Dubias

Srmcclure

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I live in Chicago. Had Dubai reach colony a few years ago. Just a heads up.
They can climb out of the plastic bins and if they find the right place to hide, they can survive winters.
I had one survive in a bag of dirt in my unheated garage. Have no idea how he got there. The colony was in the next room which is the torts heated shed. I also had a few that some how got out. I hate roaches and a big NO to be living any place but in their tote. I destroyed the whole colony when I found them in the garage.
Yea, that's why I lined the top with packing tape and I keep the tops of the eggcrate away from the top at all cost. So far so good lol. Famous last words.. ..
And I can't blame you one bit! I'd need a torch maybe. I don't mind them in the bin, but not having free reign of my house
 

Tom

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Yea, that's why I lined the top with packing tape and I keep the tops of the eggcrate away from the top at all cost. So far so good lol. Famous last words.. ..
And I can't blame you one bit! I'd need a torch maybe. I don't mind them in the bin, but not having free reign of my house
The dark colored bins that are so often erroneously recommended have just a little bit of texture to them and sometimes the smaller roaches can find enough traction to climb. The clear bins are as smooth as your packing tape, and they can't climb those walls unless there is food or debris or something on the walls. I've done multiple side-by-side experiments with multiple species over many years and I find zero difference in production between clear bins and dark colored bins.
IMG_6380 copy.JPG
 

Srmcclure

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The dark colored bins that are so often erroneously recommended have just a little bit of texture to them and sometimes the smaller roaches can find enough traction to climb. The clear bins are as smooth as your packing tape, and they can't climb those walls unless there is food or debris or something on the walls. I've done multiple side-by-side experiments with multiple species over many years and I find zero difference in production between clear bins and dark colored bins.
View attachment 347996

Good to know! I just bought a blue one from target and put the tape up, but clear might be what I eventually switch too when I meet a bigger bin. Which I think I'm getting close to. Mine is in my house though so idk how my family would feel about clear 😂
 

Srmcclure

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Do you all have a good recommendation for escape proof bowls for my beardie? As he eats larger dubias they are getting too big and can almost get out and I don't like that lol
I was just hoping one of you has tried one you all are really happy with before I go and buy one that may or may not work
 

MenagerieGrl

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For me I think the visceral reaction to roaches comes from the thought that should they get out they would multiply non stop. I worked @ NAS Alameda for 10 years, Quite a few of the housing complexes were, I would not say over run with Roaches, but they were clearly evident. When I'd leave a unit, I'd inspect my tool box, shake my clothes off. Last thing I wanted was to contaminate my van, our shop, or bring them home with me at the end of the day. With the exception of about 6 months, I have owned every home I have lived in, but if I had to rent an apartment that had roaches, that would be a deal breaker for me. Now I believe these were the German Roaches. And within the last 5 years or so, have been seeing small roaches in the garden I don't believe they are the German Roaches as they are only 3/8th to 1/2" in size. But ONLY within the last 5 years.
As long as they stay "out there", we can co-exist.
 

Levi the Leopard

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OK, so I have a breeding colony of dubias for my bearded dragon. It is doing really well, but I noticed something weird tonight. I was standing in the area of the box and I heard thumping. Like actually a bit loud. I legit thought a large house gecko or something had managed to get in there and was having a feast! When I opened the container they were eating the food and carrots but I noticed a few males where hyper active and even fluttering their wings and leaping down to the bottom. If I didn't know any better I'd say they were learning to fly lol. I think they were forcibly moving the egg crate against the sides as they were moving through. I have NEVER heard them like this before. If I hear anything at all from there container it sounds like falling rain. Is that normal??
Box is a 20 gallon opaque tote btw. And I feed out the males.

@Tom
@ZEROPILOT
I've had male dubias try to fly out when I have too many males. Perhaps beardie gets some extra snacks in the coming weeks :)
 

Levi the Leopard

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Most people find it bizarre, but I have genuine affection for my colonies. I smile when I see new babies and I love picking up huge handfuls and watching them scurry about. It makes me happy when I pick up a flat and it is heavy with roaches.

I LOVED my roach colonies. Believe it or not, giving them up when I had to close the business was very hard for me. I have missed them terribly. I recently dreamt that I had a single pet dubia and took it around with me, letting people pet it. I was so happy in the dream that I became sad when I woke up and realized it was only a dream.... my husband says I'm weird. LOL

I go visit the pet store I gave my colonies too. But it's not the same.
 

Levi the Leopard

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I had one survive in a bag of dirt in my unheated garage.
Just the other day I found a Dubia in my yard. I was sooo happy. Brought back some good memories. Apparently one had escaped the chickens and has been surviving near the wood pile all this time! The chickens and roaches went at the beginning of January when I first closed. That's 7 months!! I let her live. She deserved it. LOL
 

Tom

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For me I think the visceral reaction to roaches comes from the thought that should they get out they would multiply non stop. I worked @ NAS Alameda for 10 years, Quite a few of the housing complexes were, I would not say over run with Roaches, but they were clearly evident. When I'd leave a unit, I'd inspect my tool box, shake my clothes off. Last thing I wanted was to contaminate my van, our shop, or bring them home with me at the end of the day. With the exception of about 6 months, I have owned every home I have lived in, but if I had to rent an apartment that had roaches, that would be a deal breaker for me. Now I believe these were the German Roaches. And within the last 5 years or so, have been seeing small roaches in the garden I don't believe they are the German Roaches as they are only 3/8th to 1/2" in size. But ONLY within the last 5 years.
As long as they stay "out there", we can co-exist.
Are some of them an orangish-tan color while others are bigger and black? Blatta lateralis. Very common.
 

Tom

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Do you all have a good recommendation for escape proof bowls for my beardie? As he eats larger dubias they are getting too big and can almost get out and I don't like that lol
I was just hoping one of you has tried one you all are really happy with before I go and buy one that may or may not work
I don't use bowls. I just drop them in one at a time, or tong feed.
 

wellington

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Just the other day I found a Dubia in my yard. I was sooo happy. Brought back some good memories. Apparently one had escaped the chickens and has been surviving near the wood pile all this time! The chickens and roaches went at the beginning of January when I first closed. That's 7 months!! I let her live. She deserved it. LOL
Braver then me. I hate them and spiders. Tom was the one that talked me into them. He's a trouble maker lol.
At that time we owned and lived in a 3 flat. My Chameleon would miss a few that I later would find and have to hurry them back into the container. That would have been the end of them then, if they had gotten into the rental apartments, yikes.
After we moved is when I did a colony, single family home, no renters to worry about. But I just couldn't do it when I realized they could survive my winters.
 
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