Roaches

blooba · #1 01/31/14, 07:38 AM

So I have had my apartment down here in TN for almost a year even though I have been up in Maryland. So I finally get moved in down here and find multiple American cockroaches in the bathroom and kitchen. Mainly all of them were babies so I'm guessing a neighbor must have just moved in with them and they liked the empty apartment.

The apartment manager does have a bug guy that comes in monthly and there was a dead roach on a window sill that needed caulked but apparently whatever he was doing didn't keep them at bay. The first thing I did was get some caulk and a pound of boric acid powder. I have caulked up every little crack I can find.

So I have spread this powder around and under all appliances, around the door and windows, at the base of all the cabinets, and on top of the wall cabinets. Yesterday I guess they didn't like the powder cuz I saw a few running around although I haven't seen any yet this morning. I'm hoping I made it plenty uninviting for them and never see them again but I want to make sure I don't.

I have no pets, plenty of DIY spirit, and am willing to do anything to keep them out of here. Frankly I don't care if the neighbors have them BUT I don't want to see another one ever again. What other tips and tricks do you guys have to offer?

frogmammy · #2 01/31/14, 09:19 AM

Yes you DO care if the neighbors have them! They have legs for a reason!

There were probably so many in YOUR place because the neighbors recently sprayed/treated and they came to visit your place. You treat and they will go over to the neighbors, they treat and the roaches will pack their little suitcases and come back to visit you....they're just sociable that way.

Best thing is if you and the neighbor can get on the same schedule and treat at the same time.

Mon

Harry Chickpea · #3 01/31/14, 10:17 AM

You did fine. Roaches like heat and moisture. If there is a dishwasher, puff powder in the door of it if you can, and under it. Wall switches and sockets can be another place they hide. The boric acid can take a little time, and you might want to use a baiting station, but I applaud your not resorting to unneeded neurotoxins.

Le Petit Norman · #4 01/31/14, 10:50 AM

I don't know how your apartment look like but mine was a cheap one and I had to deal for a while with those, I kept an ant and roach killing product spray can on hand and always sprayed in the crack where they were disappearing I finally got ride of them and only see one in a blue moon last one was month ago ...

Funbowhunter · #5 02/01/14, 12:23 AM

A very fine dusting is best

pigpen5659 · #6 02/01/14, 03:46 AM

The best method I've ever used to get rid of roaches is fire....but since you can't burn down everything

Home Depot or similar carries some poison call "Combat" its a gel like stuff. Follow the instructions and put little daubs in all the corners and where they travel. Do this for about 3 weeks.

If you see any with a funny little sac on the end of them, that's the egg sack and those will hatch out. Keep the bait out for them to eat and everything else clean and dry. Keep at it with the gel and eventually you will get rid of them for the most part. In an apartment it will never be completely successful though, as stated above.

Once roaches get started somewhere its almost impossible to get rid of them.

blooba · #7 02/01/14, 06:09 AM

Well I did end up seeing a few yesterday but it seems like its improving, i just sprayed them with a puff of boric acid and let them run away, they probably already had it on them but i wanted to make sure they took enough back "home" to kill their buddies. Most all of them have been small, but yesterday i got a full grown one so maybe that was the mommy wondering what happened to all her babies.

I'm not opposed to using chemicals, just that i have heard boric acid works the best. It does seem to me they must not like the stuff cause as soon as i put it down there was a drastic decline, although i did go heavy in a few places so maybe they just cant get through the snowstorm of boric acid.

Frogmammy, the nice thing about boric acid and not having any pets is I can leave the stuff down forever and as long it stays dry it will continue working.

I like the idea of fire to control them, and if it was my place I just might, (these things are nasty) but I don't want to goto jail for arson so I'm gonna try this. I've thought about making a bait out of the boric acid but i read that when it gets wet it is no longer effective. So I think I will give this stuff another few days and might get some bait if this doesn't work. I have had a bad experience with ant bait (I think it was Combat) in the past and ended up feeding the ants tubes of that stuff for over a month and ended up with more ants than I had to begin with.

Worse comes to worse, I will move but I kinda like this place, its not a bad place other than for the bugs. But then I run the risk of taking them with me. So I will continue to try to fight them.

pigpen5659 · #8 02/01/14, 11:55 AM

Yeah, the ants love it, its like candy to them... but the gel kills roaches really good.

Roaches like damp, so the boric acid may not work...it could be damp under the cabinets or flooring, just enough for them to decide its a perfect roach condo...

Last December I used it in my daughters home to get rid of them there too, and she has 4 little ones running around. Of course the gel stuff goes in corners and places where they hide and all, so the grands can't really get to the gel.

Two critters I can't stand....roaches and flies, why they were ever created I do not know...but they are nasty!!!

Harry Chickpea · #9 02/01/14, 01:14 PM

Damp doesn't matter that much with boric acid.

MaxBlast · #10 02/01/14, 03:17 PM

I had a tenant move out... you know the kind... on disability, food stamps with 3 kids.. she got on drugs... her boyfriend and his mother left... and by the time she left it was cockroach heaven. We are talking about a Massive Amount of these guys.... Wow...

So I went to war with them... Over Kill was my approach !

The best source for products like the pest control guys uses is.. from Do My Own Pest Control. They have sprays (esepcially for around the house outside.. as well as inside), gels they eat to kill them..... and small round plastic hormone type baits one places under the sink, behind toilets, along walls... the harms their ability to reproduce... So one kills them off.. then use DE below.. and the hormone devices to prevent them from breeding more in the future.. the eggs will keep hatching for awhile.. so this will be take a few weeks to get rid of them all.. Sure worked for me. No repeat problems... I did hire a pest control man to spray under the house... that was cheap... I took care of the rest of it.

http://www.domyownpestcontrol.com/

Diatomaceous Earth (DE) is cheap & kills hard-bodied insects they get into the joints of their exoskeleton, and expose their body to air. They are not "cut up" by it, but actually dehydrate to death.

It needs to stay dry to work... A mixture of sugar, DE & Coco will feed them... they carry it to the nest and die... the others eat them and die too... I understand..

Dust your baseboards, on top of cabinets, under sinks, also under stoves & refrigerators especially.

I used it in my garden (for slugs, worms, ants, etc.) ... IT WORKS ! You can dust inside a house or buildings... just dust at the edges of doors, walls, etc.. for cockroaches, fleas, etc..

Available from hardware stores, Tractor Supply and Amazon. Or diatomaceous earth bulk food grade ... 50 lbs bags.. at
http://diatomaceousearth.net/product...h#.Uu1hwD1dVAJ

They feed Food Grade DE to humans, horses, dogs, cats, etc...to deworm them. Avoid getting it in your eyes or lungs.

joebill · #11 02/02/14, 11:01 AM

I bought a house that had them and found out later that the previous owner had fought them from the time the house was new. It sat on a spring or something and water was always a problem with it..peeling paint, etc.

I was considering a match, but the guy I worked for back them talked me into calling a local bug guy who came out and treated it ONE TIME only, and never a roach to be seen after that.

The problem with living with them is that before long they will be inside your furniture, TV, appliances, and if you move they will hitch a ride and come with you. I am very glad we did what it takes to get all of them dead before we sold that plague house and moved away, or we would have been fighting them wherever we went unless we took everything to the dump.

Years later, we bought a used color TV from a second hand store and it had them inside and the battle was on again. I wouldn't be a bit shy about using whatever it takes, because you have to kill every one of them or take them with you when you leave...Joe

blooba · #12 02/03/14, 07:44 AM

Well, there has only been one seen yesterday and he already was on his back and not walking around, was still alive though so apparently the boric acid was doing its job. Although I have read that it takes up to 8 weeks for any eggs to hatch. Hopefully I won't have any problems with new hatchings but I am going to keep the boric acid down and hopefully not see any more.

It will take me a long time to stop thinking about them, i wake up in the middle of night and sneak in the kitchen and flip the light on and search everywhere to see if I can find any. I can't imagine how people can just live with them, they freak me out.

fishhead · #13 02/03/14, 04:13 PM

The first roach that I ever saw was eating the glue off some tape used to hold a poster on a glass window of a store. I thought to myself....boy those guys gotta be tough.

mvick · #14 02/08/14, 01:27 PM

Try Bengal Roach Spray. It works. Only spray perimeters and maybe In cabinets. Will Not harm pets after it dries. If very bad repeat in a week. Lasts for 6 months.

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blooba · #15 02/08/14, 10:07 PM

Well I have cleaned up the boric acid in the "visible" areas, I am still leaving it down under the fridge,stove,dishwasher and etc. I ended up using a little over half the pound of it. Although I haven't seen a single one in 6 days and that one was dying. So I have to say the boric acid worked. Although I haven't seen many dead ones so maybe they just left or died in the walls but as long as they're not here is all i care.

Not sure how the boric acid would work with an all out infestation (I've seen it) and luckily my case wasn't that bad. I still sneak out there and look around and under things but at least it's not keeping me up at night anymore.

Harry Chickpea · #16 02/09/14, 09:36 AM

Boric acid works fine in all out infestations - in fact it is what I used to save theatres that hadn't been properly serviced by pest control companies.

mvick · #17 02/09/14, 09:50 AM

Boric works fine, but is messy. Does not last long. Believe me!!! Try Bengal. It is expensive. About $11 a can. Spray light it goes a long way.
Let dry, never know it is there.
It really works. Sprayed house and barn. Been 6 months, no roaches.

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Harry Chickpea · #18 02/09/14, 01:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mvick

Boric works fine, but is messy. Does not last long. Believe me!!! Try Bengal. It is expensive. About $11 a can. Spray light it goes a long way.
Let dry, never know it is there.
It really works. Sprayed house and barn. Been 6 months, no roaches.

Sent from my iPhone using Homesteading Today

No. Boric acid actually lasts FAR longer than any of the neurotoxins. It is the boron element that is the effective component, and short of a nuclear reaction or your physically removing it by mopping and vacuuming, it ain't going anywhere. I can almost guarantee I've had years more experience than you and in far worse situations. Bengal is an excellent product, I am not knocking it. I use a quick spritz from a can of Bengal pyrethrum type spray in conjunction with boric acid because it gets the roaches disoriented and out scurrying around picking up the boric acid.

Here is the reason I'm going to keep countering you. Pyrethrum type sprays are toxic to cats and some small animals. Boric acid is not, and it has been a go to substance for washing out the eyes of newborns - it is THAT non-toxic to humans. Neurotoxins of any type do not have a history and are relatively new chemicals. We don't know what they might do long term, we don't have the data. Boron compounds have been around for generations and have a proven safe track record.

Of the neurotoxins, pyrethrums are some of the least hazardous of them to humans, I will agree on that, and I do agree that Bengal is a good company overall.

Tabitha · #19 02/10/14, 04:28 PM

Mix boric acid with powdered sugar, put on canning lids, put under things, wherever roaches like to hang out. Works great, is cheap and pretty harmless. We use it for ants, too.

poppy · #20 02/10/14, 10:00 PM

Bengal contains Permethrin and is the most common active ingredient in nearly all insect sprays. It is a synthetic pyrethroid along with several others like cypermethrin, resmethrin, and several others. Very effective against flying insects, not so much on others. It does have a strong repellent quality. That's good if you're trying to keep outdoor insects from entering the house but not so good if you're trying to kill insects already in the house. They will just retreat to their hiding places to wait until the poison wears out. Most German roaches here are immune to it and spraying it directly on them will not kill them. Most pest control companies use this chemical to put a barrier around the outside of the house but something more effective inside.