chair - with the box still perched on the seat - drug it out of the house, heaved into the back of my truck, and took it to a Goodwill drop-off location. I figured the chances of me EVER sitting in that chair again, reading a book, and finally falling asleep with my mouth open...well, it was just never going to happen again. When my wife asked what happened to the chair, I relayed the sequence of events and she heartily endorsed the swift action - and she was the one who bought me the chair for my birthday.


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## Tom (Jul 25, 2019)

ZEROPILOT said:


> Some roaches...Like the big Madagascar hissing ones, don't bother me.
> There's something about the speed or the flying of the American cockroach that puts it over the top....
> I just can't put my finger on it. (And I don't want to.)
> Like I said, once they get large and get those glossy wings and those "hairy" legs....That's when they simply MUST DIE if I see one.
> ...


I have hissers!

We have roaches running around outside here too. I contain and breed them indoors in my roach bins to make sure they are gut loaded and free of parasites or pesticides that might be picked up by the wild ones living outside. My colony of Blata lateralis was started from a couple dozen wild caught ones here.


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## TammyJ (Jul 25, 2019)

ascott said:


> Super creepy....kinda like when you look up on the wall and you are eye level to a large Praying Mantes , with their little arms that reach out slowly towards you, their eyes that look in different directions and their head moving all around on their skinny little necks....ew.


Hmmm. Religion aside, I find Praying Mantis to be extraordinarily beautiful.


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## ZEROPILOT (Jul 25, 2019)

Tom said:


> I have hissers!
> 
> We have roaches running around outside here too. I contain and breed them indoors in my roach bins to make sure they are gut loaded and free of parasites or pesticides that might be picked up by the wild ones living outside. My colony of Blata lateralis was started from a couple dozen wild caught ones here.


I can't bring myself to actually touch one with bare fingers.
Irrational? I know. But I just can't.
The ones I've HAD to deal with are strangely silky and smooth.
Now I'm looking around the house.
I feel a presence nearby.


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## TammyJ (Jul 25, 2019)

Relic said:


> Picked up a used cordless telephone base station and additional satellite phones many years ago at a garage sale. Brought the box full of electronics home and tossed the box on my favorite, most comfortable, leather recliner. Immediately a dozen or more roaches swarmed over the top edge of the box and scurried into the folds and crevices of the beloved chair. Without even giving a second thought I grabbed that chair - with the box still perched on the seat - drug it out of the house, heaved into the back of my truck, and took it to a Goodwill drop-off location. I figured the chances of me EVER sitting in that chair again, reading a book, and finally falling asleep with my mouth open...well, it was just never going to happen again. When my wife asked what happened to the chair, I relayed the sequence of events and she heartily endorsed the swift action - and she was the one who bought me the chair for my birthday.


Aahhh come on man! Overkill! As for the Goodwill drop-off........well now........ahem.


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## TammyJ (Jul 25, 2019)

I hear an old song.....Somebody.....bip bi dip di dip bip.......Kill that roach!


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## Tom (Jul 25, 2019)

ZEROPILOT said:


> I can't bring myself to actually touch one with bare fingers.
> Irrational? I know. But I just can't.
> The ones I've HAD to deal with are strangely silky and smooth.
> Now I'm looking around the house.
> I feel a presence nearby.


I am highly entertained by people's reactions when I grab a wild one and hold it up to them. They just can't believe someone would actually touch one...

I usually offer to teach them how to sex a cockroach. Few take me up on the offer.


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## TammyJ (Jul 25, 2019)

Tom said:


> I am highly entertained by people's reactions when I grab a wild one and hold it up to them. They just can't believe someone would actually touch one...
> 
> I usually offer to teach them how to sex a cockroach. Few take me up on the offer.


ROFL!!!!


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## ZEROPILOT (Jul 25, 2019)

Tom said:


> I am highly entertained by people's reactions when I grab a wild one and hold it up to them. They just can't believe someone would actually touch one...
> 
> I usually offer to teach them how to sex a cockroach. Few take me up on the offer.


I can relate to that.
Just put it back, man.


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## ascott (Jul 26, 2019)

Tom said:


> HA! "Water bugs" in the desert? I'll bet you've got Blatta lateralis out there. The females look like what most people call "water bugs", and the males are a dark tan color with wings. Sound familiar?
> 
> You can make fun of my roach interest. Its a weird thing and most people feel the way you do about it. I'm definitely the odd ball here, so I don't mind some ribbing. Having them around just makes feeding any insectivore so easy, and I have some insectivores. My chickens and my aquarium fish love them too!



Horrifying, yes, you are absolutely correct....especially horrible are the tan flying beasts....ick.

Tom, I can pick up other bugs--stinks bugs, some spiders, peel bugs, lady bugs and some others...but not these...ick.


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## TammyJ (Jul 26, 2019)

The worst things to me are slugs. I cannot pick them up, unless it was a matter of life and death - then I could. My life, their death.


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## Tom (Jul 26, 2019)

ascott said:


> Horrifying, yes, you are absolutely correct....especially horrible are the tan flying beasts....ick.
> 
> Tom, I can pick up other bugs--stinks bugs, some spiders, peel bugs, lady bugs and some others...but not these...ick.


I won't touch the stink bugs. You can't even wash that smell off your hands with BLEACH!

What's a peel bug? Like a roly poly? Isopod?


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## Pastel Tortie (Aug 1, 2019)

ZEROPILOT said:


> They sure are doing just fine here!
> I spend a lot of money killing them and keeping them out of the house and I'm still losing the battle


I know the feeling, here in North Florida. Especially because I don't want to use anything that would be toxic to any animals that would eat said roaches/bugs. I have no idea whether my almost 4" Gulf Coast box turtle would eat them or not, much less whether it would be safe.


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## Pastel Tortie (Aug 1, 2019)

I agree with @Tom -- No touching the stink bugs! Long-lasting stench that won't come off easily. Love bugs leave behind quite a stench when smushed, too.

Earwigs I can handle. Roaches, not so much.


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## Tom (Aug 1, 2019)

Pastel Tortie said:


> I know the feeling, here in North Florida. Especially because I don't want to use anything that would be toxic to any animals that would eat said roaches/bugs. I have no idea whether my almost 4" Gulf Coast box turtle would eat them or not, much less whether it would be safe.


My GC box turtle LOVED roaches.


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## ZEROPILOT (Aug 1, 2019)

Pastel Tortie said:


> I agree with @Tom -- No touching the stink bugs! Long-lasting stench that won't come off easily. Love bugs leave behind quite a stench when smushed, too.
> 
> Earwigs I can handle. Roaches, not so much.


Earwigs are cool.
I wonder if they're on a decline?
I used to see them very often. Now I haven't noticed one in years.


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## Pastel Tortie (Aug 1, 2019)

ZEROPILOT said:


> Earwigs are cool.
> I wonder if they're on a decline?
> I used to see them very often. Now I haven't noticed one in years.


That's funny... I had to get pill bugs sent from another TFO member, but earwigs are available in abundance around here. Same environmental conditions as pill bugs and earthworms. Right now, they're probably hiding from the heat.


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## Pastel Tortie (Aug 1, 2019)

My house is not exactly airtight. The earwigs found their way into the GC box turtle's indoor enclosure. At first it annoyed me, until I dropped one in my boxie's soaking water and asked, "Do you eat these?" Her answer was yes. So the earwigs got to stay.


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## ascott (Aug 1, 2019)

Tom said:


> I won't touch the stink bugs. You can't even wash that smell off your hands with BLEACH!
> 
> What's a peel bug? Like a roly poly? Isopod?



I have never had one stink me before....maybe because I have not startled them...I usually lay my hand on the ground and they just crawl on up...and yes, peel bug aka roly poly...when we were kids the grown folks likely were saying pea bug and we kids heard peel bug, so that is just what stuck...lol


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## ascott (Aug 1, 2019)

ZEROPILOT said:


> Earwigs are cool.
> I wonder if they're on a decline?
> I used to see them very often. Now I haven't noticed one in years.



Ick...no earwigs...my Grandma told us they should be killed if you find them in the house because they can climb into our ears and lay eggs. We certainly did not want them eating our brains, and I certainly figured that meant we would be either dead or dumb.....I know, I know....not rational at all, but still somewhere in the back of ones mind once that is planted. This is the same Grandma that would squash water bugs with her bare feed...ick...


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## ZEROPILOT (Aug 1, 2019)

ascott said:


> Ick...no earwigs...my Grandma told us they should be killed if you find them in the house because they can climb into our ears and lay eggs. We certainly did not want them eating our brains, and I certainly figured that meant we would be either dead or dumb.....I know, I know....not rational at all, but still somewhere in the back of ones mind once that is planted. This is the same Grandma that would squash water bugs with her bare feed...ick...


I was told the same thing.
Did our parents know each other?
Or is this true?


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## Pastel Tortie (Aug 1, 2019)

ZEROPILOT said:


> I was told the same thing.
> Did our parents know each other?
> Or is this true?


Widely circulated myth, but not true.


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## ascott (Aug 2, 2019)

Pastel Tortie said:


> Widely circulated myth, but not true.



How do you know this? You are positive? Your source is 100% for sure? I am hesitant here...


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## Pastel Tortie (Aug 2, 2019)

Positive, 100 percent sure. I trust our Cooperative Extension Service, along with many other reputable sources.  
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/document_ig093 
"The name earwig is derived from an old superstition that these insects enter peoples’ ears and bore into the brain. This idea is entirely unfounded as earwigs are harmless to man."


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## ascott (Aug 3, 2019)

Pastel Tortie said:


> Positive, 100 percent sure. I trust our Cooperative Extension Service, along with many other reputable sources.
> http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/document_ig093
> "The name earwig is derived from an old superstition that these insects enter peoples’ ears and bore into the brain. This idea is entirely unfounded as earwigs are harmless to man."



Hmmm. I read word for word and did not see anywhere that stated and assured that they will not climb into my ear, lay their 50+ eggs and bam, I am littered with Nymphs that are ready to eat one another (friendly bunch), well, that is if the Mother does not eat them first....jeeezzz....I am not comforted what so ever. I pity the next vicious earwig that sets all its feet in the house....


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## ZEROPILOT (Aug 3, 2019)

Do earwigs actually pinch and cause pain with those pinchers?
I've never let one get me.
But they look serious.


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## Pastel Tortie (Aug 3, 2019)

ZEROPILOT said:


> Do earwigs actually pinch and cause pain with those pinchers?
> I've never let one get me.
> But they look serious.


Once the earwig hits an inch or so in length, and gets more heavily bodied (relatively speaking), Yes, those pinchers can smart. They don't use them unprovoked...but trying to apprehend and feed one to your box turtle... Apparently that counts as being provoked. 

One time, maybe a year ago, a medium- to full size earwig pinched one of my box turtle's front feet while she was in her soaking water. You know on cartoons where a character's hand gets bitten, or caught in a snare, and they go running around all over the place, shaking the hand frantically, trying to get it off? That's basically what my box turtle did, running/swimming from one end of the container to the other, trying to shake it off her foot. I quickly helped remove it from her. 

After that, my boxie didn't want to eat earwigs for a while. That's also when I started incapacitating the earwigs I fed her. I made sure to crush the pinchers with tongs, and also crush somewhere around the head area of the earwig. My boxie eventually started eating them again.


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## Pastel Tortie (Aug 3, 2019)

ascott said:


> Hmmm. I read word for word and did not see anywhere that stated and assured that they will not climb into my ear, lay their 50+ eggs and bam, I am littered with Nymphs that are ready to eat one another (friendly bunch), well, that is if the Mother does not eat them first....jeeezzz....I am not comforted what so ever. I pity the next vicious earwig that sets all its feet in the house....


Understand, but they still might earn their keep outdoors. It's interesting about earwigs reducing populations of aphids and other pests.
http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/creatures/veg/ringlegged_earwig.htm
http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/creatures/veg/european_earwig.htm
The above references are from Florida, but you have to admit... In Florida, we KNOW bugs!

As for your ears, they are perfectly safe unless you're in the habit of keeping pockets of soil in your ears...


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## ascott (Aug 6, 2019)

Pastel Tortie said:


> Understand, but they still might earn their keep outdoors. It's interesting about earwigs reducing populations of aphids and other pests.
> http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/creatures/veg/ringlegged_earwig.htm
> http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/creatures/veg/european_earwig.htm
> The above references are from Florida, but you have to admit... In Florida, we KNOW bugs!
> ...


Outdoors is fine.....lots of critters who happen into the house from time to time find mercy and if they work with me I swoosh them into a cup and flick them back outside... -


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## ZEROPILOT (Aug 10, 2020)

Ok old post.
I found out a while ago that my attic is the source of my roaches.
They at least WERE attracted to some moisture in a leaking drain pipe in a wall behind a sink.
The leak has been repaired.
I can pop a few bug bombs up in the tiny attic crawlspace and for about an hour, I'll get between 4 and 12 roaches dying in the kitchen and the garage. Same area but separated by a wall. And I can't tell how they're getting in the house.
I just ordered some Amazon 6 ounce European bug bomb/foggers. They are 3 times larger than the old, tiny, BLACK FLAG bombs I get at Lowes.
My plan is to completely saturate the attic with a death cloud. Then repeat again once a week for 4 weeks to kill newly hatched babies.
Yes. I bought a 4 pack.
Wish me luck.
My thinking is that if there is an obvious entrance somewhere that running my AC will cause positive pressure inside the house and prevent most of the bug spray that might escape....to not.
And also, I'll turn off the exhaust fans.
Besides, it's a 6 ounce can.


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## Pastel Tortie (Aug 10, 2020)

ZEROPILOT said:


> Ok old post.
> I found out a while ago that my attic is the source of my roaches.
> They at least WERE attracted to some moisture in a leaking drain pipe in a wall behind a sink.
> The leak has been repaired.
> ...


Yeesh. I wish you luck... Good luck.


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## ZEROPILOT (Aug 10, 2020)

Pastel Tortie said:


> Yeesh. I wish you luck... Good luck.


Boy I dislike them
And I'll be doing all of this without Kelly knowing what I'm doing or what I've found


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## ZEROPILOT (Aug 10, 2020)

That attic gets hotter than the hinges of HELL.
How do they survive?


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## Pastel Tortie (Aug 10, 2020)

ZEROPILOT said:


> Boy I dislike them
> And I'll be doing all of this without Kelly knowing what I'm doing or what I've found


Wow... I don't know whether to call you brave or something else... 

I know I don't have to tell you to protect the birds and lizards... If your sunroom counts at all as inside, that is... I'm mentioning for everyone else's benefit.


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## ZEROPILOT (Aug 10, 2020)

Pastel Tortie said:


> Wow... I don't know whether to call you brave or something else...
> 
> I know I don't have to tell you to protect the birds and lizards... If your sunroom counts at all as inside, that is... I'm mentioning for everyone else's benefit.


A professional exterminator (the guy that found the hide out)placed an electric fogger up there once.
That one, I could smell inside the house.
I took the dog and left for a few hours.
The Sun room/Bird room is attached to the house. But it's not under the same roof and not connected to the central AC


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## Relic (Aug 11, 2020)

I don't think the A/C actually creates any positive pressure house-wide. There is increased pressure at the outlet vents, which is balanced by decreased pressure at the return vent(s). I would think the critical aspect would be complete air-tightness of all the A/C ductwork and sheetmetal connections in the attic. But...bugs. I understand. I would be bombing the attic like a swarm of B-29s over Tokyo...


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## Yvonne G (Aug 11, 2020)

I have those large oriental cockroaches, but they don't come in the house. Last year I set out many, many little bait tubs and I hardly ever see a roach this year. I think the trick is to rotate ingredients. so this year I'm using a different bait.


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## Pastel Tortie (Aug 11, 2020)

Yvonne G said:


> I have those large oriental cockroaches, but they don't come in the house. Last year I set out many, many little bait tubs and I hardly ever see a roach this year. I think the trick is to rotate ingredients. so this year I'm using a different bait.


What kind of bait tubs do you use?


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## Yvonne G (Aug 11, 2020)

I'll see if I can find a label when I go out in a few minutes.


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## Pastel Tortie (Aug 11, 2020)

Yvonne G said:


> I'll see if I can find a label when I go out in a few minutes.


Much appreciated.


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## Yvonne G (Aug 11, 2020)

Last year I put out Combat and it really worked well. I've only seen a couple roaches this year so far, over the hundreds I saw last year. I'n pretty sure Lowes and Home Depot ony carry combat , so I'm going to check Amazon for something with different ingredients.


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## Pastel Tortie (Aug 11, 2020)

I'm looking for suggestions for a good mechanical (or nonmechanical, it doesn't require moving parts), _nontoxic_ trap to lure out some cockroaches that have taken up in my box turtle's indoor enclosure. There are many good things crawling around her enclosure that I want to keep (earwigs, possibly still some isopods and red wigglers), but the cockroaches have to go. I really don't want to nuke the enclosure and start over from scratch.

My boxie would likely eat any cockroaches she came across that were already dead or disabled. Catching live ones, however, is realistically not her forte. These things are fast. They can fly, too... At least sometimes, at least for a few feet at a time.


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## ZEROPILOT (Aug 12, 2020)

Relic said:


> I don't think the A/C actually creates any positive pressure house-wide. There is increased pressure at the outlet vents, which is balanced by decreased pressure at the return vent(s). I would think the critical aspect would be complete air-tightness of all the A/C ductwork and sheetmetal connections in the attic. But...bugs. I understand. I would be bombing the attic like a swarm of B-29s over Tokyo...


When the AC kicks in, any open door in the house slams shut.
That new HVAC system is something else


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## ZEROPILOT (Sep 5, 2020)

Here's my very first traumatic experience with cockroaches.
I was probably 4 and in preschool.
(Before my stint in Catholic school, even)
A candy filled pinata was bought into the class/group (a Mexican knock off Charlie Brown) and we drew straws or something to see who swings first, second, etc...
I drew 5th. I think.
Anyway, the frail and disorganized children in front of me, blindfolded, either missed the pinata all together or hit it with the anemic thud of 4 year old arm power.
Finally. My turn. I used an overhead AXE CHOP method and put all of my weight and mite into it.
That candy was coming out!
I hit it with such a great shot that I split it clean in half. Candy raining down all over me.... Children screaming in delight...
Until I removed my blindfold and found that I was covered in candy wrappers, a few bits of sticky candy, but mostly large COCKROACHES.
The children WERE screaming. But in horror and they were all running around the room.
Some of them got inside my shirt. Some flew and landed on other children. It was a lovely activity for sure.
And something I've never forgotten. Though I'd like to.
And I still hate Charlie Brown.


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## Agathaade (Sep 5, 2020)

This may depend on the kind of roaches you are seeing and ypur state regulations, but have you tried those pastes with fipronil or indoxacarb (Advion, Maxxforce)?
In France we use Goliath gel, it contains fipronil and I don’t understand why anyone bothers with anything else! It’s a baited contact poison with delayed action, so that it will poison the whole nest after poisoning a portion of the roaches. Takes two/four weeks to get rid of the problem.
You put little dots with a syringe in areas where they walk, they step in it and also ingest it. It’s bad for pets, so you have to apply it cleverly out of their reach and yours (inside cupboards or behind cupboards - sometimes you have to undo a few plinths). Since you have localised your infestation in the attic, you could maybe just apply it there?
It works for a year.
Paris is disgusting with roaches and everyone uses that.


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## ZEROPILOT (Sep 5, 2020)

Agathaade said:


> This may depend on the kind of roaches you are seeing and ypur state regulations, but have you tried those pastes with fipronil or indoxacarb (Advion, Maxxforce)?
> In France we use Goliath gel, it contains fipronil and I don’t understand why anyone bothers with anything else! It’s a baited contact poison with delayed action, so that it will poison the whole nest after poisoning a portion of the roaches. Takes two/four weeks to get rid of the problem.
> You put little dots with a syringe in areas where they walk, they step in it and also ingest it. It’s bad for pets, so you have to apply it cleverly out of their reach and yours (inside cupboards or behind cupboards - sometimes you have to undo a few plinths). Since you have localised your infestation in the attic, you could maybe just apply it there?
> It works for a year.
> Paris is disgusting with roaches and everyone uses that.


Yes.
Something like that is sold for the smaller German cockroaches.
Those live inside your house. Often infesting them.
These are the large American cockroaches that live outside the home, but occasionally enter.


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## Agathaade (Sep 5, 2020)

Gotcha.
Eeek!


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## newCH (Sep 20, 2020)

Bugs just aren't cool in the house.
You earned your good husband badge ! Wear it well ! 
Have the wife make your favorite dinner !
Great post, loved the story !


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## ZEROPILOT (Jun 28, 2021)

Ok
Even if you like roaches like our friend @Tom 
Check out THIS particular nightmare!
Last night I noticed that this light switch was only working intermittently. So today after my 5 hours at my part time job, I came home to replace the switch with a heavy duty Home Depot unit.
What I found was this pile of roach carcasses behind the switch.
This common wall had a small drain leak in it a few years ago. That I had to partially demolish a wall to replace the copper with PVC pipe.
That leak had attracted a colony of roaches into my attic that I battled for a long time. And had tried to forget about.
I haven't seen a live roach in the house for months.
But this horrible reminder of that war remained. And I'm guessing they may be behind several other light switches and outlets along that shared wall.
I'll have my shop vacuum ready and I'll not eat anything first on the day I decide to tackle that.
And it'll need to be a day my wife isn't home.
I'm NOT telling her about any of this.
Dee Scusting!


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## Tom (Jun 28, 2021)

ZEROPILOT said:


> Ok
> Even if you like roaches like our friend @Tom
> Check out THIS particular nightmare!
> Last night I noticed that this light switch was only working intermittently. So today after my 5 hours at my part time job, I came home to replace the switch with a heavy duty Home Depot unit.
> ...


Question: Are we good enough friends for me to call you names?


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## ZEROPILOT (Jun 28, 2021)

Tom said:


> Question: Are we good enough friends for me to call you names?


Certainly
Do you think I'm over reacting to this?


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## ZenHerper (Jun 29, 2021)

Civilization crumbles for lack of a comma...


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## ZEROPILOT (Jun 29, 2021)

ZenHerper said:


> Civilization crumbles for lack of a comma...





ZEROPILOT said:


> Certainly
> Do you think I'm over reacting to this?


Or that I seem to have named one of the roaches TOM?


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## wellington (Jun 29, 2021)

ZEROPILOT said:


> Here you go.
> I found this one on my front porch.
> The ants hadn't gotten to him yet.
> 
> ...


Looks like the bug in one of the raid commercials lol


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