Harmful or not ?

[GarterGuy17]

Are common house roaches harmful to garters ?

[guidofatherof5]

I would say yes. They carry many diseases. I'm sure they could also bite a garter snake.

[EasternGirl]

Are they in with the snake or something??

[GarterGuy17]

Well today is the only time this has happened , I saw a small roach on the side of the tank when I came in the room and I grabbed a paper towel and killed it. apparently there was another one which fell inside the tank when I moved it to kill the other one , this was the second time today. The first time was removing the lid this morning. both roaches that got in were killed before they came in contact with jade just the really has me uneasy , I have everything out of her tank and she is sleeping in my shirt pocket. I am very very hesitant in putting her pack in until I have a solution , I thought about going out tomorrow and buying some double sided tape to put around the outside of the tank so it will stop them from climbing up. Good or bad idea ?

[EasternGirl]

Hmmm...well I would definitely deal with the roach problem in your house. Get some roach motels or something and put them in your room or call an exterminator...cause...yuck. If an exterminator comes, make sure to get Jade out of the house if he sprays for roaches...or just far away from any fumes. I don't see how double-sided tape on the outside of the tank could harm her as long as she couldn't get out and anywhere near it...how did the roach get into her tank? If the roaches only got into her tank because you moved the lid...they shouldn't be able to get into the tank if the lid is secure enough that she can't get out.

[GarterGuy17]

I'm with you on the whole yuck thing I have been living in this apartment for about 7 years and never had this problem. The second one was in already I just couldn't see it since it was on the high edge of the tank I saw it fall when I nudged the tank. Only part of my tank is completely secure since I don't have enough clamps. even so I feel the double sided tape will not allow bugs of any kind to get into the tank which means I will go out and buy some tomorrow morning.

[EasternGirl]

If you don't have enough clamps, it would be best to set heavy things on top of the parts that are not clamped down. I do it with Seeley's tank. Just take some really heavy books and put them on the edges of the tank and that way Jade can't get out where it isn't clamped down. Get the double sided tape for the outside for the roaches and get some roach motels...if you notify the landlord of the roach problem...make sure you know exactly what he is doing about it and when...so if he sends an exterminator, you can get Jade out so she doesn't breathe in the fumes. You can't sleep with her in your pocket all night though...what are you going to do with her when you go to sleep?

[infernalis]

The big risk with double sided tape, if the snake gets out and comes into contact with the double sided tape, it gets ugly real fast.

[GarterGuy17]

well I did a bit of a sweep of her tank I ended up putting the aspen back in since I wont be feeding inside her tank anymore. Until tomorrow morning comes my light will be on , they don't come out in the light. The part about escape proofing the tank jade cant get very high up since the highest thing is the branch and it still only goes to the middle of the tank. I'm going to be thinking of other things to keep bugs out of the cage tomorrow until this problem is resolved.

[katach]

You should call an exterminator. Those little beasties can not only carry bacteria like strep and staph, but the feces can cause respiratory problems.

[Stefan-A]

Some of the pesticides they use are harmful to reptiles as well.

[acovert]

I would recommend an exterminator. Not only are the roaches going to be harmful to the snake because of the diseases they carry, but they can be harmful to you as well.

Have you ever seen roaches in your home before? If you're living in an apartment that is directly against other apartments and you have never had a roach problem before, there is the possibility that they are coming in from another apartment, in which case you should contact the apartment manager to let them know. Usually that only happens with serious cases, though.

I had a friend who's family had a problem with roaches as well as ants and fleas. When i would stay the night they would end up crawling on me and my mom would get upset because she didn't want them getting into my things and coming home with me. Their house was a disaster; there was food smeared all over the walls and I swear that they never cleaned. They had a lot of pets that I worried about, including cats and a gecko (the gecko ended up dying from unknown causes, and I was the one who discovered it dead).

So...yeah. I recommend an exterminator as well as looking into the situation a bit more. Roaches can be deadly to animals as well as humans if the infestation is bad enough. They're nasty little creatures. And very durable.

[Light of Dae]

Oh gross... I ain't one to be grossed out but cockroaches... eww... The closest thing I've seen are harmless Giant Water Bugs... Which I used to play with all the time as a kid... still want one as a pet... Their bite sure hurts though... Used to hear the buzz in the sky first n then see a cloud of them drop down looking for water...

40004001
Used to stick a twig in front of them n watch it snap... Made the mistake of 'twitching' a finger whilst holding it though n it snaps your finger n OWW lol

I couldn't deal with a bug that survives nuclear bombs n radiation though... Gross.

[kibakiba]

It's a zombie, destroy the brain!

[EasternGirl]

I was worried about saying the double sided tape on the outside of the tank was okay...but I really couldn't think of anything else to tell him in the middle of the night to keep the roaches from getting into the tank :o. When I was married, my ex-husband's little brother came to live with us for a little while, and the apartment he had been living in before he came to our place had roaches. He of course, brought some with him in his stuff. I found a roach crawling in his bedroom after he moved in. I put roach motels in his bedroom and it took care of the problem. But what Ashley said is right...if you are in an apartment and your neighbors have a bad roach problem...or the building has a problem...the manager is going to have to do something to treat the building. This is why I said that if the manager is going to call an exterminator, you need to find out exactly when the exterminator is coming so that you can take Jade...and her tank...out of the apartment when they spray. If you can find a place to take her, I would keep her out of there for a day after they spray, just to make sure all the fumes are gone.

[kibakiba]

Petrolium jelly should work for preventing them, they can't climb over that I don't think.

[guidofatherof5]

Provent-a-mite would be a possible solution to the in tank problem but the overall situation needs to be addressed.

Pro-Products | Provent-a-Mite (http://www.pro-products.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=53&Itemid=59)

[infernalis]

Some of the pesticides they use are harmful to reptiles as well.

Amazing no one noticed this....

[acovert]

I noticed, but ultimately an exterminator would be necessarily for the health of all the inhabitants of the household, human and non-human. And if it's an apartment complex then there may be no choice; it's ultimately up to the manager.

There are exterminators that may have other options that are safer for reptiles. I would recommend discussing things with the exterminator beforehand, of course, because they may know what to do for the snake. Some exterminators deal with snake infestations as well as bug infestations. I've seen some bad and dangerous infestations. If it's just a couple now then it might not seem like a big problem, but roaches reproduce fast and in large numbers and it can become a real problem really fast.

[Light of Dae]

This is why I said that if the manager is going to call an exterminator, you need to find out exactly when the exterminator is coming so that you can take Jade...and her tank...out of the apartment when they spray.

That's what I was going to suggest as well because ...


Some of the pesticides they use are harmful to reptiles as well.

This is true.


I noticed, but ultimately an exterminator would be necessarily for the health of all the inhabitants of the household, human and non-human. And if it's an apartment complex then there may be no choice; it's ultimately up to the manager.

This is true as well. Hence I was going to suggest removing Jade n her tank n everything used for her Out of there for I'd say a week. Say a friends place or something, Somewhere you can trust, visit your friends n Jade n feed her at the same time. That way you wouldn't have to worry about having someone (who may or may not like, let alone Know anything about snakes) learn to feed her or anything, just simple instructions on light times.

Best of luck with them roaches.. I'll stick to Giant Water Bugs. thanks.

[EasternGirl]

Yes, I noticed...which is why I told him to remove Jade and her tank from the apartment when the exterminator comes and to keep her out for a day after. As Ashley said, if there is a roach infestation, this can be very dangerous to the people and animals in the house and must be dealt with. I have an exterminator that comes once a month...and again, as Ashley said, my exterminator is familiar with pesticides that are harmful to reptiles and animals and I always discuss options and types of chemicals used before he uses anything in my home.

[acovert]

I used to watch wayyyy too many exterminator TV shows when I was a freshman in college. There was a whole marathon of them one day.

Also, my family has had issues with ants. While they're not the same as roaches, they can get into your food and cause some health issues. We never did have an exterminator come out for that, but I tried to convince my mom that it was bad for the kids. I also had to do some research when we had a family of possums living in our shed (I'm the resident computer geek who does all the research on everything).

Roaches are far worse than ants. I would rank them up with poisonous spiders and pigeons as hazardous to human health. Pigeons cause some nasty respiratory issues as well, if you have an infestation.

[GarterGuy17]

Well I wouldn't say its an infestation just yet its not like I see a bunch because its not like that at all , only a few but that can become a problem I know. every time I see one I kill it but I feel as if the numbers are decreasing. I used the tape around the bottom edge of the tank and its sticky enough to catch a bug put not strong enough to keep a finger or even possible to handle how jade moves if she gets stuck. Hopefully this works actually hopefully these roaches leave !

[EasternGirl]

Well the problem with tape is...and I am sure this is Wayne's concern...if Jade were to come in contact with the tape...it isn't that it would hold her to it...it is that it could remove some of her skin, or scales, or tongue...and that could cause a wound that could be fatal. You may be better off trying the vaseline like Chantel said...I don't see how a cockroach could get through that. Call the apartment manager about the roaches!

[GarterGuy17]

Put Vaseline around the tank ? o.O. Also about the tape I just cant think of a way of how jade would com into contact with the tape , I understand garters are escape artist but she cant climb very high and even if she did get to the top and out of the wire mesh corners she would fall away from the tape since the edges of the top of the tank come out farther then the actual glass so how she would come into contact with it is beyond me if she ever does but I will remove it if I find a better solution. Like the Vaseline or Petroleum jelly.

As for the exterminator I feel as if its my fault roaches are coming since every time the exterminator would come which is once a month to spray and put some traps just in case , I haven't let them in for about 4 months now so , February's visit I will be sure to tell him to be very thorough and kill the source of the problem. I will keep jade out of the premises for a few days after he spray's so the chemicals can air out and jade wont be harmed. Thanks everyone for the idea's they are all taken in consideration hopefully this problem is resolved before anything happens.

[kibakiba]

Vasoline prevents roaches from crawling up because it's slippery. Some people who breed roaches put it in the roach tank to prevent them from coming out.

[mikem]

perhaps they're on the cage because they're trying to get to a water source? maybe try removing the water for a few days and see what happens. of course, take jade out and offer her water, but don't have it in her cage and see if they are still climbing around. it could be the heat source they're attracted to as well. i breed a few different species of roaches and if they escaped i'd probably buy a handful of tokay geckos and let them loose in the house, lol!

[acovert]

Some people who breed roaches put it in the roach tank to prevent them from coming out.
Why would anyone want to breed those things?

[mikem]

i breed them to feed to my leopard geckos and a few tarantulas.

[kibakiba]

My friend breeds them for her cresties and gargoyle geckos... She only does it for them, but hates them for every other reason.

[EasternGirl]

Ewww...no way...couldn't do it!

[acovert]

Ew....cockroaches are so gross. I would even take crickets over roaches. Ugh.

[GarterGuy17]

Well the roaches you guys are talking about are fairly big , i'm talking about German cockroaches about 1.3 cm long so they are no tlike the big ones people breed.

[guidofatherof5]

German cockroach - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_cockroach)

[acovert]

I was talking about German cockroaches, actually. Or similar ones.
We don't get the big ones around here, typically.
They're disgusting, big or small.

(Although I will admit that I would rather see a cockroach than an earwig)

[EasternGirl]

Ewww...any size roach is gross to me. And earwigs...we get those darn things..they bite! I had one fall off the ceiling and land on my shoulder and bite me once. I also hate silverfish...we get those too. A big problem we've been having the last couple of years is carpet beetles...do you guys know what those are? They are little tiny things...they get on your clothes and eat them. They keep getting in my closets and eating my good sweaters and it's driving me crazy. They destroyed most of my good sweaters this year. If anyone knows a solution to those suckers...let me know. And let us not forget about stinkbugs! Those things are a menace to society...we have had issues with them around here for the past three years! I hate them. I have to put plastic and tape around my windows and air conditioners to keep them from coming in.

[acovert]

Stinkbugs are awful! I don't think we've had any for a while, but there was a time when we got them all the time. Never had carpet beetles, but a quick search on Google recommended vacuuming, washing carpets in warm water, as well as using boric acid as treatments.

We get these weird flying beetle-like bugs. I'm not sure what they are actually called. We don't have them so bad at this new house, but we had them all the time at the old one. We also had problems with aggressive paper wasps and mud daubers. We also had problems 'sugar ants' - those little black ants that love finding any little scrap of food you leave out.

My grandma's house has an infestation of slugs, if that's even possible. Somehow they manage to occasionally get into the house, even into the bedrooms! But the big problem there is spiders and silverfish. I think the silverfish look cool, but I won't touch them. I was the only one who ever saw them because they only come out at night around there.

I am terrified of earwigs. No idea why, but if there's one around I will freak out and make someone get rid of it. I'm ever worse with bees and wasps xD

[kibakiba]

I think stinkbugs are funny little things... They don't smell pretty, but they are fun to watch.
We have agressive house spiders and wasps around here... They make nests right next to our windows, which are open in the summer... And they get stuck in the kitchen... Arg. I hate them.

[GarterGuy17]

Well I might have a small cockroach problem since the building is very heated in the winter , but I don't have any of those things !

[EasternGirl]

Here is the ironic thing about the carpet beatles...we have hardwood floors! Now there is a chance that the pest control guy who told me the little bugs eating my sweaters were carpet beatles was wrong...maybe they aren't carpet beatles. I'll have to google them too.

[EasternGirl]

Well they are definitely carpet beetles..not beatles, as in the band...like I wrote earlier...lol. Anyway...read about some things to try to get rid of them...we'll see what happens.