How Do I Get Rid of Roaches?

My local exterminator says I need to spray every month to get rid if the cockroaches in my house. I have small kids (6 rears old). Is there a better way to get rid of them?

Mike

Reply to
Me
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:) My local exterminator says I need to spray every month to get rid if the :) cockroaches in my house. I have small kids (6 rears old). Is there a :) better way to get rid of them?

If it is the "kitchen" roaches, try the tubes of Combat Gel...apply a chocolate chip sized dab in areas the roaches are hiding such as the hinges of the cabinets, corners of the cabinets, etc. The best thing the exterminator could use is an insecticide called Phantom and he would put out MaxForce gel or the equivalent. That would get rid of the infestation, maintenance services would help in keeping them out, but whether it is 4 times a year or once a year..or 12 times would be up to you.

Make sure there are no water leaks and don't let food hang around too long before being cleaned up.

Lar. (to e-mail, get rid of the BUGS!!

It is said that the early bird gets the worm, but it is the second mouse that gets the cheese.

Reply to
Lar

Many exterminators are going to tell you that you need their service on a regular bases.

There are a number of situations and each is different. Roaches are difficult to totally eliminate, especially in older homes and or older neighborhoods. Even if you get them totally out of your home, they will soon be back.

What may be a good alternatives to deadly poisons is boric acid. It is a white powder and can, in some situations, take care of them.

For anyone with a recurring problem, I would recommend a professional treatment and then follow up with alternatives. The professional may be able to help by suggesting things like patching holes etc, that you can do and usually will get rid of what you have. Then follow up with something like the boric acid.

Use Google (search for "boric acid roach") and you should find references that will give you the instructions and other alternatives.

Reply to
Joseph Meehan

If you mean the children, adoption maybe?

Cats kill roaches. Borrow a cat for a month and see if kitty works for you.

Reply to
JerryMouse

Our service has changed from once a month to once a quarter. We have pet kibble out all the time and are not the most careful kitchen cleaners. Why the difference with the OP's situation? TB

Reply to
Tom Baker

Has never worked for me. In the one home (150 year old home) that had them, the cats never made a difference. Before and after that home, I have never had them (roaches) but I don't think that is because I have always had cats.

Reply to
Joseph Meehan

If the 150yr old home is in an area where they allow you to keep chickens, chickens love to eat crocroaches. They are pretty good at catching them too.

Reply to
PaPaPeng

Get the roach bait disks. (Combat or similar)

Reply to
Greg

Adoption?

Reply to
Steve B.

:) What may be a good alternatives to deadly poisons is boric acid. It is :) a white powder and can, in some situations, take care of them.

Always curious when I see this posted...what insect sprays or baits in the last 15 years, probably could go back 50 years bought over the counter or put out by a professional will be more toxic than Boric Acid? Five grams can kill a child and there is no known antidote for it's poisoning. Boric Acid can be an effective and cheap treatment, but it is repellant and with German roaches may give a false sense of success when it has just pushed them out of sight for a while to continue to breed rather than eliminate them.

Lar. (to e-mail, get rid of the BUGS!!

It is said that the early bird gets the worm, but it is the second mouse that gets the cheese.

Reply to
Lar

Watched an opossum very intent on catching his cockroach snack run almost across my feet one night, then crunch crunch without even noticing me and walked off looking for another.

Anyhow, as a young homeowner with a nice home attending many State/CoopExtension service lectures and classes to learn to grow things in the yard they had a two day lecture on homeowner bug control. University professor / ??Inteminoligyst?? Funny professional bug man /teacher - Ph.D.. Mole Cricket Bait for cockroaches - in bottle caps hidden under stuff if you had them bad to start with - his preferred method was to lightly toss it around the exterior perimeter of his home monthly - drawback is rain/irrigation kills it. That's it, works, even attracts the ones inside to the outside.

My wife wanted me to go rake up all the dead cockroaches one morning after I first treated the perimeter and additionally tossed some under all the bushes too. She was so embarrassed to have all those belly up creatures in the yard she raked them herself. Amazing how many there were & we really didn't see them too often in the house here in Florida as she was always spraying carpet for 3 dogs worth of fleas.

Reply to
bumtracks

:) Our service has changed from once a month to once a quarter. :) We have pet kibble out all the time and are not the most careful kitchen cleaners. :) Why the difference with the OP's situation? :) TB

It usually is the from the training or the business philosophy of the company you are dealing with. The company I started with based their services on a quarterly basis, so when I went self employed, my services are what I am accustomed to and know that it works from experience. Other companies like Orkin and many Terminix branches still base their services on Monthly work, so any of those trained people that start their own businesses then in turn train their new hires will still be monthly service based. I am in Texas so I stay busy year round, maybe up North it "evolved" to Monthly due to the shorter pest season and the large companies adapted to monthly for their needs. With todays products, even if I had a customer that lived in an apartment in a known infested complex, I would feel quarterly would still be fine, they would still have the occasional roach showing up from the next door apartments, but they wouldn't get the infestation.

Lar. (to e-mail, get rid of the BUGS!!

It is said that the early bird gets the worm, but it is the second mouse that gets the cheese.

Reply to
Lar

I know I'm gonna get flamed for this but here goes:

Back in the 80's I lived in an apartment complex that was infested. My roommate and I were slobs which of course didn't help. The exterminator sprayed every month, but it didn't touch them. The roommate saw an ad in the paper for Roach Proof. He ordered it. I was really skeptical. We put it down (it's just boric acid supposedly with a charge on it so it sticks to the roaches). No change for a few days except we saw a lot of roaches covered in powder. Then we noticed they we GONE. Every last one. We wiped out their entire civilization. Genocide, And they didn't come back.

So since then I have been a big fan of boric acid. It's not very toxic and it is pure death on bugs. Brush it into the carpet and fleas are gone. I have a plastic mustard bottle I use to squirt the stuff into holes, behond wall sockets, etc. The little plastic square roach motels use the same stuff and they work great. Replace them when you see the first roach.

I live in Florida, we have some serious bugs here. I have been virtually bug-free since I discovered the stuff.

Other tips:

Sprinkle granular insecticide around the perimeter of your house every

3 months. Especially around the a/c unit. Ants like to get in there.

Go up in the attic and fling a bottle of Amdro around if you get ants. Toss a dozen of the roach motels up there to in the areas you can't reach.

If you have fleas you need to spray something to kill the adults and pupae. Boric acid will prevent fleas but if you already have them you need to bring in the toxic stuff.

Get a cat. They are the best exterminators in the world.

I haven't had an exterminator in almost 25 years (except for the cats) and I have stayed virtually bug free.

Mort

Reply to
mortguffman

Many years ago, my apartment was sprayed by the management. A follow up with boric acid killed many more. One problem I have is keeping the boric acid powder dry enough to sprinkle. TB

Reply to
Tom Baker

Tom Baker wrote: ...

And if it is not dry, it does not work.

Reply to
Joseph Meehan

What kind of roach are you having a problem with? If they are large and you only see one every so often, they would be AMERICAN ROACHES. If they are about 1-1/2 inches, wingless, and black, you have ORIENTAL ROACHES. They love dampness and can easily be gotten rid of with ridding yourself of the damp areas with a dehumidifier, etc.

Worse case is that you have GERMAN ROACHES, which are small (1/2") and plentiful. They love food laying around. Seal all your food up, clean up all messes of food anywher in house. The COMBAT GEL is a great method to use. It is not toxic to humans (I used to work as a Biologist for American Cyanamid who developed it) and will work. You just have to keep on top of cleanliness and using the product. As long as you don't live in an apartment or attached house, you should be able to control it. Let me know if you have any questions.

snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com

Jim

If it is the "kitchen" roaches, try the tubes of Combat Gel...apply a

Reply to
Jim

-> My local exterminator says I need to spray every month to get rid if the

-> cockroaches in my house. I have small kids (6 rears old). Is there a

-> better way to get rid of them?

->

-> Mike

I've found that Combat Roach Gel is an excellent product. It comes in a large "syringe" that you use to squeeze the product into cracks and crevices. I've heard the same glowing review from other users, too.

Reply to
Suzie-Q

German or American? In other words, kitchen roaches or Palmetto Bugs? For most roaches, two things help. First, eliminate damp areas, leaks, drips, etc. Second, eliminate food scraps, particularly pet food. Though German roaches will eat the glue holding boxes together.

German roaches live indoors and are harder to get rid of. Combat Gel works well, as does any of the boric acid poisons, provided you keep them away from kids. A popular trick is to drill through the base of cabinets and spray the powder in, then seal the hole.

If your PCO is spraying, make sure they use Premise or an equivalent. Perhaps three months of regular spray, then once a quarter should do it.

American roaches, Palmetto Bugs, etc. live outside and forage inside for food and water. Again, eliminate food and water sources for them. They will usually migrate back outside. The same baits and sprays work as well.

Keep in mind that roaches that die today could have layed eggs that will hatch in 28 days, leaving hundreds alive after a month. Continuous spraying, even every other week, for a few months will break the cycle. The eggs are virtually impossible to kill.

Of course, if you live up North and can afford it, close the house and turn off the heat for the winter, letting the house deep freeze while you lounge on a tropical beach for a few months. Roaches will be gone when you return. :)

Jeff

Reply to
Jeff Cochran

That won't work. They have found live roaches in space capsules that were open to space. I used to go to a ski lodge that was pretty much at ambient temp when we left (plumbing drained, heat off) etc. They had roaches. Baits and boric acid is what I recomend and I am in Florida too. Of course if you can live with lizards you won't have any. The anoles in my screen room keep the place bug free withour any chemicals.

Reply to
Greg

Back in the day the only way to get rid of roaches was to smoke them!!...That was then...LOL

Reply to
Rich

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