a cockroach fake-out

daisy dukes


Joined: 06/09/2008
Posts: 3815

Message Posted:
18/09/2009 12:48

This morning i went into my yard to sweep up the stones my dog Poppy insists on spreading all over the place, only to find a dead cockroach, lying on its back quite dead...but when i touched it with the broom, the bloody thing sprang off its back and started running around...quite perfectly alive!!! Does anyone know if this is normal behaviour, do they do this to trick prey or something? I've been here 6 years, and i've never seen this before, usually when they lay on their back its because they are dead...not sleeping, or laying in wait...!!



DD

yorgozlu



Joined: 16/06/2009
Posts: 4437

Message Posted:
18/09/2009 14:37

They pretend to be dead to stop the cats and dogs killing them properly.

Clever buggers.

daisy dukes


Joined: 06/09/2008
Posts: 3815

Message Posted:
18/09/2009 14:56

aaah...that would make sense..Poppy didn't even look at it, till it started running..then she had it for lunch!! eeeww!!



DD

Smity



Joined: 14/09/2009
Posts: 826

Message Posted:
18/09/2009 15:24

Hi in case you don't know this as well . If they are in your house DO NOT squash them as the gunge that spurts out is lavi or eggs and you might find yourself overrun with the little blighters

loulou



Joined: 14/05/2008
Posts: 785

Message Posted:
18/09/2009 16:27

just spray the little bas----s

dustyrhodes


Joined: 26/06/2009
Posts: 19

Message Posted:
18/09/2009 16:39

They can also survive under water for many days. There is a particularly nasty long-bodied one that is very comman in Cyprus-it can fly & is really hardy-got to stop now, this is making my skin crawl.

jfoggy


Joined: 23/12/2006
Posts: 260

Message Posted:
18/09/2009 16:43

Thanks for the tip Smity-one is more than enough for me! Won't be squashing any!

Julie

daisy dukes


Joined: 06/09/2008
Posts: 3815

Message Posted:
18/09/2009 17:08

I can not squash them under any circumstance!! When i lived in the US, i used to wake up in the morning and when the light went on, i could hear them scurrying over the carpet, but instead of killing them, i used to take out all the cups and glasses and cover them for my housemates to kill when they got up!! so gross!!



If i have roaches now, well, what can i say.....Poppy knows her job!!



DD

ataturk


Joined: 09/09/2008
Posts: 712

Message Posted:
18/09/2009 20:01

The reason why it is on its back is that someone has used an insecticide and it has taken only a small dose. The way most insecticides work is that they attack the nervous system and they normally die on their backs. This particular one had a small dose and therefore was able to recover once you gave it a nudge.



The myth that if you step on a cockroach it will spread the eggs is untrue, at least with the oriental cockroaches that you have. The oriental cockroach bury the ootheca (egg case) once the eggs have matured and then they hatch a few weeks later. The stuff that comes out is from the cockroach itself so dont worry too much.



What you can do is spray all of your manholes with an insecticide to prevent them from spreading.

Smity



Joined: 14/09/2009
Posts: 826

Message Posted:
18/09/2009 20:07

DD join me at the gym we need to bulk up your legs. Then you will

Brinsley


Joined: 04/04/2009
Posts: 6858

Message Posted:
18/09/2009 20:11

What I don't understand is occasionally I find one or two in my flat which is on the second floor. How do they get in being up so high? I'm talking about the 2" long ones and they seem to have no wings.



Richard

daisy dukes


Joined: 06/09/2008
Posts: 3815

Message Posted:
18/09/2009 20:26

I often wonder stuff like that Brinsley...maybe they catch a lift on your trouser legs or something...EEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!! NASTY! sorry...i've probably given you nightmares now!



Smithy, there's nowt wrong with my leg...i just absolutely CAN NOT stamp on a roach...nor can i stamp on a slimey slug...too stomache turning for me!!



DD

ataturk


Joined: 09/09/2008
Posts: 712

Message Posted:
18/09/2009 20:29

Cockroaches can fly but only do it in hot weather. The cockroach you found does have wings but they are the same colour as their body and hiiden away.

proger1



Joined: 18/04/2009
Posts: 2918

Message Posted:
18/09/2009 20:42

But DD one of the best games we had as kids was slug popping. You all line up your chosen slug and stamp on one end and the winner is the one thats entrails fly the furthest, Oh good times !!!!

Brinsley


Joined: 04/04/2009
Posts: 6858

Message Posted:
18/09/2009 20:47

SAMANTHA



That's twice in two days! There's no flies on me but you can see where they've been!



Richard

daisy dukes


Joined: 06/09/2008
Posts: 3815

Message Posted:
18/09/2009 20:51

Proger...that is just plain old GROSS!!!! I do remember my mom chucking salt on them...that was really umpleasant too!



Brinsley...sorry hun, but you lost me....



DD

daisy dukes


Joined: 06/09/2008
Posts: 3815

Message Posted:
18/09/2009 20:52

Brinsley...only my mother ever called me SAMANTHA!! Now i feel like i'm trouble...eek!



DD

proger1



Joined: 18/04/2009
Posts: 2918

Message Posted:
18/09/2009 20:57

my mum used to just complain about whatever it was I had been walking on although I do remember the occasional blowback scenario and that looked bad on white terry toweling socks

Brinsley


Joined: 04/04/2009
Posts: 6858

Message Posted:
18/09/2009 21:04

Paul



I would've collected them, put them on a lettuce diet for a week, boiled them before frying in garlic, parsley and butter and then happily eat them!



Richard

proger1



Joined: 18/04/2009
Posts: 2918

Message Posted:
18/09/2009 21:11

That sounds great for snails Richard, never considered it with slugs. I didn't know they were edible but if they are it sounds scrumptious although I would use basil instead of parsley.

Smity



Joined: 14/09/2009
Posts: 826

Message Posted:
18/09/2009 21:19

DD

Nowt tha sounds like a norther lass, Go on be a devil and squash 1 Outyside of course about 10ft from any buildinds though.

Was born up north me sen

proger1



Joined: 18/04/2009
Posts: 2918

Message Posted:
18/09/2009 21:24

Not sur I can work out the dialect from that Smity

Smity



Joined: 14/09/2009
Posts: 826

Message Posted:
18/09/2009 21:25

Brinsley

Had deep fried chocolate coverd roaches and beetles coverd in Thailand tasted like !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! chocolate that is the roaches & beetles not slugs



emmmmmmmmmmm yummy

AlsancakJack



Joined: 14/08/2008
Posts: 5762

Message Posted:
18/09/2009 21:29

Cockroaches will gain access through any sink/toilet waste exit, they live primarily in the sanitation pits that are used here in the TRNC although swimming pool balance tanks are also a source of infestation (these buggers can swim and climb. Most Belediye's will provide a free spraying/baiting service that target the sanitation pits and also bait all kitchen cupboards and any other location that proves troublesome. If you are leaving your property unattended for any length of time then ask your Belediyesi to come out and spray/bait and you should also fill all sink waste holes with moth balls.

AJ

Smity



Joined: 14/09/2009
Posts: 826

Message Posted:
18/09/2009 21:36

Any one got a deep fat frier and chocolate fountain for sale LOL

daisy dukes


Joined: 06/09/2008
Posts: 3815

Message Posted:
18/09/2009 22:03

Before we carry on with this thread, i would just like to point out...i do not have a roach infestation...it was just the one...and it played dead...thats all!



Now...chocolate covered insects are just plain WRONG!!

smithy, i did giggle at you daring me to squash a roach/slug and believe me, if there was someone watching, i might just do it...but theres no point in me squashing one and feeling proud if theres noone to boast to!!



DD

Brinsley


Joined: 04/04/2009
Posts: 6858

Message Posted:
18/09/2009 22:09

Smity



Bush tucker, no worries!



Richard

AlsancakJack



Joined: 14/08/2008
Posts: 5762

Message Posted:
18/09/2009 22:10

daisy

If you have one then you have a whole lot more, but you just have not seen them yet.

AJ

proger1



Joined: 18/04/2009
Posts: 2918

Message Posted:
18/09/2009 22:17

That will make her feel Sooooo much better AJ

Brinsley


Joined: 04/04/2009
Posts: 6858

Message Posted:
18/09/2009 22:17

Smity



For your information, DD speaks with received pronunciation.



Richard

AlsancakJack



Joined: 14/08/2008
Posts: 5762

Message Posted:
18/09/2009 22:31

It is rumoured that cockroaches can survive a nuclear holocaust and I know they are good at survival but the only way I have found to deal with them effectively is the 'order of the boot'. I had an infestation here in Alsancak and I took up all of the sanitation covers and just beat the s**t out of them with a wooden stick. So much more satisfying.

AJ

Brinsley


Joined: 04/04/2009
Posts: 6858

Message Posted:
18/09/2009 22:36

AJ



Wish we could do the same with all the other vermin here, Advocates, Estate Agents, Builders etc!



Richard

daisy dukes


Joined: 06/09/2008
Posts: 3815

Message Posted:
19/09/2009 10:06

Brinsley....excuse me for being a thicko...but what do you mean...'received pronunciation'...i thought i spelt quite well...lol



AJ...thanks for that love...but never fear, good old Poppy is now permanently on guard...she has orders to catch and kill any further roaches!! Also, just out of curiosity, i googled cockroaches and found that although they 'may' survive a holocaust, they wouldn't survive the imminent cold afterwards....also, most creepily, they can survive a few days with no head as their mouths are placed on their underbelly!!

One eco friendly way of getting shut of them, is to take a pot and smear the insides with vaseline and food...place a ramp on it for them to climb up...and hey presto...trapped roaches...perhaps this is a good way to catch them for dinner...eeewww!!!





DD