Are cockroaches harmful to marijuana plants?

DumpsterKeeper

Well-Known Member
My apartment has these little shits and it looks like I'm not gonna be rid of them. I've bombed the place, I spray them all and I have motels all over, but they just won't leave.

Will cockroaches try to eat my weed plants? Will they harm them at all?
 

CannaBoss

Well-Known Member
As a former pest control tech, I can tell you that more than likely those little bastards are coming from the neighboors, but here is the thing about roaches, their eggsack(ootheca) is impervious to chemicals, you have to catch them in the young stages before they can reproduce, this is why most people can't get rid of them, because they will do one treatment and kill the adults, but do nothing for the eggs.
But no, they are not a threat to your plants, only your lungs. cockroaches are one of the major reasons for asthma in children.
 

DumpsterKeeper

Well-Known Member
Well, at least that's one worry off my list. I already have asthma so I don't have to trip about that either. Thanks
 

Deeyou

Well-Known Member
Depends how bad you are infested....

If you have a deep infestation where the colonies are under stress.... They will eat anything ... C'mon these are roaches we are talking about. But I don't know first hand. I am jus making an estimated guess.
 

CannaBoss

Well-Known Member
You dont think cockroaches could carry other pests like spider mites etc?
It's possible but not probabale, roaches are very good at cleaning themselves, this is how you kill the adults with a residual chemical, spray it down and wait for them to walk across the material and injest it through grooming.(raid and store bought stuff is NON-residual)
Spider mites like to chill under the leaves of plants, which is not a favorable environment for roaches. they like to be in cracks and crevices.
 

CannaBoss

Well-Known Member
Depends how bad you are infested....

If you have a deep infestation where the colonies are under stress.... They will eat anything ... C'mon these are roaches we are talking about. But I don't know first hand. I am jus making an estimated guess.
you're close, cockroaches do not colonize, they are on their own once they hatch, they eat proteins and carbs like we do, this is why they survive so well in peoples homes, they like what we like. But they aren't herbivours.
 

Deeyou

Well-Known Member
It's possible but not probabale, roaches are very good at cleaning themselves, this is how you kill the adults with a residual chemical, spray it down and wait for them to walk across the material and injest it through grooming.(raid and store bought stuff is NON-residual)
Spider mites like to chill under the leaves of plants, which is not a favorable environment for roaches. they like to be in cracks and crevices.
I dont know how effective it is... But some dude told me he sprinkled a barrier of Boric Acid around his grow area because he had a roach problem..

He said Boric Acid eats throught the roach shells... Don't know if this is a progressive measure or not.. Im sure once they come in contact with the powder.. they still have time to hit up the plant and have a bite.

But yes... you are correct about the roach spots... They like it warm and moist around cracks and crevices.... You would most likely find them around your resevoir and drains and such. Kind of like your kitchen and bathroom...
 

billybob88

Well-Known Member
very nice info cannaboss. guess its not much to worry about other than having a buncha cockroaches runnin around lol.
 

boatrowe

Well-Known Member
Man roaches gross me out ever since i went to someones house that had them but they were wicked slobs apple cores and shit laying around it wasnt a wonder they had so many lol
 

CannaBoss

Well-Known Member
I dont know how effective it is... But some dude told me he sprinkled a barrier of Boric Acid around his grow area because he had a roach problem..

He said Boric Acid eats throught the roach shells... Don't know if this is a progressive measure or not.. Im sure once they come in contact with the powder.. they still have time to hit up the plant and have a bite.

But yes... you are correct about the roach spots... They like it warm and moist around cracks and crevices.... You would most likely find them around your resevoir and drains and such. Kind of like your kitchen and bathroom...
boric acid is one of the best treatments available for roaches and has been used for years and years, it doesn't burn into them and kill them though, it is an injestant toxicant. they walk over it and injest it during grooming.
Also it will absorb through the oily surface of it's outer exoskeleton.
 

CannaBoss

Well-Known Member
How about Mice, Canna?
Now mice and rats are a different story, I have seen them knaw on the stalks of plants, especially outside. but if you have a problem, snap traps with a little peanut butter or a small piece of a SlimJim on it will work. But then you have to find their entry points and exclude them with some steelwool.
 

billybob88

Well-Known Member
alright canna ive always wondered this and now i guess i can get my answer. if you put out rat poision and the little fucker eats it. you've got a dead rat somewhere in your house. what do u do about that. i know traps are the best way but u know what im saying? like if u put some d-con pellets out. the fucker eats it and goes and dies in your wall. what u supposed to do about a dead rat in your wall? let it decay? lol that sounds worse than having live rats.
 

CannaBoss

Well-Known Member
alright canna ive always wondered this and now i guess i can get my answer. if you put out rat poision and the little fucker eats it. you've got a dead rat somewhere in your house. what do u do about that. i know traps are the best way but u know what im saying? like if u put some d-con pellets out. the fucker eats it and goes and dies in your wall. what u supposed to do about a dead rat in your wall? let it decay? lol that sounds worse than having live rats.
You've really answered your own question, this is why pros don't use baits. also the bait only works if there are no food sourses nearby.
If there is something around that they like, they won't touch it.
Rat snaps are best but here is a little trick you can do...
Rats are very cautious about new things in their environment, bait a trap and leave it in the area without setting it, leave it in for a couple of nights, let the rat eat the food one night, then set it the next night with the same bait.
Works everytime. I did a job in a wherehouse and employed this method, I trapped 50 plus rats and found the holes and plugged 'em. The management loved me.
 

billybob88

Well-Known Member
thanks for the info canna i never knew that. i always thought about it but it makes sense. glad i aint got no rats to fuck with. (knock on wood)
 
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