1. Hydrofarms are extremely inaccurate. On/off thermostat's Have what is called a swing temp. They have to fall below the swing temp before turning back on again. To be honest your temps are actually pretty good for a hydrofarm.
2. It can go either way
3. I have one that I use for heating up rodents in a hot box. I've had it for about 2 years now.
They will be fine for your roaches, but you CANNOT use one on an incubator. You want one of these:
http://spyderrobotics.com/products/h...introPLUS.html