Roaches

[Seymore4Head]

After using roach bait and boric acid and roach bombs I called in an exterminator. I picked a guy that does not require a contract. It turns out that has been a big mistake.

He has been coming once a month since November. He is due back tomorrow. I am thinking about kicking him to the curb and signing a contract with another service. I have talked to another exterminator that says if I still have roaches after 6 months they send out an expert.

The roaches are gone except for the kitchen, but I still see freshly born roaches in the kitchen. I know I can't give up the fight, but even with an "expert" I am loosing the battle.

I would think 6 months any exterminator would be able to kill roaches. With this guy, I don't see any end in site.

[Stormin Mormon]

Would be nice to have a guy who gets paid only if your house is roach free. Sounds like this guy gets paid per treatment, so he's got no incentive to kill em off.

[Pico Rico]

I have had a good recommendation for: Maxforce FC Magnum or just Maxforce Gel. The order site is 'pestproducts.com'.

The active ingredient is fipronil.

[Terry Coombs]

I like Bengal Gold Roach Spray , it has a growth regulator hormone in it , they don't mature sexually , can't reproduce . Or so they say , but I've seen the occasional deformed one with an egg sac . I back it up with a light dusting of DE (diatomaceous earth , bet ya didn't think I could spell it ...) in all the nooks and crannies they hide in . Actually , I think our resident Blue Tailed Lizard gets most of those who actually find their way in . And (s)he's welcome to them !

[Zaky Waky]

Seymore4Head wrote in news: [e-mail]:

snip

Most Africans consider roaches a delicacy. Do you have any African neighbors near by? Maybe they are raising them.

[philoÂÂ]

It depends where you live.

Here in Wisconsin, the good thing about Winter is that it kills off the insects and problems are rarely permanent.

In the deep South, there is almost nothing you can do to eliminate insects completely.

Since you say you see them only in the kitchen they are obviously getting at food and you will need to go over /everything/ with a fine tooth comb...making sure /all/ food is in sealed containers and to check under the stove and refrigerator and /inside/ the bottom of the stove and especially the refrigerator's motor compartment etc.

[gfretwell]

I assume he is not talking about "American" roaches, the big ones we have down south. Usually the problem roach is the little brown European (the French call them German roaches and the Germans call them French roaches) or the darker triangle shaped Asian roach. While it is true they can live in the woods, generally they live in buildings and winter has little effect on them. People have been trying to kill them for over 1000 years and they have a tolerance for most chemicals. Once you are infested it is hard to get rid of them. You need a combination of sprays and baits. They usually will stop eating the attractant in any bait before the last one dies. A good pest control operator should be able to wipe them out as long as your neighbors are not infected and you are not bringing them in from the store.

By comparison the American roaches (palmetto bug, water bug etc) is pretty easy to control. They respond to most baits, sprays kill them and if you treat your yard, they won't be coming in from outside.

BTW cold weather does not have much effect on roaches. They have found then in unheated shacks in Alaska, They may go dormant but they don't die.

[gfretwell]

You can increase the effectiveness by mixing the DE about 50:50 with boric acid. That was the secret recipe my buddy used to create a million dollar flea killing business but it wiped out most of the insects in a home. If you go to a pest chemical company like Lesco, they will have the right kind of DE and the best deal on boric acid. Neither are restricted.

[gfretwell]

The German roach can fly too but they are more like gliding down from a high spot. Our big ones can take off from a flat surface. Fortunately they are pretty easy to control. You just have to understand it is an "outside" bug that comes in the house. Control them in the yard and they are not a problem in the house. The little roaches are domesticated and live quite easily around people.

[gfretwell]

A lot of that is simply perception. Roaches are certainly cleaner than flies for example and mosquitoes kill millions of people every year from the diseases they transmit. With roaches, it is mostly just the yuck factor. We don't want bugs in our stuff.

The fact that roaches constantly clean their feet is what makes them susceptible to sprays, boric acid and other poisons they walk on.

BTW the "bee hive" hair thing is just an urban myth, along with a lot of other myths about what was in that pile of starched hair. I doubt a roach could have survived the chemicals in the cans of spray that was constantly added to the "do". I was never really attracted to the look, when it was all the rage (50s, early 60s) The girls tended to be too "high maintenance" for me. ;-)

[Seymore4Head]

The exterminator says that we are bringing them back in. He may be right. My niece lives here and she works at a grocery store. When he said we were bringing them back in, I reminded him of the time he told me that the poison he uses is supposed to last for a year. He can't explain why, if we are bringing them back in, why the existing poison is not killing the new ones.

I had read where roaches get immune to the poison. I have asked if he uses more than one type of poison. He says he does. After 8 months, it seems like he may be using water some of the time.

He may be the one bringing them in.

BTW they are German roaches.

[dadiOH]

And water. Get rid of any water that might be available to them. Under the fridge too.

In 1965 I bought a sailboat. It was heavily infested with German roaches...cheeky little buggers, they'd parade around as if THEY owned the boat. Shortly, I hauled the boat (went to drydock) and was out of the water for almost six weeks, no water anywhere in the boat during that period and all the roaches disappeared. Did they leave because of lack of water? Can't say for sure but they were gone and never came back.

[gfretwell]

I used to fight these when I lived in apartments up north.

I would go another way and shoot poison around the pipes, into the walls. I also went behind the electrical boxes but be careful not to wet down the inside of the box. Swap the head on a spray can with the "straw" type from an oil, carb cleaner or "air" can to get in tight spots.

Also go up under the soffit and anywhere else they might get in.

Pull out all the drawers and spray the bottoms, then spray the inside surfaces of the cabinets. They like to put egg sacks under these things I also sprayed behind all the toe kicks By treating every month I was able to hold them down but it was a constant war. In a house it is a lot easier. Back in those days Baygon was the go to poison ... if you didn't use chlorodane

[Norminn]

First of all, get rid of all paper/corrugated cardboard you use in cabinets or for storage....they love to nest in c.c. Wash, seriously and thoroughly, insides of all cabinets, floors, broiler pans, drip pans, cat boxes, etc. Clean off all food containers in cabinets, esp. anything that has been opened.

When I lived in Fl., we had a serious infestation that became horrible when an upstairs neighbor moved out. We had Sears exterminate, one time, which cured the problem (five years on). They used a bait which they said was peanut butter and boric acid....it was applied in little dabs along baseboards, cabinet shelves, around appliances and then they took off covers of wall outlets and switches and applied inside them. They said wall spaces are a favorite place to hide. They were soon gone and never saw another.

[micky]

Isn't that a good thing?

[gfretwell]

Yes it is. Usually if you are attacking a flea infestation, you end up stopping all sorts of other nasties. Fleas are as tough as roaches to get rid of unless you just treat the dog.

[gfretwell]

I use bottle caps when I am baiting ants. It is a handy container.

[KenK]

Oren wrote in news: [e-mail]:

Sounds like useful stuff. Anyone know where to get it locally? I can't remember seeing it. I'm far too lazy to Google. And besides, I can't spell 'diatomaceous'.

TIA

[KenK]

Oren wrote in news:6v98t9lp4ng06ppb7u1bvq40hb3pvck3om@

4ax.com:

I live way south of Phoenix. No weather here lately - just hot - ~115 - 120 for a few days - and some thunder Sunday morning. No unusual dust. Other than that no weather at all.