Anyone else allergic to Blaptica Dubia?

[armueller2001]

Well, I've developed an allergy to blaptica dubia poop. Had one crawl across my hand the other day and had red itchy bumps pop up almost immediately, and I got all wheezy and was sneezing like crazy. It sucks, I've been selling these roaches for 3 years and this is just starting to happen now. I think it's triggering asthma-like symptoms in my breathing as well.

I'm thinking maybe if I keep them from crawling around in their poop it might be a lot better, and the cage would be easier to clean. I currently keep them in a 20L aquarium with a heat pad on the bottom... was thinking maybe if I worked up some type of screen on the bottom that the poop could fall through and they would stay out of it. It would be really cool to have a drawer that slides out (like an ash collector on an old wood stove) that I could dump the poop frequently without removing all the roaches from the cage.

Any suggestions?

 

[LQDragons]

I've heard that some people use buckets, with small holes drilled in the bottom. If you got creative you could use a series of stacked buckets, starting out with larger holes down to small holes to seperate different roach sizes and have the frass drop to the bottom.

 

[protiemama]

Actually most people are allergic to roaches to some extent. I have known people the doctors told to move from S. Louisiana because you just can't get away from the critters down there. The usual problems are asthma like. I have never heard of anyone breaking out. But then again, most folks don't let them crawl on their skin. Eeeeew! I am not sure there is anything you can do short of getting rid of the roaches. Since they are your business, that isnt an option. Best suggestion, Put them in the garage or another seperate building. Wear a dust mask and disposable gloves when handling. The Dr.s in La. said the bug's dust gets in the air and circulates through the heating/cooling system. So even if you put them in the basement, if it is vented with the rest of the house you will have probs. Take it from an allergy sufferer, this kind of allergy gets worse with exposure. The more you breath around them the worse it will get. So sorry. Allergies suck.

Sandy H