Hissing cockroaches probably won't be found skittering across campus, but according to a recent study by a couple of UF researchers, it's a possibility.
A trend among reptile owners of breeding exotic roaches as pet food would spell big trouble if the bugs escaped, according to an article by UF researchers Phil Koehler and Roberto Pereira in the September issue of Florida Pest Pro magazine.
The potential problem starts when reptile owners buy bugs online, such as the 3-inch Madagascar hissing cockroach, and raise them to feed their pet lizards, Pereira said.
If enough exotic roaches escaped, they could get established in Florida and become a nuisance, said Pereira, associate research scientist in the UF entomology and nematology department.
For example, he said, in the event of a hurricane, reptile owners might be forced to abandon their homes and their roach colonies.
If the roaches escaped while the home was left unattended, that might be enough to establish a population.
He said the hot conditions in Florida would be ideal for the roaches if they escaped.
Reptile owners have raised crickets to feed their pets in the past, but more are turning toward roaches because they are cheaper and less noisy than crickets, Pereira said.
"I imagine that some people may want to keep roaches just because they think they are cute," he said.
Brian Maddox, manager of Snakes, a Gainesville pet store, said he knows of at least one customer who breeds roaches to feed her spiders.
Roaches live best in places where there are places to hide and plenty of food and water available, Pereira said.
Students who live in dorms shouldn't worry about the possibility of an invasion of exotic roaches because UF pest control exterminates insects on campus, he said.
The article was intended to warn pest control companies, not UF students, he said.
"The best thing for (students) to know is they should not buy and try to keep colonies of these exotic insects," Pereira said.
