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Saturday, July 21, 2012

Blaptica Dubia Feeder Roach

Even today, with a few exceptions such as bees, insects are more tolerated than encouraged in eco-based agriculture. Yes we encourage insects, but mostly beneficial insects which eat other insects in order to keep insect populations down. Nobody really harnesses the true potential insects have to offer. Why not culture insects as a food source for chickens and fish? Additionally, their manure makes a great soil amendment. These roaches are semi-social insects that live happily in large colonies. They eat just about anything. Insects are the forgotten livestock that that nobody seems to take advantage of. If you live in a small place like an apartment, they are a great replacement for chickens as far as processing excess produce. I even feed mine old eggs (hard boiled) and chicken scraps. They can be kept in a tote and the manure added to a compost pile. These are tropical and of no relation to common pest roaches. If roaches don't appeal to you, try darkling beetles (mealworms), carpet beetles, or any other of the many types of insect cultures available.

3 comments:

  1. I keep blaptica for my bearded dragons. It makes sense that you could feed them to poultry. I never thought of using theie manure to grow plants. Thank you for pointing this out.

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  2. I would like to learn more about blaptica for use as fish food. I am the owner of Grow It Right Aquaponics and I am looking into the use of insects to supplement feed. fishman@growitright.net Cheers, Nicholas

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  3. I would be happy to assist you in any way I can. I will send you an email.

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