orca05

Hi
We have just moved to a new house we have just had built and I have noticed that we seem to have cockroaches here.We didn't have them in our rental which was on the other side of town.They are the large brown ones and some black ones (which I don't know if they are just big beatles.)
I am a bit worried about having my house sprayed with chemicals as my kiwi friends tell me to have done.I have kids and don't really want them to come into contact with a chemical that kills things off.
We have been here 3 years and have never come across them like this before so can some brits out there give me advice on what to do as we don't come across this in the UK.
THANKS!

Apple12

Just get a pest guy from the yellow pages to come and have a look. They will probably move out anyway when you move in.
At least you aren't living in Oz, the creepy crawlies are more scarey there.

Jude J

SNAP!!! We never had them in almost 4 years in our rental but have them now in our own house (not new built). Can I ask...do you live near a field now? They sound identical to the ones we get in our house, my friend says they are garden roaches, dont know if thats true.
Our house is right next door to a reserve and I wonder if thats anything to do with it as our rental wasn't.
We have one of those automatic spray cans going all the time through the summer. We have one on each level of the house. They are a natural pesticide but I wouldn't hesitate having the house sprayed if it was bad enough. A friend that had his done said you go out for a few hours during and after its being done and when you come back you spend the next few days vacuuming the dead things up.
You can get the spray thingy in Mitre 10, places like that. Its called Robocan. We still have them in the house now and again but normally find them dead.
same with flies and other insects.

orca05

Hi Yes we have that auto fly spray thingy but have not got it out yet but I will dig it it out and get the refill for it today.Yes we have moved to a new sub divison which has fields all around it so thats why we are getting more roaches I suppose and I am going to see how much I can tolerate the little blighters before I HAVE to have my house sprayed.

kiwi_child

It's kinda funny in that I never seen a cockroach the whole 30+ years I lived in NZ. In OZ they are absolutely EVERYWHERE! Maybe not so many in Tasmania, maybe.

Anyway, Hope you get it sorted. You should also be able to buy products that kill vermin , but you do need to becareful if you have little ones or some pets.

Jude J

Well, these aren't the same! They are like a huge beetle. Not a cockroach like the ones I saw all over the place in Hong Kong. Filthy things they are, these at least look a bit more ummm, gardeny, not so much 'urgh get that frikking thing out of here' more of a 'my god what is that', take a close look then ask hubs or son to remove it.

kiwi_child

We get both types in OZ. The large brown 'American cockroach' that actually can fly, and the much smaller 'german cockroach' that are incredibly prolific. I once stayed in a hostel in Brisbane and went in the kitchen after a night on the 'turps' to make something to eat. I turned on the light and saw a dark covering on the floor that semed to move! It was dozens of American cockroaches! I thought someone must have slipped soemthign in my drink, I can tell ya :scared:

orca05

I hate it when they run really fast and my daughter says that if there is one then there will loads more lurking around.I also get hubbie to take them out after I have stopped running around like a wild woman when one gets near me or I get the dog to eat them.

Jude J

Oh yukk!!! I couldn't live in Oz.
Actually that reminds me of a story my sister told me from when she was staying in a beach hut thing in Bali, I think. She was really hot one night and went for a shower to cool off. It was quite dark in the shower room and there was a huge black hole in the corner which she tried to keep an eye on incase anything crawled out of it. After rinsing her hair she looked up to where the hole was and it had gone. Turned out it wasn't a hole but a huge spider. Still gives me shivers thinking about it, and it wasn't even me!

kiwi_child

That reminds me of another time I was staying at the same place in brisbane. I went into the kitchen and saw my first ever huntsman spider (big as a bread plate!). fair shat myself! I threw a heavy glass ashtray at it, and clipped it. It just turned it's face and stared at me as if to say ' Do that again and I'll get you ya bitch! " Needless to say, I made a hasty retreat! I now know though that huntsman while scary are not deadly. It was probably on the prowl for those cockroaches for dinner

Jude J

oh god that would probably kill me off. I have a terrible fear of spiders.
do they really look at you? Are you allowed to kill them? I know people dont agree with killing spiders but I'm not one of them.

Bo-Jangles

We mostly get bush or native cockroaches - see here http://www.flybusters.co.nz/index.ht...cockroach.html

If they are they do not create big gangs like other species of roaches that want to invade your kitchen and you usually only see them one at a time. Mainly they are outdoor beasts and you will get them if you live near any open spaces or bush. They sneak indoors every now and again, usually under our garage door. I put one of those brush strip draft excluders on the bottom of the door to stop them.

I used to get pretty freaked by them, but am almost over it after two years of perseverance I still freak out; with less shrieking and feelings of sheer terror. TBH I don't think it is worth getting your house sprayed unless you have a serious problem, as others have said the Robocan works a treat and any that you do find will be either dead or lieing on their back doing the dieing fly impression.

mazi

Tsk tsk

mazi

Australia Story:

At night walking past a (dodgy-looking by day) fish restaurant in a small town at the edge of the Blue Mountains the pavement started to move: thousands of cockroaches. I have never moved in such a fashion down the street before - I hoppped, skipped, jumped, screamed, tripped, stumbled, screamed, laughed maniacally, screamed, and finally managed to run - it went on for about 10metres.

F*&%$&£ gross.

kiwi_child

Huntsman spiders look like they'd just get pissed off with you spraying the mortein and make a grab for the can and try eating the bloody thing!

I'm sure most spiders can see but we just can't distinguish it. But I swear that huntsman spun around and stared at me You gotta remember it's not some piddly daddy long legs, it's the size of a bread plate or a man's hand.

I think killing a huntsman might be tricky. Easier to kill smaller spiders (which can well be deadly,eg; funnel web). No law against killing insects. A huntsman classified as an insect...now that is FUNNY. Bloody thing would frighten ya rotweiler :scared: More an animal than an insect I reckon!