Water Lily

So today's our 4th day in Tauranga and this morning I found a massive cockroach in the kitchen, which makes number 3 since we moved in. Worst of all, I only just saw it disappearing behind the kettle's handle as I was going to make myself a morning cuppa, made me jump out of my skin.

Spiders I don't mind, other bugs I can cope with, but there's something about cockroaches that just make my skin crawl. I'm NOT happy!

I contacted the landlord to ask if they've been a problem in the house in the past, and he tells me every single house he's lived in in Tauranga has had a problem with cockroaches, which gets worse in the winter. Great!! He says to keep the windows and doors shut as much as possible to stop them from getting in, but this is not much help, I like fresh air in the house!

We have 3 traps which we put out on day one after finding the first one, bold as brass, going for a stroll in the middle of the lounge/kitchen area, but they don't appear to be working as nothing's been caught.

Can anyone recommend any methods to keep the blighters at bay as much as possible? I seriously won't be able to sleep at night if I find one in the bedroom one of these days.

love30stm

Ewww remind me not to move to Tauranga

Caz8NZ

what about having the house professionally treated for bugs to repel them?

P18PPS

whatever you do - DO NOT squash them.... once squished they release hormones of some sort that call out to other roaches as a distress call!!!

best thing to do is sweep them up and either release at the end of the road, or alternatively throw into a neighbors that you don't like!

lardyl

What type of roach are we talking?
http://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/re...e.asp?Ca_ID=47

We get lots of American Roaches coming in on papers from the letterbox. They like our bedrooms and bathroom but not the kitchen if the bench tops are kept clean.

Stormer999

Ah...a plan.... get big hammer...squash one.....wait! Oh but shut front door first!..

jill.dalton

Hi, I found a natural remedy that sounds like it will work for you and it is super cheap to make.
Stir together equal parts of sugar and baking soda. Roaches gobble up the sugar, and the baking soda gives them gas, messes up their stomachs and ultimately kills them. It only takes a cup or so of the mixture to treat a house, placing dabs in strategic spots like behind or beneath appliances, in closets or near wastebaskets. If you have pets, limit the mixture to places or containers your pets can't get into because it might make them sick if they eat it.
Hope this helps. Roaches give me the creeps too.

RICH

In USA (Florida) I have a guy who sprays around outside and inside along the walls. Keeps me bug free for at least 3 months for $40.00

I do not know what he uses, but you can buy similar treatments at diy stores. Only takes 20 minutes.

Bo-Jangles

I was told it was because they release their eggs if you whack them.

OP if you look in the DIY places or supermarkets you'll find plenty of weapons to attack them with. You're landlord is either a liar or a filthy barsteward and you shouldn't really be bothered by them at this time of the year. We only get them wandering through in the summer.

Persephone

Ugh, not a good start to life in Tauranga. Hope everything else is ok. Sorry, can't help about the cockroaches but wanted to say hi WL!

spiderpig

It's quite normal for cockroaches to wonder in from the outside as they live naturally in nz gardens, so its quite common to occasionally find one on the floor in the house. I simply trap it in a glass and put it back outside, or flush it down the toilet.

However when we moved into our last place, we quickly found out that it was infested with cockroaches and the previous owners did not tell us, YUK, they were everywhere in the house, from the walk in wardrobe in the bedroom upstairs to the garage downstairs. Every night we saw at least 5 wondering around, and they constantly left their black droppings over the kitchen work surfaces and utensils at night. There were even eggs in the sofa which they left behind, gross gross gross.

We resorted into putting everything in plastic boxes. They weren't the german roaches, just the large wood roaches which are easier to get rid off. We decided to tackle the problem ourselves as we had previous experience dealing with an infestation of german roaches on a boat we were living on before.

This is what we did:-
We bombed every room with flea and roach spray, we put traps down, but to be honest i don't think the traps did anything. but the thing that worked the best was the cockroach bait which comes in a form of a brown paste and you put it at the back of draws. and cupboards, out of the reach of children and pets.

We completely cleaned the kitchen from top to bottom and wiped all surfaces down with bleach. We had every draw removed, the dish washer, cooker and fridge out, there was no way i was leaving any scraps of food behind for the little critters. Within about 3 weeks they were all gone, just the occassional dead one which i found.

TIPS FOR KEEPING THEM AWAY:
Keep all food in airtight containers.
Clean the kitchen and laundry regularly.
Pull out the fridge, freezer, stove, dishwasher and microwave and clean the cavity thoroughly.
Fix any leaky pipes or taps.
Cracks and crevices should be sealed to stop cockroaches harbouring.
Rubbish should be removed regularly and should be kept in a tightly closed container.
Never leave food, unwashed dishes or utensils on the benches overnight.

Its quite common for people in NZ to get the perimeter of the house sprayed. Instantly you will see every bug and insect die as soon as it comes near, its not that expensive to do either.

Here are a few places you can get roach bate from
http://kiwicare.co.nz/pest/pests/a-g...FYhMpgodKTcYSg

http://www.pestrid.co.nz/ViewItem.php?ItemID=9

http://www.rentokil.co.nz/rentokil-p...ait/index.html

hope that helps, although it doesn't quite sound as though you have an infestation. If you want to find out what roach it is you can identify it here http://www.rentokil.co.nz/pest-guide...hes/index.html

moneypenny20

Would that not encourage ants in? I'm assuming you have ants

BEVS

Yes. We have and it would. I have an ant poison gel for that. You smear a bit at point of entry and they take it back to the nest with them. That's the theory anyway.
We have tiny ones that can suddenly appear like an army of Roman battalions Get this after rains mostly but you leave summat too tasty lying around and they're over it like a rash.

scrubbedexpat094

Just found a baby one on our lounge ceiling . A quick spray with Raid & it's now no more

moneypenny20

We get them, they are freaky little critters, there's never a trail of them coming in and going out, just a mass of them in one spot. Drive you round the bend.