Help with Roach colony

I may be all wet on this question, but I read somewhere that there is a type of insect you should keep with roaches, and they act as a cleaner for the colony. The take care of much of the waste product. Has anyone else ever heard of this?

Thanks...Lou

Originally Posted by Louiscamp

I may be all wet on this question, but I read somewhere that there is a type of insect you should keep with roaches, and they act as a cleaner for the colony. The take care of much of the waste product. Has anyone else ever heard of this?

Thanks...Lou

Yeap, pillbugs...they are great cleaners! I don't know if they eat the poop, but they DO eat cast skins and clean up the food area to eliminate mite infestations.

Pillbugs, yes that's them!! Thanks! Anybody have an idea where I can get some?

Thanks...Lou

Originally Posted by Louiscamp

Pillbugs, yes that's them!! Thanks! Anybody have an idea where I can get some?

Thanks...Lou

I really like Strange Cargo, but I don't know if they have any regular gray ones.

Thanks for the tip on the pill bugs (whatever they are-LOL)
I went to www.stangecargo.com and their website is temp. down but fancy that-they are in Chicago of all places-LOL
For some reason that does not surprise me in the least

I have a colony of roaches (I forget which kind-they don't climb well ) and if you keep them really warm on a uth and give them fruit-apples-oranges along with their feed -they seem to reproduce quite well
My colony is still not up to where I am feeding them to the Leo but hopefully it will be soon
Sandy

Hey Sandy, Strange Cargo in Chicago says it is a vintage clothing store.

I found them at http://www.doubleds.org.

Thanks!

Lou

Isopods (aka pillbugs or rolly pollies) are actually crustaceans not insects. They make great little janitors but they need humidity and moist substrate to burrow in. You also need a TON of them to have them make a dent in keeping your colony clean to the point where they would outcompete mites. In my opinion, they're a bit impractical to use for roach feeder cages, but if you've got tarantulas, phasmids, or other animals that might require humid conditions, that's when they would be useful.

are actually crustaceans not insects.

Now thats odd.

Yeap, more closely related to lobsters (the kind you find in the ocean). They actually have little "gills" they breathe through; that's why they require moist conditions.
I only started exploring them as a way to keep my roaches cleaner, but didn't realize I needed an army of them. I wondered why 24 of them didn't make even a dent.