Last week I went out to the coop with the night light and saw hundreds of cockroaches in the chicken coop.I lined a perimeter around the whole house with DE.I've collected them in buckets to feed to the girls.I've moved all piles of wood, etc that's near the house foundation.Food is eaten and kept in the kitchen which is kept clean.We have a cat.I've hidden roach motels in the house in the right locations.Pet food is stored in containers and food as well.Still they are coming in the house and I just saw bunches of babies in the room closest to the coop.I looked online and came across breeding the little buggers to feed to chickens to killing them with Boric Acid....Help. Any suggestions?
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Just an FYI - I have chickens, irrigation, and an older house...ideal setting for these awful critters. I had had enough and called Lady Bug Pest Control. Within a day, no more roaches. NONE. I believe the owner of Lady Bug is a chicken owner as well.
We only get them where the chickens don't regular, like the irrigation gates near the canal. They also hide under things where it's moist, and they live in the pipes. But when they emerge during the daytime, the birds make short order of them.
i use the trap as well. I bought a plastic disc shaped dish to feed my hens in. The roaches come at night to feast on the crumbs, but cannot get out. In the morning, the hens are greated with hundreds (depending on the time of year) of treats.
I have been warned by well meaning friends that with this large concentration of roaches in their diet, they will suffer wilh parasite issues. After 3 years, so far, so good:)
What dish, WHERE DID YOU GET IT? Dimensions? I'm trying a few different types but none seem to do the trick?
Thanks
Donna Bruce > alley yerger-hendricksJune 18, 2013 at 10:42am
I got it at Higleys. It is a black plastic dish. 14 inches in diameter and 4 inches deep. It was in the back room to the south end of the building with the tack. Hope that helps you.
I think it's straight-sided, not angled, and a smooth finish. There are black rubber dishes with angled sides and a rougher finish that I've seen roaches enter and exit. Am I on the right track, Donna?
Donna Bruce > Sheri SchmeckpeperJune 20, 2013 at 3:41pm
That is correct, Sheri It is the only dish that Higleys carries right now.
Do you have water nearby? When we irrigate, they come out of the pipes in swarms. Make certain the area is dry. I'm just guessing, but they may well be eating the chicken food dust and leftovers or chicken droppings, and possibly drinking the chicken's water or finding water somewhere between the coop & house...under the house, perhaps? Does your AC condensation drip near there, or do you have a spigot or drip irrigation near there? They're nocternal, so they may be going into the coop to eat at night, and heading back to the house & elsewhere to spend the day.
Anyway, you can try making a trap with a jar. Put some bait (chicken food, whatever) in it and give them a ramp to get in, like a stick or something. Or set it against a wall. They will go in to get the food, but won't be able to get out. Boric acid will kill them, don't use it in the coop. The best thing is to make the environment uncomfortable for them by removing all food/water and doing all the other things you've been doing.
Yes, we get irrigation. I have two wood raised beds that are nearby and water drains out at the base. A/c is collected in rain barrel. I have definitely seen many where there is a water source.
Replies
Just an FYI - I have chickens, irrigation, and an older house...ideal setting for these awful critters. I had had enough and called Lady Bug Pest Control. Within a day, no more roaches. NONE. I believe the owner of Lady Bug is a chicken owner as well.
We only get them where the chickens don't regular, like the irrigation gates near the canal. They also hide under things where it's moist, and they live in the pipes. But when they emerge during the daytime, the birds make short order of them.
i use the trap as well. I bought a plastic disc shaped dish to feed my hens in. The roaches come at night to feast on the crumbs, but cannot get out. In the morning, the hens are greated with hundreds (depending on the time of year) of treats.
I have been warned by well meaning friends that with this large concentration of roaches in their diet, they will suffer wilh parasite issues. After 3 years, so far, so good:)
Thanks
I got it at Higleys. It is a black plastic dish. 14 inches in diameter and 4 inches deep. It was in the back room to the south end of the building with the tack. Hope that helps you.
First, it is criminal that the roaches only come out at night when the chickens are asleep.
I don't understand the dish. If it's just a dish, why can't they get out? I need to know, because I really want one!
I think it's straight-sided, not angled, and a smooth finish. There are black rubber dishes with angled sides and a rougher finish that I've seen roaches enter and exit. Am I on the right track, Donna?
That is correct, Sheri It is the only dish that Higleys carries right now.
Do you have water nearby? When we irrigate, they come out of the pipes in swarms. Make certain the area is dry. I'm just guessing, but they may well be eating the chicken food dust and leftovers or chicken droppings, and possibly drinking the chicken's water or finding water somewhere between the coop & house...under the house, perhaps? Does your AC condensation drip near there, or do you have a spigot or drip irrigation near there? They're nocternal, so they may be going into the coop to eat at night, and heading back to the house & elsewhere to spend the day.
Anyway, you can try making a trap with a jar. Put some bait (chicken food, whatever) in it and give them a ramp to get in, like a stick or something. Or set it against a wall. They will go in to get the food, but won't be able to get out. Boric acid will kill them, don't use it in the coop. The best thing is to make the environment uncomfortable for them by removing all food/water and doing all the other things you've been doing.
All good ideas. Many thanks.
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