sschind Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 On Saturday I cleaned my two dubia bins and placed the roaches into the clean bins. Saturday night I place a bunch of cauliflower leaves into the bins and today when I checked there were tons of dead roaches and a lot of cauliflower leaves left over. I haven't gone through them yet to see the extent of the die off but I have never experienced anything like it before. I know cauliflower can give of gasses and maybe that is what did them in but the bins are well vented (although they are in a roach cabinet to keep the heat in) Are there any foods that I should not feed my roaches. My colonies have been busting at the seams and they get plenty of fresh fruits and veggies (oranges work the best) and my own bug food mix that I have been using for years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happy1892 Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 Did you wash it well? Pesticides could kill them if not washed well I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
windward Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 Many plants natually produce secondary metabolites for various purposes. In the case of the brassicales you get glucosinolates. Aside for specialized insects which are tolerant to or even use these metabolites, large amounts of glucosinolates can act like a pesticide. Slightly off topic: The amount of these secondary metabolites varying according to the plant's biorhythm. Meaning more is produced during the day if the main pests of that plant are diurnal, and less at night. It's been more recently discovered that harvested crops continue to produce these secondary metabolites - epsecially if they've been under a light (think grocery store) for 12 hours or so a day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sschind Posted July 15, 2013 Author Share Posted July 15, 2013 Many plants natually produce secondary metabolites. In the case of the brassicales you get glucosinolates. Aside for specialized insects which are tolerant to or even use these metabolites, large amount of glucosinolates can act like a pesticide. Thanks. I'm thinking that is what happened. I've cleaned the bins (lost about 200 total from the 2 bins) and removed the remaining food. Lesson learned I guess, it could have been worse, there are still a couple thousand of the little buggers in there so no harm don I suppose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pierre72 Posted July 19, 2013 Share Posted July 19, 2013 On Saturday I cleaned my two dubia bins and placed the roaches into the clean bins. Saturday night I place a bunch of cauliflower leaves into the bins and today when I checked there were tons of dead roaches and a lot of cauliflower leaves left over. I haven't gone through them yet to see the extent of the die off but I have never experienced anything like it before. I know cauliflower can give of gasses and maybe that is what did them in but the bins are well vented (although they are in a roach cabinet to keep the heat in) Are there any foods that I should not feed my roaches. My colonies have been busting at the seams and they get plenty of fresh fruits and veggies (oranges work the best) and my own bug food mix that I have been using for years. Watch feeding them oily foods 'cause some oils are toxic. For example, I've heard on this sight that they shouldn't have peanut butter. As for plants, definitely stay away from flowers. Some flowers actually have natural pesticides in them like pyrithrin. Chrisanthamums are one example. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Posted July 19, 2013 Share Posted July 19, 2013 I think cayenne pepper and lemon juice. I've seen pepper spray kill insects within seconds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nirotorin Posted July 26, 2013 Share Posted July 26, 2013 I know from personal experience that urine enrages black widow spiders. Probably bad for roaches as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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