We live very near Victoria, and have pretty much the same climate. I had been feeding our chams dubia roaches for many months (still do), when we remodeled a room adjacent to the cham room we found countless roaches hiding here and there. It was a total shock to my husband and I. They must have been escaping from the cham's cages. No doubt they weren't the healthiest specimens, but somehow they had survived for months without food or water being supplied (the cham room and this adjacent room are out in a shop on our property- so I know they didn't have access to the kitchen (thank God)). Dubias will not be able to breed if released here indoors or out, but they will survive indoors, probably for a normal roach lifetime (2 years?). DOn't know if it's the same for your hissers.

I would try the roach hotels, too. And don't invite company over for a looooooonng time.

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If you still have them come fall they will die due to lack of heat. For now I would use sticky traps and hotels. Put them along wall lines and in corners. Dark places that are hidden from day light are also good places to nest a trap.

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Hissers are slow growers, So I'm sure you'll get most of the strays before breeding size is met. I have good-sized outdoor enclosures and the loose adult
dubia's that get away, usually get dealt with via a spider,or wild lizard. Find them caught in a web, week or two later.

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Steve

That's a clever idea. I might try that, with a little enticing food in the middle of the fly paper!

I dont think so. I do heat the house afterall, so its never cooler than 18C (65F). And I've kept Hissers in my basement before, with no ill effects, and its not warm down there at all. They didnt have as many babies (which was the desired effect) but they still ate, males staked out territories, and behaved normally.

We did find a nice sized salamander living in the adjacent room with the escaped dubia roaches. He seems to reside under the cham's little refridgerator (where we keep meds and produce, etc.).

I agree- the heat pad and sticky paper sounds like an excellent idea. Under the fridge, or the stove, in closets, under dressers. Normally I find escaped dubias beneath potted plants.


And, yes, current temps, in the mid 80s are adequate for breeding. But your guys were tiny, and won't be ready to breed for sometime. By then temps will have dropped back into the 50s-60s.

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I'm feeling better about this mishap now. I do have a resident wolf spider in my cham room and he gets the stray crickets, moths and pill bugs. He (or she) is a good hunter and will hopefully make meals of the roaches too. I dont know why that thought didnt occur to me before! I'll encourage a few more spiders to visit (though my husband is afraid of spiders, I think he would rather a few of them to the roaches!).

I had an adult female hisser escape once and she was gone for months. I put sticky traps down every where and never found her. After months I figured she was dead. I unpacked a box that was stored in the same room and low and behold, there she was! She didn't hiss to which I am thankful as it still scares me. She was very skinny and small but still very much alive. I don't have an answer for you but I thought I should share my story. I feel your pain though.

Thanks Darla! and everyone else for your helpful advice
Hard not to be impressed with the tenacity (sp?) of roaches and their ability to survive - just would have preferred to not dream about them under my bed!

If food is scarce in the area you dropped them at, I would try cheetos and sticky pads.

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