Is Cockroach Farming A Good Business? What Do You Need To Be Aware About?

A lot of people hate cockroaches so much that when they see one they either run away or kill the cockroach outright. This is how much society hates/fears cockroaches. But you might be surprised to know that there are actually commercial cockroach farms that raise such insects.

China accounts for the most number and the largest cockroach farms in the world. The largest cockroach farm in the world is located in Xichang, Sichuan, southwest of China. The farm is owned by the Good Doctor Pharmaceutical Group which breeds about six billion cockroaches a year.

The growth of the Chinese cockroach industry has been helped a lot by the lack of government regulation which basically allows anyone to setup a cockroach farm as long as they have a permit to breed bugs.

So, if you’re planning to breed cockroaches on a mass scale, you better check first the law in your country. This especially applies to people living in developed countries where farming regulations are more strict as compared to poor and developing countries.

According to professional cockroach farmers, raising cockroaches is very easy and very profitable. For one, cockroaches are omnivores and can feed on just about anything including leftover and rotting food.

This drives down the cost significantly of feeding the cockroaches. Farmers can for example just scavenge leftover food from restaurants and households. Also, gathering the insects is relatively simple: they can be vacuumed out of their nests or dumped straight into a container.

Once they have been collected en masse in a container, they can then be drowned in a vat of boiling water and then dried in the sun. Others just deliver them still raw to their customers while others fry them en masse.

As an insect and unlike other farm animals, cockroaches are not susceptible to diseases. Many cockroaches are also able to detect toxic food which helps in increasing their lifespan. The survival capacity of cockroaches is legendary with many believing they would outlive humanity.

A female cockroach Also produce one egg capsule every six weeks which takes about 28 days to hatch. A baby cockroach reaches adulthood in just 100 days. This is how fast one can grow their cockroach farm.

The Asian pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry are the primary market for farm bred cockroaches. Cosmetic companies value the cellulose-like quality of cockroach wings which they use in their products.

Cockroach potions are known in China and some parts of Asia where they are classified as a traditional medicine. There are also pharmaceutical companies most notably in China and India who are researching them for their possible use in the treatment of cancer and AIDS.

They are also used as human and animal feed. There are parts of China for example where cockroaches are deep fried and sold by street vendors. There are even restaurants in China which actually serve food where one of the ingredients are cockroaches.

A lot of animals eat cockroaches. There are farmers for example who breed cockroaches and feed them to their chickens. Countries such as Belarus are already constructing pilot projects using cockroaches as livestock feed.

Lastly, cockroaches are used as pet food for insect eating animals like lizards. There are even kits that can be bought online which enables one to start a small cockroach breeding facility for pet foods.

Up to this point, it seems to be that cockroach farming is a good business that anyone can get into. There are good profits to be made and unlike raising chicken, beef, pigs and so on it seems so much easier.

But don’t forget that unlike raising chicken, beef, pigs and so on, there is a societal stigma against cockroaches. It also doesn’t help that cockroaches are considered as dirty pests that brings about filth and diseases.

Imagine what happens if your cockroaches escape their enclosure in your cockroach farm. Since they breed and grow very fast, there is a big probability that they can takeover a major area both near and far from your cockroach farm.

This is the reason why many farmers who breed cockroaches keep the source of their livelihood a secret. Cockroach farms are just like nuclear reactors: No one wants to be close to both of these.

If your cockroaches escape from their enclosure, there is a very high chance that you’ll be sued up to the point of bankruptcy by the people who are living near your cockroach farm who have been infested by your cockroaches.

If you are really seriously considering starting a cockroach farming business, then it might be prudent to begin with Dubia Cockroaches as they are easier and safer to breed than your ordinary household cockroaches.

Unlike other insects, dubia cockroaches do not fly or crawl. It is suggested that you house dubia cockroaches in a tub or a plastic container since other materials like cardboard and wood rot and grow molds.

You also need to put small holes in the lid of your container to enable ventilation for your dubia cockroaches. Since dubia cockroaches don’t crawl or fly, there is only a very small chance that they would escape through the small holes in the lid of your container.

There are many videos in YouTube which talks about how profitable it is to raise dubia cockroaches as well as how to raise, feed and sell them. Some claim to earn a few thousand dollars a month from them.

I suggest you watch some of these videos just to see if breeding dubia cockroaches suit you. For example, I use the search term: “are dubia cockroaches profitable” to find YouTube videos which show just how profitable raising these cockroaches can be.

Cockroaches are not only used to feed livestock and pets but are actual pets themselves. There are people who collect cockroaches as pets especially the big and exotic ones like the Madagascar Hissing Cockroach.

There are even cockroaches used for racing events. Although cockroach racing is primarily known in Australia, cockroach racing events attract enthusiasts from all around the world.

And here’s how two entrepreneurial women in Europe are popularizing the use of cockroach racing as an entertainment event in parties, Timeless games is offering party entertainment featuring cockroach racing.

A cockroach farm can be profitable especially since cockroaches are easy to breed, sturdy and can eat almost anything which brings down costs significantly. However, the social stigma and danger associated to them might not be worth the effort of breeding them in the first place.

But if you are really determined, it might be a prudent effort to start breeding more safe to breed cockroaches like the dubia cockroaches who cannot fly or crawl. They are not likely to escape and pester the people around you.

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