Luffa Insect Watering Dish

Product Details

The Luffa Insect Watering Dish is a great way to provide water to Dubia roaches, cleaner crews, and other captive insects. It’s effective, safe, easy, inexpensive, and natural. It’s also simple, consisting of just two pieces: A clear polycarbonate dish and a fitted luffa sponge.

Insects access water in two ways with our Luffa Watering Dish. First, luffa contains thick plant fibers that draw and keep water. Insects can drink from the moist surface the same way they would from a sponge. Second, the rigid fibers form a scaffold system that insects can crawl in and around. They often use it to climb down to the water’s surface and drink directly from it.

How well does it work? It works great, actually. The Luffa Insect Watering Dish is an effective watering method that we use in many of our colonies. It’s very convenient. All that’s required is regular cleaning and occasional replacement. That’s good for us, but it’s also good for the roaches. Dubia roaches are notoriously prone to drowning. While no watering method we’ve tried eliminates Dubia drowning entirely, this is among the best we’ve seen. We think it’s even better than water crystals.

Generally speaking, luffa is a suitable material for use around water and insects because it withstands wear and repeated cleaning. If you’ve ever used a luffa bath sponge or scrubber, you know how tough they are. They break down slowly, even with constant use, and cleaning is easy. Simply rinse the luffa with warm water when you refill the dish, or every few days or weeks, and reuse. They do tend to get a bit dirty from all the roaches tracking frass on them, so they need occasional replacement. However, luffa remains functional for a respectable length of time even in large insect colonies.

Luffa is also 100% natural. It comes from a fast-growing vine that’s widely considered a sustainable resource. It’s more environmentally friendly than sea sponges and certainly more so than kitchen sponges, which are made with petroleum and other chemicals. Luffa contains no chemicals as far as we know, and the Luffa Insect Watering Dish has led to zero health issues in our colonies. The only downside we’ve found is that sometimes the insects require a little coaxing to emerge from hiding in the luffa fibers. This is only an issue at cleaning time, but it’s not a major issue.

Sizes

The Luffa Insect Watering Dish comes in two sizes: small and large. The small dish is 2-½ inches in diameter and best suited for colonies with up to about 500 or 1,000 roaches. The large dish is 3 ¼ inches wide and the best choice for larger colonies. You can use either one in any size colony, of course, but the small dish will need refilling more often in larger colonies. If you keep just a few Dubia roaches as feeders, small is probably adequate.

Each piece of luffa is about an inch tall and comes paired with a matching-sized dish. We also have replacement luffa if you already have a dish. While the fit is often snug, it’s also OK to have a gap between the luffa and the dish. This is especially true if you house larger roaches. Luffa swell with water and shrink when they dry, and roaches can easily cross gaps about half their body length.

How to Use

Before first use:

1. Run the luffa under water and squeeze & release a handful of times. This improves its absorptive capacity, making it easier to fit into the dish.
2. Soak the luffa in warm water for a few minutes so it absorbs some water.
3. Place the luffa in the dish. Press it all the way to the bottom.
4. Fill the dish with water. Tip it slightly to the side to lower the water level and avoid spillage into the colony.
5. Dry the bottom of the dish and place it in your colony.
6. Check the water level every day or so. Clean and refill as needed.

NOTE: If you have nymphs or want cleaner crews or other small insects to have access to the water, you will need to scuff the outside of the dish with sandpaper or a scouring pad. You can even scratch it with a sharp object such as a knife, but be careful not to harm yourself or damage the dish, which may crack if you grasp it too hard.