Like it or not: if you own a bearded dragon, gecko, or other insect-eating animal, keeping live feeder roaches in your home is simply a fact of life.

We at The Bug Shed are pretty used to handling insects. In fact, we are so used to them that we don’t even mind dipping our hands into a tub of roaches.  To us, they’re kind of like oversized roly-polies.

But if you’re not as comfortable as we are around creepy crawlies, we totally get it. (We were there too, once.)

We also get it if you’re worried they may escape. If you are, you’re not alone. It’s very common to have concerns about live feeder insects escaping and causing an infestation.

Can live feeder roaches infest your home? And how can you avoid it happening? Let’s talk about it!

Types of Feeder Roaches

While dubias are the most popular choice, there are actually multiple species of cockroach used as live feeder roaches. Each of these roaches has different characteristics and varying levels of escape artistry. In other words, some feeder roaches are more likely to cause infestations than others.

We’ve already gone in-depth on the four most popular live feeder roaches, which you can read here.

Today, let’s just take a look at how easily each of these four roach types can invade your home.

Red Runner Roach

Red runner roaches are also called Turkestan roaches. This Old-World roach is commonly fed to small reptiles who like fast prey. However, due to their speed and ability to jump, red runners can easily escape their containers and cause an infestation. For more information on red runner roach infestations, consider reading this article on cockroachfacts.com.

Madagascar Hissing Roach

Madagascar hissing roaches are a popular feeder roach for large reptiles. Unfortunately, hissing cockroaches can climb smooth plastic – making escape easy. Once out of their container, hissing roaches will continue to breed, causing an infestation. If you feed Madagascar hissing cockroaches to your pet, be sure to keep them in a container with a snap-on or locking lid (like our popular Bug Keeper.) Also, be sure to take care when handling them to prevent escapees.

Discoid Roach

Although not as popular as dubia roaches, discoids are still a fairly common feeder roach – especially in states like Florida where dubia roaches are not legal. They are relatively easy to contain. They are also slow breeders, so even if a couple did escape, they would be unlikely to cause a large infestation. And unlike other roach species, discoids aren’t afraid of light. This makes it easy to find your escapees and put them back where they belong.

Dubia Roach

Last on our list is dubia roaches! Dubias are the most popular species of live feeder roaches, and not just because of their impressive nutritional profile:

• Dubias are arguably among the easiest feeder insects to keep in your home.
• They can’t climb smooth surfaces like plastic or glass.
• They won’t breed outside of a temperature range of 68-95 degrees
• Dubia roaches won’t survive temperatures lower than 40 degrees or higher than 100 degrees for a prolonged period of time.
• If they do manage to escape, dubia roaches are likely to simply die within a few days or weeks rather than become a nuisance.

If there was a contest for the roach least likely to infest, dubias would win hands down!

Can Live Feeder Roaches Infest My Home?

Any live feeder roach could potentially infest your home, depending on the type and how they are kept. However, as long as you keep them in a ventilated container with a secure lid, even the most escape-prone roaches can easily be kept contained.

If you’re still concerned about a cockroach infestation, stick to an easy keeper like dubia roaches. We also highly recommend opening any roach container over a bucket or tub as extra insurance in the event of an accidental dropped roach.

Shop Dubia Roaches Now

Here at The Bug Shed, we pride ourselves on providing healthy and nutritious dubia roaches at affordable prices. And to help you keep your home cockroach free, we also provide bug keepers so you have a safe place to keep your roaches as soon as they arrive in the mail. Visit our shop page to explore our different roach size options!