Health risk from roaches

[Kentuckienne]

While off on a Google rampage I came across an article about some parrots in an outdoor aviary in Miami who died mysteriously. The conclusion was that opossums in the area were shedding infectious organisms that were picked up by cockroaches and subsequently eaten by the parrots, infecting and killing them. They resolved the problem by spraying outside the aviary and by introducing chickens to eat crawling insects.

Normally I wouldn't mind my bird eating insects, because they eat them in the wild. But cockroaches seem to be good carriers of pathogens. Just a note for anyone who struggles with these buggers. We live in a rural area of the country, and some kind of roach lives in the dead tree bark and makes it inside. I started putting tons of sticky traps - cheap in large quantities on eBay - around all the doors, sink, walls....

 

[Teddscau]

I'd be careful when using sticky traps. Non-target animals can become trapped in them, such as birds, amphibians, kittens, snakes, rodents, etc. I live in a place where there aren't any cockroaches around, and I saw cockroaches for the first time when I went to Florida. Anyways, keeping things clean and keeping food and trash in sealed containers is very important when it comes to cockroaches. From what I understand, you could probably use "chemical" deterrents around possible entry points to prevent them from coming in. I'm thinking some kind of essential oils would do the trick.

It's cases like these that make me question why anyone would want an outdoor aviary. Don't get me wrong, I bet the birds love them, but you have to worry about predators, wild bird poop, parasites, viruses, bacteria, fungal infections, etc. I'm absolutely paranoid about my birds being exposed to pathogens, so I can't imagine letting my guys live outside. Again, I've always thought about how great it would be to have an outdoor aviary, but then you read about things like this.

 

[Kentuckienne]

I'd be careful when using sticky traps. Non-target animals can become trapped in them, such as birds, amphibians, kittens, snakes, rodents, etc. I live in a place where there aren't any cockroaches around, and I saw cockroaches for the first time when I went to Florida. Anyways, keeping things clean and keeping food and trash in sealed containers is very important when it comes to cockroaches. From what I understand, you could probably use "chemical" deterrents around possible entry points to prevent them from coming in. I'm thinking some kind of essential oils would do the trick.

It's cases like these that make me question why anyone would want an outdoor aviary. Don't get me wrong, I bet the birds love them, but you have to worry about predators, wild bird poop, parasites, viruses, bacteria, fungal infections, etc. I'm absolutely paranoid about my birds being exposed to pathogens, so I can't imagine letting my guys live outside. Again, I've always thought about how great it would be to have an outdoor aviary, but then you read about things like this.

I don't use the strong glue traps people set for mice (how heartless can a person be? Don't answer that) but the small ones for insects that fold up like a triangle. The sticky is on the inside. I have caught one small lizard over the years, and a few spiders. And lots of camel crickets, flies, roachy bugs, other crawlers. Personally, I don't believe natural insecticidal chemicals are any safer then most commercial products. Insecticide outside can poison bugs that get eaten by outside birds. We do spray on the perimeter of the house itself, only in places where ants are getting in, and try to defeat the rest of the invaders with caulk and sticky traps. And shoes. SMACK! Now I'm going to get it good from cricketforums.com...

 

[Teddscau]

Okay, just wanted to make sure you weren't committing mass murder . As for chemicals, I meant something like food-grade peppermint oil (or whatever it is that cockroaches don't like). Like you, I'm against using any sort of poisons (herbicides, insecticides, etc.) as anyone (i.e., animals) who comes in contact with them or eat those who have ingested the poison can get sick or die. They affect the whole food web.

 

[plumsmum2005]

DIY aggressive cockroach repellents - Step Into My Green World | STEPin2