Christmas Cactus and Roaches?

I've noticed several large branches of my rather small Christmas catus on the floor yesterday. Today I found one on the floor and it had a roach on it. Do roaches eat Christmas cactus? It's like the roach was eating the branch off at the joint. Needless to say this plant is now out in the garage and the area it was in has been sprayed with bug spray. I figure the roach came in on the plant or maybe on the Poinsettia it was sitting next to. Any information is appreciated.

Shell

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Shell
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I'm sure there are many more tasty holiday crumbs around your dining and kitchen area than a zygocactus stem. Boric acid powder is toxic to roaches, fairly safe to humans and pets. If you have one roach, there are many many more.

Reply to
Phisherman

Roaches on your Poinsettia? Afraid not.

Roaches eating your Christmas Cactus? Doubtful.

You have a serious roach problem that needs immediate attention. You most likely were already infested before you got the plants. You need to have your house fumigated because the critters do not stay in one place.

Reply to
Cereoid-UR12-

most likely the branch just came off either from overwatering or something brushing against it. It's highly doubtful that the roach was eating the cactus. According to research they can live on the grease that gets on the walls from the steam in cooking. Three days on one crumb. And we're not talking large crumb. I can't remember the statistics on how long they can survive without their heads. But every one with that tan "luggage" is an egg sack and they move slower when they're trying to drop their kids off and that has 50 or so in there and they're born alive. That's why when I had them I'd mash them flat. Can't mutate from my hand like they can from sprays. You should have let the piece of cactus dry for a day and then stuck into the soil to reroot. The tip on boric acid is a good one. They eat it and can't flatulate and pop. That's why sugar and boric acid works on piss ants. Those sticky boards work too.

I have a good bug man but with the cold and two neighbors close by that are crawling with the things, I get a few despite the poison barrier that Bob has laid down in my house, and between sticky boards and my mashing any I see, so far I haven't had the problems I did when I lived in the city. But honey, they're in the country too. Just that they'd survive radiation is enough to be daunting. Or that sprays that land on unhatched eggs gives the hatchlings resistance to what was used.

Get yourself a good bugman and lay out some boric acid (it's available cheap at Dollar General or Dollar stores, and I've discovered Lowes has boric acid powder too, and if all else fails, RoachPruf has boric acid in it, it's just more expensive because of the name and recommending by Paul Harvey a few years ago. Any little grocery store might also carry it too. And be careful of using paper bags instead of plastic, because eggs or even roaches LOVE and adore those paper bags. Paper is their one passion to hide and thrive in for the layers and flatness and ability to shut out light. My one neighbor hordes newspapers and they love her for that one fault. ewwwwww. (you know you have them bad when they're on the OUTSIDE of the house! this ain't me, it's her)

Poinsettia's I wouldn't think would be something they'd eat either. It's a type of Euphorbia with that milky sap. They've either just come in from the cold from somewhere else, or hitchhiked in a paper bag or sack of potato's. One year I got some of the bastages while living in Nashville from a sack of potato's that I bought on sale because they'd gotten them in bulk, thought I'd save by buying a 50 pound bag and didn't think to check for spoiled ones or empty out the bag first before bringing the thing inside and as I thumped it down, some ran out of the mesh. Didn't expect it and didn't move quickly enough to mash them and brought in one helluva infestation. Live and learn.

If you can't find boric acid, holler at me and I'll go pick some up at my local Dollar store and send it to you. madgardener

Reply to
madgardener

I think it's 6 weeks or so.

We put out boric acid, especially in the bathrooms and kitchens under the cabinets. Sevin dust is pretty good too. Believe me we know about roaches here :) Houston is home of the monster roaches, the kind that run off after you step on them.

I'm figuring it came in on the plants maybe. Either that or they've been living in the fish tank stand. (The fish took the long ride on the porcelain waterway when the tank sprang a leak.)

If I remember right roaches can lay eggs for the rest of thier life after mating once. Yuck :P I hate roaches, they scuttle.

Thanks for the offer :) I live between three Lowe's and two Home Depot stores. Usually when we see a roach it's dead or dying. We have some wierd white crystal like stuff that grows up out of the garage floor and it seems to keep the bugs down. Living near the Brio site (one of the 10 worst chemical dump sites in the US, so bad it can't be cleaned and had to be cemented over.) New attic insulation cleaned a lot out too. Now we're having Spiney Backed Spiders moving in. Funky looking things :)

Shell

Reply to
Shell

That's the strange thing, this is the only place I've sen any roaches. We put out boric acid under ll the kitchen and bathroom cabinets, closets, pantry, all the nice dark places. The roach sure liked the cactus and looked like it was eating it to me, but hey what do I know :)

Shell

Reply to
Shell

"Shell" wrote in news:mhVBb.595$ snipped-for-privacy@newssvr24.news.prodigy.com:

Hmm, if it's not the roaches chewing the branches off onto the floor, how are they getting there? Maybe you have little elves living inside your walls wanting a little Xmas Cactus branch to get in the holiday spirit and ran off when they heard you coming. Quite possibly the roach was just there at the wrong time.

Are these normal German/American cockroaches or some big honking palmetto bug?

Maybe you could dust some of the broken branches with boric acid.

-- ST

Reply to
Salty Thumb

We not only have the German/American roches, there are the monster palmetto bugs and Asian roaches here in Houston.

Shell

Reply to
Shell

Oooh, and don't I know it. /shudders

The worst thing I came across in England was the occassional large house spider. I think I'm hardening up to the monster bugs here in Houston now as I don't shriek as loudly as when I first saw them. That was in the apartment I just moved from. You could hear the monsters scuttling and I got super fast with grabbing a glass and capturing them before spraying Raid through a crack at the bottom. One time doing this action, I wasn't quite center and actually popped a pregnant spider and had zillions of babies running everywhere. I was bashing them with my son's shoe, he was freaking 'cus I was using his shoe (not on his foot - lol!). Oh, it was a scene.

Before we moved into this house, we set off a bunch of bug bombs and apart from a couple of dozy yellow jackets that I think came from the attic, I've yet to see anything else alive... /end of threadjack

-- Lynda

Reply to
Lynda LeCompte

LOL We have the big wolf spiders. I'm very handy with a flyswatter, rolled up newspaper, magazine, shoe, whatever is handy :) Best thing in the world are the bug bomb foggers. We usually go on a short weekend trip and set a bunch off. Haven't seen any yellow jackets around just two or three species of wasps and the occaisional bee. We have a creek/ditch behind our house and a pasture with a couple of horses, our biggest worry is snakes which get inside sometimes (the babies) and boy are they fast. We've had centipedes inside though (yuck)

Shell

Reply to
Shell

All this talk of roaches leads me to include this small gem:

Scuttle, scuttle little roach- How you run when I approach: Up above the pantry shelf, Hastening to secrete yourself. Most adventureous of vermin, How I wish I could determine How you spend your hours of ease- Perhaps reclining upon the cheese? How delightful to suspect All the places you have trekked: Does your long antenna whisk its Gentle tip across the biscuits? Do you linger, little soul Drawing in our sugar bowl? Or, abandonment most utter, Shake a shimmy on the butter? Do you chant your simple tunes While swimming in the baby's prunes? Then, when dawn comes, do you slink Homeward to the kitchen sink? Timid roach, why be so shy? We are brothers, you and I. In the midnight, like yourself, I too explore the pantry shelf! author unknown This brings back the good ole days.......... I remember when I was about 10, in SoCal, I would go out at dark, and sit under the jade plant and get ready to be entertained by the "sound and light" show from our next door neighbors. They would turn off all the lights for a few minutes, then on would go the lights, and the sounds of "bang, whack, thump, crash" would be heard. "There he goes" "Get him" or "You missed"!!! Then the lights would go off again. This went on for quite awhile, as they lured cockroaches out to their doom! (the BIG roaches)

Emilie NorCal

Emilie NorCal

Reply to
MLEBLANCA

Aaghh - nobody told me about the snakes. We have a creek near our house too, but hopefully far enough away that the little slimy critters won't come this far. Actually, we have woods right opposite our house and I bet there's a wealth of yuck right there. We do have some cute podgy grey and red squirrels that use our garden as a playground. So much fun to watch them, especially when they fall and hit the ground running.

-- Lynda

Reply to
Lynda LeCompte

LOL that's great :) I do remember one huge roach my mom was chasing. It ran up her pants leg :) I've never seen her dance like that before or since. My aunt and I laughed ourselves sick :) But the really funny thing was it came out the other pants leg :)

Shell

Reply to
Shell

I tend to leave the snakes alone unless they come inside (they take their chances then) I did try to get one with the hoe, it chased my aunt around the back porch :) It is a good idea to learn what the poisonous ones look like though :)

I like to see toads, frogs and lizards around my house, it generally means there are no snakes around

Shell

Reply to
Shell

Phew! We've seen plenty of lizards around here so that bodes well.

-- Lynda

Reply to
Lynda LeCompte

We have the pinkish house geckos and both green and brown anoles. If you go outside at night when it's quiet (in the warm weather of course) you can hear the geckos chirping and singing :) Gets quite loud in my neighborhood.

Shell

Reply to
Shell

Slimy? I never heard of a slimy snake.... slugs or snails but not snakes. How do you feel about mice and rats? Those lovely snakes are what keep their population down. Now if you want to get rid of the "slimy" slugs and snails try to entice some skunks into the yard - wonderful, sweet creatures. Wolf spiders on the other hand are great for keeping down your insect and spider population since that is what they prey on.

As for trying to eliminate all life forms other than man and "cute" disney creatures (I mean what was G~d thinking when she created all these living things that aren't cute and fuzzy...?) I would think twice about using all the bug sprays without some caution. We are fairly certain that it is what gave my father-in-law MS.

M2C.. DK

Reply to
D Kat

Not even when you smear K-Y or petroleum jelly all over it?

Reply to
Cereoid-UR12-

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