Turkistan roaches are escape artists!

[todds_out]

I've had these for probably around 3 months ish... My colony were breeding fine and I was keeping them in a plastic rub with a secure lid on and yet was finding occasional escapes... This morning I woke up quite early for some reason and couldn't get back to sleep and so I thought I'd check on my reps and when I walked in I found about 6 or 7 male turkistan roaches on the loose! I couldn't believe it! I even saw one climb up on a piece of furniture, jump and then fly across the room! I was told these do not fly, how very misinformed I was.

I have since removed the Rub they're in and have placed it outside the house so they're too cool to fly until I decide later what I'm going to do with them....

[madavies65]

lol the ninjas of the roach world!

Thats why I stick to Dubia's they are a lame duck most of the time and are defeated by a dog bowl! mwhahahaha!

[Jim2109]

firstly, im betting youve got cables running from inside the RUB to outside? if so, thats your escape problem. if not, then how close to the roof do your egg trays reach?

secondly, RUB lids dont seal shut, they leave a large gap around the edges, and all roaches can fit inside the tiniest spaces, so escaping is extremely easy if they have a way to climb up the walls.

thirdly, they cant fly. but males are very good at jumping and they flap their wings. they cant actually take flight and buzz around the room, but they can jump several inches, which from a tall enough height could actually become several feet by the time they reach the floor. if they flap their wings at the same time they can kind of glide. they cant fly up higher than their starting point though, they just fall gracefully lol.

i actually had one jump on my arm whilst i was putting water in their tank this morning, he jumped a good 4" from egg tray to my arm and then ran around on it.

i used to have daily escapes (i had mesh clamped under the lid, so mostly they just made it to the mesh and run around on the underside of it, whereas yours just get straight out!). then i swapped to a fish tank with all of the electrics externally placed, so no wires leave through the lid of the tank. and i have parcel taped the silicone joins. now i get ZERO escapes!! and i havent found a loose turkistan in the house in about 2 months, apart from one in the kitchen that was almost certainly an escapee from the previous housing. they live for a year or so, so if they get out they stay out lol. and they can easily find places to survive and potentially breed in a home, especially in winter time when it is warm and humid in most houses with central heating on.

mine are shortly being relocated to the garage, where their tank will reside inside a wooden chest to keep it better insulated. out there its freezing at night, so any escapees will probably die. and they cant easily get back into my house from there.

[todds_out]

Originally Posted by Jim2109

firstly, im betting youve got cables running from inside the RUB to outside? if so, thats your escape problem. if not, then how close to the roof do your egg trays reach?

secondly, RUB lids dont seal shut, they leave a large gap around the edges, and all roaches can fit inside the tiniest spaces, so escaping is extremely easy if they have a way to climb up the walls.

thirdly, they cant fly. but males are very good at jumping and they flap their wings. they cant actually take flight and buzz around the room, but they can jump several inches, which from a tall enough height could actually become several feet by the time they reach the floor. if they flap their wings at the same time they can kind of glide. they cant fly up higher than their starting point though, they just fall gracefully lol.

i actually had one jump on my arm whilst i was putting water in their tank this morning, he jumped a good 4" from egg tray to my arm and then ran around on it.

i used to have daily escapes (i had mesh clamped under the lid, so mostly they just made it to the mesh and run around on the underside of it, whereas yours just get straight out!). then i swapped to a fish tank with all of the electrics externally placed, so no wires leave through the lid of the tank. and i have parcel taped the silicone joins. now i get ZERO escapes!! and i havent found a loose turkistan in the house in about 2 months, apart from one in the kitchen that was almost certainly an escapee from the previous housing. they live for a year or so, so if they get out they stay out lol. and they can easily find places to survive and potentially breed in a home, especially in winter time when it is warm and humid in most houses with central heating on.

mine are shortly being relocated to the garage, where their tank will reside inside a wooden chest to keep it better insulated. out there its freezing at night, so any escapees will probably die. and they cant easily get back into my house from there.

well yes ok it was gliding but even so I did not expect it to go so far. All I know is I really do not like them lol. I will be sure to catch them all and if anyone would like to take them off my hands you're more than welcome for like £10 or something. There's several hundred at the or more at the moment including new borns and established nymphs.

[luke071183]

shame your so far away, would have had them

[Jim2109]

just out of curiosity, do you have wires inside the RUB and is that how they escaped?

if so, and you remove the wires then you almost certainly wont get escapees again. they arent able to climb the plastic walls unless they are very dirty. and they can only get to the top off of egg trays if they go quite near to the top and close to the sides.

they arent the nicest roach to have escape, especially since they are insanely fast!! but they make awesome food for the same reason. my water dragons love them, its a real effort for them to catch one and they make a game of it.

[todds_out]

I heat the Rub externally with a heatmat placed on the underside. I would guess that they're jumping and then somehow getting through the gap in the lid.

[SteveOh_UK]

Even Dubia males can fly/flutter at the right temperatures.

I often see them fluttering out of the containers I keep mine in..

Its a good job there are a couple of tarantulas loose somewhere in here to keep on top of the escapees.....

[Jim2109]

Originally Posted by SteveOh_UK

Its a good job there are a couple of tarantulas loose somewhere in here to keep on top of the escapees.....

that reminds me of the opening scene in a film called Mallrats. anyone whos seen it will know what im talking about. it was cats and gerbils instead of tarantulas and roaches though.

[toad650]

All my escaped ones are coming out the viv's not the rub i keep them in, but to be fair whatever i put in there apart from locusts get out somehow n atleast there not noisy like bloody crickets so you sure there coming out of the setup and not the viv's your putting them in?