multi-faceted roach problem


  #1  
Old 06-08-05, 11:14 AM
concerned-dude
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Unhappy multi-faceted roach problem

Ok, I am going to try to explain this the as completely as possible. Sorry for the novel....I just hope someone reads it, as I need some comfort from getting more info.

We moved into a duplex two years ago (old house split upstairs and down we have the ground floor and basement storage).
The first couple days there I noticed an oriental roach dead, near the basement drain. Since that time, we have NEVER seen a roach indoors. I have seen a couple orientals near the garage the past two summers and I would just crush them underfoot when I did. I checked all over for cracks in the foundation and around basement windows and tried to cover and fill them as best I could. The house is over 100 years old, so it's tough....plus I don't want to invest much of my own money to fix someone elses rental property.

Fast forward to this past week...I am in a bad state mentally, because I have been shaken by some discoveries, which may, or may not be a big issue. Up until now, I have never dealt with roaches. Never seen them outside a zoo or pet store. So, I have not been able to eat much and feel sick....I HATE these bugs!!!!!!

Last Friday, I was moving from the garage to the house across the sidewalk and noticed something underfoot... I went back and grabbed a flashlight and saw that it was in fact a roach, but NOT an oriental....it appeared to be an american, asian, or wood roach...it seemed to be all reddish/brown with no distinct markings on it. I stomped the roach. Then I walked up and back along the sidewalk and noticed another one....same kind, on the sidwalk...I stomped it. Then I began to shine the light into the grass along the sidewalk (10 feet from our home) and saw TWO more....both perched atop blades of grass and not moving. STOMPED them both.

Ok...with me so far...?

Last night I decide to take a light out and look at the perimeter of the house.
Along one side, we share a big cement slab with the neighbor....and what I saw made me sick....!!!!

Along the lower (concrete brick areas), below the siding...on both houses I found FIVE HUGE oriental roaches. I went and grabbed some spray and blasted them all, one at a time. They ran around this way and that, none seemed to be dying and none were trying to take much cover. They just ran back and forth on the concrete. I was tired of waiting for death, so I pulled out the trusty stomp manuver. FIVE down and I was feeling ill from the thought of sharing space and worried they would get inside. Obviously, there are a lot more around the houses than what I saw.

I go over to our screened in porch, step inside and notice....another roach!!!!
This one is back to the type from Friday....american, asian, wood?
It saw me come in and kind of hopped to the floor (it was just sitting on the screen, with the porch light shining right on it prior to jumping down...kind of gliding). I stomped it. (these roaches were an inch long)

After this, I decided to head out to the back of the house, near the garage where I killed the four from Friday...and bingo...another one...a smaller one.
I stomped it.

This story gets better....for me, worse.
After all this, I decide to peek around the kitchen and basement.
Basement was clear...nada.
Kitchen...nothing...yet...something.
We have never seen a roach in the kitchen...BUT, after last night I am very worried. I took out all the pots and pans from the lower cupboards and grabbed the flashlight. I saw nothing odd....yet.

Then, I looked UP at the underside of some shelves to see....egg cases glued in packs. Probably in total....40 or 50.

Now this makes no sense. Our house is small and old. We have never seen a roach in the kitchen (or anywhere save for that one from the basement, two years ago). Now I am possessed to learn more. I begin to search under the oven. Under the fridge....NOTHING. No signs of roaches at all. No skins, No bodies, no fecal matter.

So, all we seem to have in the kitchen, under the shelves in the lower cupboards, is a bunch of egg cases. I cannot tell if they have hatched or not. My first thought was that they were from years ago...because obviously, no one would get in there and clean the underside of the shelves under and near the sink and lower cupboards. They could be years and years old...or............new?

So, I am extremely bothered now. My nerves are fried. I feel sick. I have no appetite. I am very bothered, to say the least. My wife is not nearly as concerned, because she has not actually seen what I have seen.

Do other bugs lay egg cases in the manner...which look like german or brown banded egg cases? Is it normal to have 2 or 3 types of roaches around the house? This makes it sound like we are dirtballs, but we are clean people and keep stuff in order. In 28 years of life, this is the first time I have ever experienced this, and it is freaking me out a lot more than it probably should.

I am looking for ideas....advice....anything.
I am going to demand my landlord hire a pest control person to come over.
He was spraying the outside by himself, but I am sure he did not do a good job spraying.

So, does anyone have anything to say that might calm me down....
I sure as hell need it.

THANKS A BUNCH for anyone who reads and responds!!!
 
  #2  
Old 06-09-05, 05:38 PM
T
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Oriental roaches tend to be found in the basement because they like cool, moist environments and are sometimes called "waterbugs". Roaches like to live near their food and water. Practicing good sanitation should be part of control measures. Cockroaches are most active at night and live in groups. During the day, they live in cracks and crevices where it is moist.

Seal all gaps into home to exclude insect pests. If you live in an apartment, pay attention to adjoining walls. Cover basement floor drains with window screening. Make sure doors and windows have no gaps around them. Seal gaps around water, gas and heating pipes, inside and out. Make sure there is no debris around structure. Trim ground covers near structure. Move firewood and trash cans away from building.

You can catch roaches and other insect pests with sticky traps. Roach baits are available at home centers. A monthly perimeter treatment of foundation and lawn along foundation with residual insecticide will keep insect pests at bay.
 
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Old 06-10-05, 02:25 PM
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  #4  
Old 06-25-05, 10:47 AM
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  #5  
Old 08-05-05, 09:45 AM
Baybun
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Talking I unfortunately have been there...

The only way that I got rid of them..and this advice has helped a few others..were to dry up their water supply..Eerie as it may seem, roaches can live up to 30 days without eating, but only a week without water. Do this, pour bleach in your toilet at night, be sure to keep ALL damp areas as dry as you can, if you cant do that then make a barricade (spelling?) around the damp, moist areas with boric acid. Within 2 months your pest problem should be gone.. Good luck.. :mask:
 
 

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