# Big Bug in my Benedicta tank Ahhh!!!!!



## DendroKurt (Mar 19, 2013)

Ok in officially freaking out!!! Today when I ft home I was casually looking under leaves for benedicta eggs and when I lifted a leaf I was surprised with instead of eggs a big massive bug the size of my benedictas. It looked very roach like but I don't think it was. It had a hard shell that was yellowish brown in color it came to a point at the end. So as soon as I saw it I did what came natural and dropped the leaf back on it. Instead of squishing it with the leaf because I didn't know if my Bennie was down there with it I wanted to look again before smthe squashing. It had disappeared without a trace. So now in freaking out worse because I don't want my frogs become a fowl creature snack. I know some of you guys like bugs here but I don't not in the slightest bit. I can handle all the good items but I can't do roaches or spiders(I know they are not bugs) anyways any kind of help would be greatly appreciated! 
Thank you!


----------



## frogface (Feb 20, 2010)

Somehow a roach got into my Leuc tank and started eating all their clutches. I thought it was strange that I saw so much courting and so few tads (I let them transport to water because I can never find their eggs).

I devised some roach traps out of various plastic containers with inverted flaps cut into them. Didn't work. I ended up pulling the frogs and tearing up the tank to finally find him hunkered down in some wood.

Dunno what your bug is but he might think eggs are yummy.


----------



## Tincman (Jan 18, 2013)

LOL Glad IM not the only frog/Herp enthusiast terrified of roaches & other tentacled bugs.. Next time you see it, use a small container to trap it & then kill or dispose of it.. I had a huge beatle that was larger then my vanzolini show up out of nowhere one day.. IM thinking I was careless & didn't properly rinse some plants I introduced or perhaps It was a batch of leaf litter I forgot to boil.. now that A member has mentioned that some large bugs will eat eggs I would certainly get rid of it next opportunity.


----------



## DendroKurt (Mar 19, 2013)

Lovely, last week was the first time I found eggs in over two months. I thought that my frogs were just out of season or something because I also found eggs two days ago. So maybe the big is eating them or maybe not. I'm so upset about this! If anyone has any idea on how I can catch this big please don't be afraid to suggest something as I refuse to tear apart the Viv. I have to do this without the wife knowing. If she knows about a roach possibly in my frog tank she will banish the frogs because of them attracting roaches.


----------



## Judy S (Aug 29, 2010)

I also had several HUGE beetles show up in my treefrog viv. and then another one in a dart viv...do not know where the heck they came from...and was totally freaked....got the longest pair of pliers and got them out...but the sonnaguns could really climb...eeech...


----------



## DendroKurt (Mar 19, 2013)

Why must these hideous things exist? Well thank you everyone for letting me know I'm not the only one who has experienced these beasts. I'll keep an eye out for these ominous creatures of hell. If you come across this thread and you have a brilliant way to capture these things without tearing apart my Viv please let me know.
To recap so far we have two options of capture long tweezers and tear apart Viv, any other options?


----------



## oddlot (Jun 28, 2010)

Did it look like this?


----------



## DendroKurt (Mar 19, 2013)

I wish it looked like that, a lot more creepy and roach like.


----------



## DendroKurt (Mar 19, 2013)

More like this







not sure if it's the exact bug but def similar


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free


----------



## frogface (Feb 20, 2010)

Looks like a roach to me!

Very hard to catch. Slightest vibration sends them scurrying away. Much luck to you and please take videos


----------



## oddlot (Jun 28, 2010)

By your description,I was hoping it was one of these stink bugs.They would be into eating the plants not your eggs,but they do stink when squished as the name implies.It could be worse,it could've been a centipede


----------



## Enlightened Rogue (Mar 21, 2006)

oddlot said:


> It could be worse,it could've been a centipede


or a you know what....


----------



## Jeremy M (Oct 19, 2012)

could you be more specific in describing this? You say that you don't think it was a roach but you don't state the reasons why. Also, what did this 'shell' look like? Did it have segments like the roach you showed a picture of, or was it a beetle's shell with only a split down the middle? How fast did this bug move or react to light/your disturbance of it? Where do you live? How old is the viv, and did you treat all substrate and wood before you put it in there? If it is a beetle, the larvae could have easily been transferred in unknowingly via substrate or inside of a piece of wood. Most beetles of that size wouldn't have the speed to zip away in a second or so though.

It didn't look like this, did it? Superworms Turn Into Darkling Beetles Photo by dave_weldon | Photobucket


----------



## oddlot (Jun 28, 2010)

Going by what his profile states, I'd say Florida.Sounds and looks like maybe a palmetto bug?


----------



## Aldross (Dec 30, 2013)

I have bred many forms of roaches for feeders. From my exp all roaches love orange. Try putting a piece of orange in a small deli cup with a slit cut in. the slit should be about the size of the roach you saw. It will climb in there and go to town on the orange and with luck it will stay in there long enough for you to come home and see it there. Make sure you make the slit narrow enough to make it hard on your frogs to get in. Would hate to have it attract fruit flies and your frogs to go in after them. Just an idea though. With frogs that small it could be hard to make a trap and not catch them also.


----------



## oddlot (Jun 28, 2010)

Did it look like this?Palmetto bug/Florida wood roach


----------



## c81kennedy (Dec 24, 2010)

Look up Australian roach. I am consequently finding them in tanks I use a small Gatorade bottle with some crested gecko diet watered down in the bottle. When the lights go off I stick the bottle in the tank and get it out in the morning normally have a few stuck or drowned .


----------



## DendroKurt (Mar 19, 2013)

At Jeremy, I do live in Florida, as I read in to it more I do believe it is a roach. It's not a beetle unfortunately, at least not the one you pictured. The bug stayed still when I was looking at it but completely disappeared by the time I picked the leaf back up which was almost instantly after I dropped it.
At oddlot, I don't think it's a palmetto bug if you have ever spotted one of the they are massive more terrifying than a roach(they can fly!)
At aldross, I'm def going to try your method I can see this working pretty well.
At c81kennedy explain your method a bit more in depth what kind of bottle donu use and how big of an opening do you leave?
I think that covers it


----------



## oddlot (Jun 28, 2010)

Yep I've seen them,I was thinking it was a possibility,because of your location that maybe it was a young one.Goodluck with it,if it's a roach,and there's one,then there is probably more.If you can catch it,take it outside to kill it,because some roaches can live up to 24 hrs without their head,and you don't want to release any eggs.

As far as your wife is concerned,it's a beetle


----------



## DendroKurt (Mar 19, 2013)

Haha thanks for the advice oddlot you are very wise! I appreciate all the help you guys and gals provided! You guys rock!


----------



## papa_mcknight (Feb 3, 2013)

Instead of waiting and trying to catch the culprit would it not be easier to catch your frogs, put them somewhere temporary so that you are free to have a good rummage without the fear of harming the frogs? 

In any case I hope you evict this ugly hitcher


----------



## randommind (Sep 14, 2010)

DendroKurt said:


> I have to do this without the wife knowing. If she knows about a roach possibly in my frog tank she will banish the frogs because of them attracting roaches.



Haha...having recently left Florida, I've had to deal with catching a few roaches/palmetto bugs/whatever they are...and just like you, had to do it under the better half's radar.

I used a tip/technique from Chris and it worked perfectly:

Wait till after both your wife and frogs have called it a night. Take a 20oz coke bottle and cut the top off just above the label so that it looks like a funnel if held upside down. Put a little bit of peanut butter in the bottom of the bottle. Place your "funnel" inside of the bottle with the small opening (where you would normally drink from) facing down. Add a couple pieces of tape around the top lip to secure it. The bug will now be able to climb the sides, go down the funnel, and then become stuck inside.

Just like this, but with a 20oz bottle:








There was just enough light in my room for me to place this trap in my viv, watch from a distance, and within 10 minutes...I had caught my bug!

Good Luck!


----------



## DendroKurt (Mar 19, 2013)

Brilliant! Thank you . In going to work on that this weekend. I'm looking forward to ending this bugs life. No offense to you roach lovers


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free


----------

