Back in February, we were tackling freezing temperatures. Things sure have changed, haven't they? I miss Winter Shipping. Sure it's always a temperature gamble but I get to make the inside of the shipping boxes look all lovely and get to be creative. As we're progressing through May we had to switch to Summer Boxes, make shipping adjustments, and hope for the best. We've already had some days that made me question if I was a human being or a Lobster being boiled! It's going to be a hot and steamy one!
Life at Luna Roaches is buzzing as it is high breeding season and we constantly need to add new bins, adjust the current ones and try to figure out what's next. Luckily the Split Unit for AC/Heat we installed earlier this year in both barns is handling the heat beautifully and since everything is digital and online, we no longer have to constantly run outside to adjust temperatures but can now do so with a click of a button from the comfort of our own air-conditioned house. It's a big time saver and allows for more temperature stability. Chris loves this time of the year because we see all kinds of cool Lizards in our yard. Take for example this Broad-headed Skink. He and his girlfriend have taken up residence under one of the barns and Chris build them a Condo from old Reptile Cage decoration LOL They enjoy an occasional Roach feeding.
Unfortunately with the warmer temperatures also come all kinds of other bugs that want to come and live in your roach environment. This prompts us to constantly check Bins, Frass, and even the roaches themselves. If you ever visited our barn you will no doubt have seen the giant magnifying glass we have mounted in the barn. We use it to check spot-check Roaches closeup and identify any potential issues before they become an issue.
Insects that thrive in this weather are ants, gnats, grain mites, love bugs, millipedes and centipedes, biting midges also known as "no-see-ums" and many more. You probably won't have to deal with all of them in regards to your Roaches but at some point, you may have an ant, mite, or gnat problem. The flying critters are easily taken care of. We have one of these in each barn and they take care of the majority of anything that is a gnat. It's near impossible to prevent Gnats in Florida, but you can certainly prevent them from being in your vicinity and swallowing them (Oh yeah, that happens LOL)!
You may have to deal with ants if you feed a lot of fresh fruit and don't remove it after a few hours. They will sniff out sugar like bloodhounds and be everywhere. You can get rid of sugar ants with a solution of 1:1 Vinegar and water.
Grain Mites are everywhere it seems! They can live in your pantry, in your bug food or anywhere else where something remotely "grainy" is present. We found the best way not to get grain mites is to keep anything that they would be naturally attracted to in containers with air-tight lids. Keep your Roach food in a container with a lid in the freezer until you need to use it. If you check YouTube there are a ton of "how to get rid of" videos there. Luckily we have not had to deal with Grain Mites in the Barn but 3 years ago we had that issue in one of our Almond Flour bags in the pantry and it was a hot mess!
That said, be diligent but don't fret if you happen to have an invasion of one of those insects. You're in Florida! We're in a prime climate for just about anything to thrive and sometimes these things happen.
Also as it gets hotter please remember we may hold off on shipping if it gets too hot. While we can add heat packs in the wintertime to regulate temperatures, we do not have that option for Summertime and have to adjust to Mother Nature and whatever she may throw at us. Also when it's really hot, we would prefer you select "Hold for Pickup" and retrieve your Roaches from the Post Office where at least they are in a climate-controlled environment. We've seen too many Postal Carriers that put your Roaches in a mailbox and put them where they bake in the full sun and die! And before we forget it, we will not ship on Monday, May 30th 2022 since it is Memorial Day and the Post office won't be open! All shipments for that day will ship out Tuesday instead.
And last but not least, in case you have not seen this yet, we have a sale every Tuesday for Feeder Roaches so be sure to use the Coupon Code when purchasing on Tuesdays! This week we also have "Skeleton Crew Breeder Kits" on sale :)
Also, we will start doing a monthly giveaway exclusively for Customers. Any customer that had a purchase during that month's time range will be automatically entered to win! May's winner will be a customer who purchased something from May 1-31 2022 and we will announce the winner during the first week of June. June's winner will come from June purchases made and will be announced between July 1-7 and so on. May the odds be ever in your favor!
Have a wonderful rest of May :)
Cheers,
Mel & Chris
Luna Roaches
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