Letter to the Editor

Beware of the giant bugs

Lampoon Meeparp
Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand

Regarding the article "City craze for hissing roach deplored" (Bangkok Post August 21): I absolutely agree with Public Health Minister Sudarat Keyuraphan that we should not raise Madagascan hissing cockroaches as pets.

They can grow up to 10 cm long and weigh up to 24g. They like the temperature to be somewhere, similar to Thailand, around 88 to 96 degrees Fahrenheit, and no lower than 68 degrees at night. They can eat any kinds of food such as vegetable, paper, or even waste from human food.

The roaches can propagate rapidly; they can breed 40-60 offspring in 60 days.

Moreover, they can live for two to five years.

It is worried these huge roaches could cause damage, not only for people but also local natural ecosystems, if they manage to escape and reproduce. Our native animals would not be able to compete with the ugly beast stinkbugs resulting in their number is dramatically increasing. We are running a risk of being exposed to the deadly diseases caused by these aliens.