Roaches
 

Sorry for this topic.

We moved addresses a couple of days ago. Seen 2 large roaches, one in a bedroom one in a bathroom. The husband dealt with them and I've bought bait boxes.

Are such critters an inevitability or can I expect to eliminate them (is my attempt to eliminate them a surefire path to insanity)?

Im pretty grossed out at the thought tbh. I'm kind of living in fear of seeing one when I turn on a light. Also I would have preferred to spray certain areas that aren't baited but the baby is just starting to crawl so I'm obviously cautious about over zealous use of toxic chemicals.

Finally, we just had our stuff delivered from storage. Is there a link do you think?

Re: Roaches
 

Are you in a rental? If so, ask the landlord to provide extermination services. Contact the owner (or the super if you are in an apartment building) to ask for a visit from the exterminator. I'm afraid roaches can be a fact of life in US apartments. Good luck!

Re: Roaches
 

Hadn't thought about landlord. Thanks.

Re: Roaches
 

If you have already paid for things to help prevent roaches, you may be able to get the landlord to reimburse you. Not sure if it would work but worth a try as it is their responsibility after all.

Kill those critters!

Re: Roaches
 

From what I have seen on tv, you can use them to trade things, such as cigarettes, with people in other rooms. Also note smuggling.

Re: Roaches
 

Another good idea.

In case relevant to future prevention, it's a house with small yard. There's a wood stack 2 metres from back door which I'm wondering about moving though may not be worth the effort and limited options/ distance anyway. I guess being extra quick to clean and keeping food in airtight containers are my other tactics?

Re: Roaches
 

I wouldn't worry about the wood stack. The bottom line is that they were in the house when you moved in, and you need to ask the landlord to ameliorate the situation with professional help. Yes, keeping food away from them will help, but you have to get to the root of the problem, that they are hidden away in the house and need to be eradicated.

Re: Roaches
 

Got it. Thanks.

Re: Roaches
 

Do you still have moving boxes in the house? Roaches are attracted to the glue.

Re: Roaches
 

Yeah there are some. I'll fix that.

Re: Roaches
 

Depending on where you live, they might have been palmetto bugs. Roaches can be brought into the home in bags from the supermarket, from the boxes from the storage unit, or already be in the home. Unless you, yourself, hired a private exterminator, the cost to you for the roach motels is less than the cost of a coffee from Starbucks. Doubt if your landlord would reimburse you for that. He needs to call an exterminator to come to the home monthly to spray for all types of insects, i.e. roaches, termites, spiders, etc. Our Orkin man comes once every 5 weeks to do the inside and outside of the house. When I lived in a NYC area apartment house, the exterminator came every third Saturday of the month.

Also beware of bed bugs which you can bring home in clothing or bedding that you buy that is not sealed in plastic. You can also get them from public transportation as they are carried on clothing that people wear.

Re: Roaches
 

LOL! Don't forget their entertainment value too - roach racing's a real thing. Can probably train them to fight one another as well (I guess just starving them for a while would work).

Re: Roaches
 

I'll try and find my sense of humour and love of nature.

Nah... although im a veggie, in this case I want them dead!!!

Re: Roaches
 

Oh dear god, I remember our first sighting of Texas brown roaches.... yuck! I was horrified. We had just bought our house, moving boxes everywhere and I got pest control in. We continued to have issues with various things until we got all the holes sealed up in the exterior of the house - sealed properly around pipes that kind of thing. I hadn't seen anything for years and then spotted a large mouse poop on the kitchen worktop . I'd been leaving the kitchen window open for the night and this particular window does not have a screen. Kept it closed since!!

Re: Roaches
 

I'll ship you my black widows if you would like too? Can make your place into the sanctuary :rofl:

Re: Roaches
 

Shudders

Re: Roaches
 

I'm glad my reaction is pretty normal! Sounds like you had a v hard time of it. Can imagine your face at the mouse.

In UK I was a firm window open kinda gal - liked the fresh air - and it was a frequent source of argument. I shall adjust my behaviour from now on (but that doesn't mean I was previously in the wrong, obvs)

Re: Roaches
 

Thought that was just the fancy southern name for a roach ;)

Re: Roaches
 

I vaguely noticed some holes in my lawn as I mowed the grass. I thought they were probably ants. Then on the local neighbourhood group page someone starts going on about scorpions.......

I was rowing on the lake in a team boat - the cox suddenly makes us change course quickly. Then points out the ?4/5ft long snake in the water which we are now a bit further away from. Then someone else starts telling me that these snakes will try and get in the boat and how poisonous they are. I could get very anxious about Texas.

Re: Roaches
 

I was told there are 5,000 types of snake - and 4,998 live in Louisiana. Most have taken a fancy to the back yard and lake (who am I kidding - it's been raining - call it all a swamp). Some have taken up residence in the garage. At least I haven't got an alligator in the pool yet.
I think snakes eat roaches, though, so it's not all bad.

Re: Roaches
 

But wait, I thought Oz had the scary critters? Is this new expat baiting or all for real?

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don't worry it's just down here in the south....... ;)

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It is a roach but it flies.

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Thought they all flew too?

Re: Roaches
 

Nope! Thankfully, the German roaches found in NY do NOT fly :thumbsup:

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Apparently they glide! 😲

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Falling, with style.

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Apparently the Texas Horned Lizard is making a comeback. Oh good. Yet another thing to look out for in the grass.

Re: Roaches
 

Lots of good advice so far. :nod:

They may have been in the house when you moved in .... look for dark spots in areas where you have seen them, or along the edges of the kitchen floor, behind the fridge or stove, etc. as evidence they have been around for a while.

Alternatively they might have infested your things while in storage, in which case you may have a problem. Roaches especially likely electronics, where it's warm and they can get inside. Once they're in, they're rather hard to get out.

A decent landlord may certainly help, but unless you can prove that there was a prior infestation they probably won't want to fund repeated treatments. You should be able to get a quarterly "pest treatment" fairly cheaply - I think we pay about $70/qtr and they come around and spray a safe-for-homes pesticide around the edges of all rooms, around the perimeter of the house and in the crawl space. Annually/ ad hoc costs more per visit.

I understand your concern about chemicals, but she roach infestation can be very hard to eradicate even with chemical sprays, and obviously there are more limits when a house is occupied than when it is vacant.

You could also get bug bombs - mini aerosols that have a latch so you can put them in a room and empty the can if you're going out for the day (at least 2 hours) you can set them off preemptively. You can get them from Lowe's or Home depot, or pretty much any grocery, and probably most dollar and convenience stores too. I would recommend every few days, say every week or two, so as to catch any hatched eggs before they reach adulthood.

Round here at least there are large roaches and smaller roaches, and it is the smaller ones about 1"-1¼" that are the heath hazard. There are larger ones, about 2", that live in woodland, and landscaping mulch often has their eggs in it. :(

Re: Roaches
 

A good technician can debug the electronics! :lol:

Ian

Re: Roaches
 

Ho Ho ho! :rolleyes:

Re: Roaches
 

I've just contracted with a company called truly Nolan. Not sure if they're a nationwide company. 12 month contract, they come at least quarterly, but will come out if I call them for no extra charge.

Works out at $30 a month.

Re: Roaches
 

Pests are a fact of life in much of the USA. It varies according to location but they are generally much more of a problem than in the UK.

In my neighborhood (SF Bay Area but bordering on some undeveloped hills) we deal with ants, mice, roof rats, squirrels and more in and on the house. The garden or yard can be damaged by deer and gophers. Recently, at least one human and couple of pets have been bitten by rattlesnakes.

Most of my neighbors hire pest control contractors although I've been able to manage them myself (but I've come close to throwing money at professionals a couple of times).

Re: Roaches
 

and the house by termites!