# Red runners... Any risk of infestation?



## jimmythetramp (Jul 6, 2009)

Hi everyone, i just bought some Turkistan roaches to try with my ackie and if e likes them I may have a go at breeding them as I already breed dubias, however I have read alot that their is a risk that if they escape the can breed really easily and if they escape they can infest your house, is their any truth to this or should I not be worried about it, as the viv he's in does have a small gap at one of the edges where the little swines could escape out of and I don't think mu mrs would be too happy with even more roaches on the loose.

Thanks in advance


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## Ben.M (Mar 2, 2008)

Turks need a temp. of about 30C to breed, too low and the egg cases just won't hatch, they also won't hatch if the humidity is too low.
Also generally you feed the males off first, if you drop one(I have several loose at the moment, fast little blighters) it doesn't really matter as it's not gonna breed on its own. The egg cases take about 30 days to hatch and are just dropped by the female so in a house the chances are that it will get found when cleaning, sucked up by hoover, trodden on, dry up or just not receive the correct temps to hatch.
This species also drink a lot so unless it can find a supply of clean water somewhere it will die within a week.

So no, I think the risk of your house getting infested with Turkistan roaches is VERY slim


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## Ben.M (Mar 2, 2008)

Forgot to add than unlike Dubia's, when they escape these dont stay in 1 place, I find most of the escaped ones in the living room even though they are kept in my bedroom so they have got out the door, across the landing, down the stairs, through the hall way, through another door and in to the living room, very quickly too :whistling2:


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## jimmythetramp (Jul 6, 2009)

That is champion advice :no1: thank you so much that was a very detailed and informative post, I couldn't of asked for more!


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## Ben.M (Mar 2, 2008)

jimmythetramp said:


> That is champion advice :no1: thank you so much that was a very detailed and informative post, I couldn't of asked for more!


You're very welcome :2thumb:


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## SuperSpeedyWheels (Jun 23, 2011)

I left the mat looped over my tub to start off with, we could hear 100's of the little buggers in the walls as they were escaping over the mat wire. They havnt bred in the walls as far as we know, I used a big bomb in the hosue to clear as many as I could but we were still finding them in the shower and bathroom every morning for a few weeks (obviously coming through the gaps where the pipes run). After I sorted the problem we find one occasionally but its likely a random escapee from feeding time.

get some silicon seal and seal the whole viv. If its melamine board then they cant climb it, if its rough wood then they can. Just get some of those sticky bug traps and place about 10 of them discreetly round the house, they are great for rounding up rogues.

But to answer your question, its unlikely they will infest your house.


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