Roaches and Caterpillars

[Serenity06]

I've got a couple of pest problems...
1. There are roaches in my coop. I count at least 10 every night. I can't stand them, and it makes me scared to go in the coop at night to make sure everyone made it to bed. Yes, I'm terrified of roaches and I know they won't hurt me, but come on, no one wants roaches to start breeding in or near their home! So, how can I get rid of them without harming my flock?

2. We have 5 azaleas and they are being eaten by azalea caterpillars. They're everywhere, and not just on the azaleas. They're on the porch and the front yard going from bush to bush. Will they kill them, or no? These azaleas were planted by my great grandparents so they're about 50 years old. I read somewhere to pick them off by hand, but there are hundreds. What else can I do without harming any animals who like lounging in these bushes?

 

[stevethack]

Spray a BT mix on the Azaleas.. it does the caterpillars in a couple of days...and birds or whatever can eat the dead/dying caterpillars after too (it only affects the larval stages of bugs) .
Roaches in coop...dust a bit of Diatomaceous earth or Seven Dust around inside.

 

[Serenity06]

Sorry for the questions, but what is a BT mix? Seven dust won't bother the chickens?

 

[Jesusfreak101]

I not sure this will work on azaleas on not but i use epson salt two teaspoons per gallon of water to keep caterpillars off my tomatoe and other plants. It wont hurt anything. But once agian i dont have azaleas so i dont knownif it hurt them or not. If you put to much salt it kill the plants and if you to little it wont do anything. Another thing that i know that works is dawn you water the plant with a soapy solution getting it everywere (leafs) and it makes them not like said plant. Might be safer on a 50 year old plant.

 

[aart]

Sorry for the questions, but what is a BT mix? Seven dust won't bother the chickens?

Bacillus Thuringiensis kills the larval stage of certain insects...won't hurt other organisms.

Sevin is highly toxic to all insects and aquatic life....and recently put on a lifetime withdrawal for poultry meat and eggs.

Roaches are looking for food and water, removing those at night might help.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Do the Goggle thingy and find out the difference between Roaches and Palmetto bugs. BYW, Palmetto bugs make great fish bait. Roaches not so much.

 

[MysteriaSdrassa]

Palmetto bugs ARE cockroaches,,,, Palmetto Bug being a common nickname for the American Cockroach,, they can also be calle Waterbugs and Croton Bugs,,, but in the end it is still the American Cockroach,, (Periplaneta americana)

 

[aart]

Palmetto bugs ARE cockroaches,,,, Palmetto Bug being a common nickname for the American Cockroach,, they can also be calle Waterbugs and Croton Bugs,,, but in the end it is still the American Cockroach,, (Periplaneta americana)

Huh, I didn't know that.......
.....what I remember from living in Florida is that roaches were smaller and moved fast as the dickens and palmetto bug were bigger and just kinda lumbered along.
Maybe the bigger ones just couldn't move as fast ...good riddance to them all, after 8 months I couldn't wait to move back to where the bugs all die in the winter

 

[Jesusfreak101]

A roach is a roach its a gross little bug that is hard to kill!!