Roaches in the brooder

[Tesumph]

I’m at the tail end of refurbishing an old coop and run. Chicks are officially in the sealed up coop, doubling as a brooder, and run is almost complete.

Problem is, tonight there is roaches all over the inside of the coop. Big dark winged ones, small scuttling red ones, and everything in between. It’s not infested just yet but there is way too many for my liking.

Everything is as clean as I can possibly make it. I’m surrounded by dense pine forest and brush, and the humidity is horrendous.
The roaches make me feel like they’re living in absolute filth, but I really have been on top of tidying and cleaning up the surrounding area.
I’m scared this is going to blow out of control. Doesn’t help that cockroaches are the only animal capable of making me scream and run.

I have sevin dust and some harsh bug sprays.
The problem is that I cannot take the chicks out of their brooder for days to poison everything, and even if I could I do not want to risk poisoning 2 day old chicks, either directly or through poisoned roaches.

Would sevin dust on the ground outside and some sticky traps on the outside corners of the coop (far, far out of reach of chicks) touch the roach population? Any safe product recommendations?

Here’s some pictures to get a feel for my setup. Excuse some half finished bits.

 

[Chelsa'sChicks]

I do use glue traps. Glue traps DO work very well.. I have caught a few spiders (that were so big they should have been paying rent...) and many mice. Your chicks and chickens will get stuck if they get caught in them. I also caught my 75lb pitbull who promptly found me with a glue trap on his front foot (reaching under the tv stand for a ball). I would say try it, but be sure your birds will not get in them or you'll be pulling and cutting them out of the glue. PS: I highly suggest using the green glue traps NOT the black glue traps. You will never get anything out of a black glue trap. Green you can more easily pick a chick or dog out of.

 

[The Farmers' Daughter]

Try DE. Run it along the outside of the brooder area so that the dust doesn't bother the chicks. Here in Canada it's actually sold as a roach killer.

 

[Tesumph]

I do use glue traps. Glue traps DO work very well.. I have caught a few spiders (that were so big they should have been paying rent...) and many mice. Your chicks and chickens will get stuck if they get caught in them. I also caught my 75lb pitbull who promptly found me with a glue trap on his front foot (reaching under the tv stand for a ball). I would say try it, but be sure your birds will not get in them or you'll be pulling and cutting them out of the glue. PS: I highly suggest using the green glue traps NOT the black glue traps. You will never get anything out of a black glue trap. Green you can more easily pick a chick or dog out of.

Thanks! If I do use glue traps, I’m putting them on the outside of the coop where it would be physically impossible for a chick to reach, I don’t even want to risk it. I’m strongly against using them for rodents but hopefully it might work on the cockroach “trails.”

Try DE. Run it along the outside of the brooder area so that the dust doesn't bother the chicks. Here in Canada it's actually sold as a roach killer.

I’ve got sevin dust which is mostly DE, works quite well and is used often on the property, but I could buy pure DE if needed.
I’m unsure of how potentially harmful sevin is to chicks, besides the dust factor.

 

[BonDEEroo]

Agree with Chelsa’sChicks...Glue traps work really well but can be a death trap for anything small that gets caught in them. We lived in a rental property one time on the northern beaches of Sydney, over one of the wettest summers on record, and there were lots of roaches (the big flying ones and the little German ones), despite our best efforts to keep the place clean. I was saddened one day to find a little dead house gecko in a glue trap, attracted by the roach feast, so I started checking the traps regularly. I managed to release a common garden skink by putting olive oil on it where it was stuck, and VERY gently prising its tiny legs and body away from the surface of the glue. The oil did the job, and the skink was cooperative. Similarly with a huntsman spider, which was released with all 8 legs intact (I’m one of those people who likes spiders and only catches and releases spiders outside the house because my wife is scared of them. There are some hilarious videos on U-Tube of people trying to catch huntsman spiders with clear containers, but the trick for catching spiders is to cover them with an opaque bowl (e.g. metal) so they don’t see your hand and think they’re in a safe hiding place, then gently slide a firm bit of card or stiff paper between the rim of the bowl and the surface the spider is on, covering the bowl completely, and lift away.)

 

[sumi]

I'd give those chicks another week or two and they'd be a feasting on those roaches In the meantime, the glue trap sounds like a great idea. I'd put one down and cover it with something, allowing space for the roaches to go in, but not the chicks. Maybe slide it into a short piece of pipe, or cardboard tube, close the ends just enough to stop the chicks going in there, and put that down in the brooder.

Sevin dust is wonderful for bug control and won't harm the chicks. You can mix some in a spray bottle and spray the brooder with it as well.

 

[Tesumph]

Agree with Chelsa’sChicks...Glue traps work really well but can be a death trap for anything small that gets caught in them. We lived in a rental property one time on the northern beaches of Sydney, over one of the wettest summers on record, and there were lots of roaches (the big flying ones and the little German ones), despite our best efforts to keep the place clean. I was saddened one day to find a little dead house gecko in a glue trap, attracted by the roach feast, so I started checking the traps regularly. I managed to release a common garden skink by putting olive oil on it where it was stuck, and VERY gently prising its tiny legs and body away from the surface of the glue. The oil did the job, and the skink was cooperative. Similarly with a huntsman spider, which was released with all 8 legs intact (I’m one of those people who likes spiders and only catches and releases spiders outside the house because my wife is scared of them. There are some hilarious videos on U-Tube of people trying to catch huntsman spiders with clear containers, but the trick for catching spiders is to cover them with an opaque bowl (e.g. metal) so they don’t see your hand and think they’re in a safe hiding place, then gently slide a firm bit of card or stiff paper between the rim of the bowl and the surface the spider is on, covering the bowl completely, and lift away.)

Glad to know I’m not the only bleeding heart around here.

I’ll buy some glue traps and make sure they’re well and truly out of the reach of the babies. I’d be quite upset if I caught a gecko or lizard, let alone one of the chicks.
I have some olive oil and dawn on hand just in case something goes horribly wrong.

I'd give those chicks another week or two and they'd be a feasting on those roaches In the meantime, the glue trap sounds like a great idea. I'd put one down and cover it with something, allowing space for the roaches to go in, but not the chicks. Maybe slide it into a short piece of pipe, or cardboard tube, close the ends just enough to stop the chicks going in there, and put that down in the brooder.

Sevin dust is wonderful for bug control and won't harm the chicks. You can mix some in a spray bottle and spray the brooder with it as well.

I think I might tack them up in the top corners where the roaches run along? At this age I know the babies can’t reach that, but I’ll have to get creative if it’s still an issue when they’re older.
I will be sprinkling down sevin dust for sure today.

The big problem is that the roaches come out at night and crawl back into their demon lairs during the day. With my adult birds in my last flock, they wouldn’t touch roaches when it got dark, even when I shone a flashlight or tried nightlights in the coop.
Going into the coop during summer nights was a total nightmare and now it’s happening again.

 

[sumi]

I think I might tack them up in the top corners where the roaches run along? At this age I know the babies can’t reach that, but I’ll have to get creative if it’s still an issue when they’re older.
I will be sprinkling down sevin dust for sure today.

The big problem is that the roaches come out at night and crawl back into their demon lairs during the day.

Good idea!

This is why I said if you can "hide" the tape somehow, in something they are likely to go into to hide themselves…. What you can also try is make a nice, big hiding space for them, maybe a piece of roofing sheet laid flat on the ground nearby for a day or three, then invite any bigger chickens (if you have any) over and flip the sheet. I used to throw crickets parties that way for my flock.

 

[Tesumph]

Good idea!

This is why I said if you can "hide" the tape somehow, in something they are likely to go into to hide themselves…. What you can also try is make a nice, big hiding space for them, maybe a piece of roofing sheet laid flat on the ground nearby for a day or three, then invite any bigger chickens (if you have any) over and flip the sheet. I used to throw crickets parties that way for my flock.

Unfortunately I don’t have any bigger chickens, but I will for sure try this when they’re older. We used to collect June bugs by the hundreds in water bottles at night and dumped them in the run the next morning.
Looking forward to that pest control again!

The babes hunted their first prey today, an unlucky spider that was mercilessly torn to shreds by the cotton ball raptors. I love them lol.

 

[sumi]

I used to toss crickets and other bugs into the brooders for mine. They are so funny to watch when they chase after bugs!