CanuckGrl

I did a search before posting but did not find what I was looking for.

I've read that there are cockroaches in Doha. I have never seen a cockroach in my life (TV only - and that squicks me out) and the thought of them being in my home is utterly digusting.

Are they quite prevalent in Doha and should I steel myself now for the fact that I'll likely be sharing my living space with the little buggers? :shudder:

Johnnyboy11

Yes, they are everywhere, with older properties worse than new ones. You can get your apartment/ villa sprayed with insecticide (poison) which works very well, costs about QAR500. They like the heat, so not too many around just now, but they'll be out again soon.

Careful food handling, cleanliness around the kitchen helps too. Make sure all your drains are trapped, sinks especially, otherwise leave the plugs in.

Thing is, you can do all these things, but your neighbours might not be so fussy, and you end up with a recurring problem. Hygiene generally is very, very poor in Doha, to the extent that I prepare most of my food myself and avoid eating out if at all possible (decent hotels excepted, then it's hot food only).

My experience anyway.

[J]

CanuckGrl

Ugh. Yuck. Thanks for the information, I appreciate it.

nonthaburi

Can't vouch for Doha but I have been pleasantly surprised by how few I see in Riyadh, one of its plus points. When I lived in Bangkok I used to regularly spray before I went to bed ( once a month should do the trick ) and then sweep them up in the morning. An average spray could yield 40-50 ! Why pay when you can do it yourself ?
Interestingly enough the survival instinct of these things is amazing. When we were flooded, on returning to our house after a week to get more clothes, we found 30 or 40 clinging to these foam boxes floating in the water, hanging on for dear life. Lack of food got them in the end though and the whole population was wiped out for months.

mentalist

It's the scorpions you should worry about.

Mogs

We just had our house sprayed and found out that cockroaches actually eat/live on dust.

Also, the big ones are American cockroaches (generally come from outside in the drains) and the little ones are German cockroaches that are more prevalent indoors (where there's more dust).

CanuckGrl

This thread is making me itch.

That is truly vile.

Well, gee, that's reassuring.

I guess there is something to be said for these bitterly cold Canadian prairie winters.

mikewot

Frostbite and hypothermia.

Alexa

I lived in the Middle East for 14 ears now. Never had a cockroach in my house.

nonthaburi

That you know of!!

norsk

haven't really seen many cockroaches except for a few years ago when i was viewing villas in bahrain. all had been empty for months in the heat of summer and were full of the big american ones..very pleasant..

we brought a sofa from bahrain to dubai and that seemed to get infested with the small fookers on the way across the gulf. in the end we just flogged it on dubizzle (without mentioning the stowaways)

Bahtatboy

Cleanliness is king--don't leave anything around that would attract them: food scraps, spilt drinks (even cups marks), bodily fluids...

kittycat1

Live up high - avoid ground and first floor apartments- they can't reach the buttons in the lifts!

kittycat1

Oh and when you go out don't leave your handbag on the floor!

Dumbo

In Dubai certainly. They aren't just limited to one industry either, banking, recruitment, construction, they are everywhere.