Calling All Experts: Critter Control?
When Rebekah emailed us with a doozie of a question we were pretty much left scratching our heads. Here’s it is:
I’ve become an addict of your blog – just ask my husband! I can’t help but check it multiple times a day. Your posts are always so informative and they keep me motivated to keep working on our 1960′s home. Anyway, my husband and I purchased the brick ranch with a lovely yard about four months ago. My only problem is that we’re starting to see more pests (i.e. roaches… ewww!) due to the weather getting colder here in Georgia. I can’t live in a house and accept that the pests will always be there. We woke up at 4am last night because one crawled up my husband’s arm. Help! I was hoping you or your readers had some recommendations for in-house pest control. I know that pests might come with the territory of living in an older home, but I have to believe there’s a cure out there. I’m an uber-clean person (vacuuming & dusting once a week) plus we don’t leave food out and we keep everything off of the floor as much as possible. I hope my only option is NOT to hire a pest control company but if it is then so be it. Any advice? – Rebekah
Yup, we were stumped. Luckily (knock on wood, oops that spooked the dog and now he’s barking) we’ve never had to deal with roaches or other pests like (shiver) mice as of yet. But we did suggest that Rebekah try google-ing around for “natural pest remedies” or “getting rid of roaches” or even hanging out in the pest control aisle at her local home improvement store to see what she can find (maybe even asking an expert there what they recommend). We’re thinking there are little things like roach motels that can poison them or trap those creepy little buggers, so they might be nice to hide behind things and in corners- but Rebekah would definitely have to be careful that pets and kids don’t get into them!
In short, we tossed out a few paltry common sense ideas but wondered if any of our lovely readers had more tried and true advice to share. After all you guys were so helpful when it came to our annoying bathroom drain debacle (which we gleefully solved here), so we’re hoping that a few of you have some great ideas to toss out for Rebekah. Any natural remedies or not so natural cures that work like a charm? Any specific products or treatments that did the trick for you? Any ideas for finding the root of the problem (ie: holes? cracks?) and sealing things up at the source? Feel free to chime in and save the day. We’re hoping that regular “Calling All Experts” posts like these will become a great resource for anyone with common issues like clogged drains and pesky pets- and we definitely plan to rely on them whenever we need help right along with the rest of you!
Psst- And if you actually want to make a style statement with some roach china like this cup and saucer, you can find more info right here on Apartment Therapy.
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I feel your pain! We lived in New Orleans for years and they are a fact of life. But there are ways to reduce the problem. First, find and caulk holes and ways bugs can get it. I also checked my pantry – took everything out, scrubbed down with bleach, and kept everything in tupperware and ziploc when I put it back. Borax is good, but you might just have to spray. Roaches like water and food, so to eliminate the water, dry off sinks and tubs after using and put a drain cover on them. You probably will have to have a professional come in at least once a year for a baseline, but it depends on the problem. (Oh – and cover your toaster! We just threw our out after we figured out it was a hangout for roaches!)
Seconding a comment already made about pesticide use. It may make them leave for a while but, the offspring comes back stronger and a stronger pesticide has to be used until there are no options left. This is a frustrating and dangerous cycle that just doesn’t work.
Let’s hear Almost Dr. Dan’s opinion on this!!!
Hey Stephanie,
Unfortunately Almost-Doctor Dan refuses to comment on things that he hasn’t studied super extensively (he’s anal like that) so he’s pulling a “no comment” on this topic since it’s not his area of expertise. Bummer, eh? I guess we can’t expect him to know everything…
xo,
s
Here’s a toxic-free homemade roach bait that I started using when we had a similar problem (older home in NC) and so far it’s worked like a charm.
Recipe: Mix 1 cup borax powder, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4
cup minced onion, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, and 1 tablespoon water. Make a paste
out of the mixture, and roll it into little balls. Put 2 or 3 of the balls into a little plastic sandwich baggie, and leave the baggie open. Place the bag(s) anyplace you have
roaches, like inside cabinets or drawers or under the sink. The roaches will eat it and take it back to their nests to feed all their children and friends where they will die.
This stuff isn’t toxic but you don’t want to eat it or have a pet eat it just to be safe – I put mine in closets that stay closed, under the sinks and other places my pets can’t get into. Also, it’s really inexpensive. We got a huge thing of Borax at Target for about $3
I got this from this web site that has a bunch of great information on using non-toxic substances in your home (or anywhere!)
http://www.toxicfreenc.org
here’s a fact sheet with a bunch of natural recipes:
http://www.toxicfreenc.org/informed/factsheets/recipes.html
I don’t have any solutions but I sure hope you find some soon. I would just die if I had to live with the thought that they could be crawling into bed… checking into the nearest hotel ASAP! :) But I know it’s beyond your control and it’s just how it is in the south… I hope someone can find some remedies for you soon, for your sanity and peace of mind first and foremost!
living in florida, we’ve always had to be cautious about pest control. my suggestion? do MORE than you think you’ll need, because the problem is usually WORSE than you suspect. i would not only call in professional experts, but check to make sure than they have some type of guarantee — not to mention excellent referrals. make sure that they treat the outside AND the inside of your home. also, try storing ALL food in airtight containers or in your refrigerator. we take several precautions in addition to bi-monthly professional treatments; spraying on our own and treating our dogs are just a couple. good luck!
kelly
We just moved into a rental in Southern Indiana and we’re dealing with the same problem. We bombed the house before moving in and we set out traps. That didn’t work.
We have Borax sprinkled in every closet & cupboard and around the floor boards. It’s a white powder found in the laundry aisle. Roaches supposedly hate it and it’s not harmful to animals or children.
We were still seeing them though, so we just made our landlady get the house professionally sprayed. It cost $95.00 for one visit and they were there only 10 minutes, spraying the outside & the walls along the exterior of the house. We’ve seen a few live ones since the treatment, but they’re supposed to come back in 10 days. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that this works!
Don’t wait…call pest control professionals now. Those things multiply over night. You don’t want them getting into your appliances. They will ruin them! The cost of hiring a professional outweighs the cost of damage those horrible bugs can do.
I too had roach problems when we bought our house 9 months ago, they weren’t everywhere but enough for me to call someone to help because they are very hard to get rid of. “The Bug Man” came by and put bait around the house, now I have not seen one in many months. “The Bug Man” advised me to be patient because it takes a while for the roaches to eat the bait and then bring it back to their “nest”. They multiply so quickly, but not to worry they do eventually die!
**On another note, now we are seeing sentipedes (some dead in the basement…maybe they are eating left over roach bait…wow my house sounds really infested doesn’t it haha)
Does ANYONE know of a centipede remedy? They freak me out to no end, i usually find them in my basement, sometimes they crawl up the wall to our living room (again ewwww), ANY HELP is appreciated!!!
When I bought my home in April, I unfortunately moved into an already-occupied residence. Turns out the previous owner had a japanese roach problem in the kitchen, and never had it taken care of. I immediately hired a reputable pest control company who sprayed in the inside and outside of the house with a non-toxic solution…and things got worse! After 3 months, and 2 service appointments, I cancelled the pest control contract and opted for Raid bait traps and egg killers. Within 2 months, our roaches were gone and have not been seen since! Try the cheap option first, and if that doesn’t work, maybe then try pest control.
Roaches are not a result of having a dirty house! My husband and I live in a crampt apartment and overcrowding is more the cause than uncleanliness. If you see roaches during the day, you have a serious problem, since that means they are overcrowded inside your walls. First, buy some BORIC ACID. It works much better than Borax and is often labelled ‘Roach Killer’. Dust this behind every faceplate (to get inside the walls), along floor edges, inside cabinets. Do a light dusting because the idea is that the roach needs to walk over this powder in order for it to kill them. Sprinkle this too thickly and they will not walk over it. Then seal up any openings where the roaches could get from inside your walls to inside your living area. Be careful with boric acid if you have children or pets – do not dust where they may get into it. That said, this is still a much less toxic roach killer than commercial sprays.
We have roaches, too, and I just recently called the professionals out to kill them. They said the moky browns are easier to kill … the light brown/copperish ones are almost impossible to get rid of. So far, we’ve had some success … at least there are fewer of them.
I DO have a suggestion for ants, if anyone has those. Bay leaves are a natural ant repellant. If you place a few under your appliances, canisters, microwave, etc., it will keep the ants away.
Hey Katherine,
The bay leaf ant trick also worked for us! Here’s a post all about it: http://www.younghouselove.com/2009/05/ants-in-my-pans/
xo,
Sherry
I live in bug infested South Florida, and I have three children, two of whom are autistic, so I’ve tried to not have poisons be a part of my home. I’ve had a lot of success with Black and Decker electronic pest repellers, which plug into outlets in your rooms. We still see the occasional palmetto bug (which is a roach so large you can actually HEAR it crawling!), but for the most part, it works very well.
call in a professional. i grew up in arizona and they weren’t around in the colder months, that’s when they were nesting, but come summer, they were EVERYWHERE. we sprayed multiple times and they are so resilient that you just have to continue to spray. My parents have lived in their house for 20 years and they continue to spray every 3 months in the off season and every month during the summer.
Make it part of your budget. Get it started sooner rather than later.
I smirked when I read this post. We lived in Texas for three years and every one else talked about how horrible the roaches were. We never saw even one. We found out why when we prepared to move to Wyoming and took our cat up to the new place a few weeks before our final vacate date. Turns out, Ben-Ben the monster cat had been hunting all the nasty bugs and kept our house clean of them. Once he was gone, we had a serious problem. My husband even said he had seen Ben stalking the bugs at night. Gross, yes. A cure for roaches, maybe. But we haven’t had problems with bugs or mice thanks to our wonderful cat.
i’m no help…i’m all about the pest control. we have a contract where they come out 4 times a year and get all the critters, creepy crawlies and the like. they use a product that is safe around kids and pets (to an extent – obviously they don’t want to ingest it) – they can play outside and i don’t have to worry about our cats. we don’t have a roach problem – but lots of fleas in the area so it’s the only way to stay on top of it. i would recommend calling a pest control company and asking what solutions they offer for eco-friendly or less toxic solutions. i’ve never had pest control in the home, but would certainly be hesitant to use commercial sprays that could be harmful. good luck!
No useful advise here, but consider me emphathetic. I used to live in the south and bugs were common. A large fat spider once scared my 60 pound dog.
Just thinking of the roach crawling on you makes my skin crawl!! I live near a forset/park and we get these camel crickets (grasshopper spiders) and I woke up to one crawling across my face! Needless to say I left and spent the next few nights somewhere else lol http://www.jacobgrier.com/blog/archives/803.html/comment-page-3
I had someone come in and do a quick spray, but you could probably do it yourself. This site has some instructions on how to kill different critters http://www.epestsupply.com/cockroaches.htm. A more natural way to kill some bugs is to use peppermint oil. Some people put it on plants or around areas where bugs get in. I have it burning at night so that they will stay out. I haven’t seen any grasshopper spiders since then (about 2 weeks ago).
I would totally barf if I had to dispose of a giant bag of roaches. It makes me shiver just thinking about it. But I think if it’s non-toxic and I had a real problem I would do it.
Wow, i’m relieved (and a little grossed out) that i’m not the only one – yes these are palemtto bugs. We’re going to patch some of the cracks up this evening and I need to spray around the outside of my house again. I’m definitely going to buy this boric acid stuff. We’re getting a puppy very very soon so i’ll have to be extra careful which is why i am so interested in the non-toxic remedies. I loved the “get a cat” comment too. Maybe i’ll borrow a friends cat for a few days:) Thanks so much for all of these comments and ideas!!! My husband said – did you tell them that we’ve been here for 3-4 months and have “only” seen 5. I told him that was 5 too many!! :)
My family is in the pest control industry, and I will tell you that if roaches are crawling on you in your sleep, you probably have a pretty bad infestation. Maybe you can hire a professional to get the problem under wraps, and then use the natural remedies for maintenance? Depending on the severity of the issue, it may hard to do by yourself. Even with a professional it can take a while since they reproduce like crazy.
For what it’s worth, your cleanliness has nothing to do with having a roach problem. You most likely brought eggs in on a box if you recently moved. Roaches thrive near water sources and places that are dark and damp. If you do try to take care of the issue yourself, in addition to the more obvious areas, be sure to also bait under your counter by the sink, and behind the fridge.
I’m not a professional (my family would probably get a good chuckle at me talking about roach control), but these are just some things that I’ve heard from growing up around the industry.
We have the same problem in Alabama. We bought Home Defense system spray from Home Depot. You can spray it inside and outside your house. It worked for us and is much cheaper than a pest control service! I think you can get it at Lowes too!!
We live in DC in a 100 year old house and we have a mouse problem. We’ve tried sticky traps, snap traps, humane electrocution mouse death chambers and cayenne pepper and never caught or killed a mouse. I’m allergic to cats otherwise that would have been my next purchase! We’ve resorted to D-Con poison pellets. I don’t know if it’s killed any of them but I’m seeing less evidence of mice- though they are still around. Does anyone have any other suggestions? What brand of sound device works (and you can’t actually hear it?)
My husband’s grandmother would put half/half of borax and icing sugar to get rid of the roaches (they lived on St. Simon’s in Georgia.) The roaches are attracted to the sweetness of the icing sugar but the mixture turns into cement in their stomachs. This stops them from drinking water and they die. It can take up to two weeks for them to die but it really works. We had some in our garage and I put little piles of this concoction all around and I haven’t seen any roaches in months.
I read somewhere that a roach can survive for one year on a drop of water the size of a pin-head, food is optional.
We had a scare when we had someone spend the night over our house and they brought a video gaming system that was filled with roaches. I called a pest control company and they came out right away. I asked the pest control guy if I would need a reoccuring appointment and he said no, he would only need to treat them this one time and I would never see them again!!! The old way of treating roaches was to spray pesticides all through the house. Now, they use roach gel and it’s toxic free. He put the gel under my kitchen sink, in our ac vents, behind the refrigerator and stove. We’ve never seen a bug since his treatments! I’ve seen the roach gel in Walmart for like $5.00 a tube. Don’t hestitate to call a pest control company – most of them have updated their services with non-toxic treatments. Good Luck
Bethany, was the “electrocution death chamber” a Rat Zapper, by any chance?
I haven’t had a mice issue but I read real raves about that product online, though the right bait is supposed to be key (peanut butter, I think?). I made a mental note of the Rat Zapper in case I ever need it, because I grew up with glue traps, and can’t shake the memories of those awful traps!
Hi:
I should mention that if you have pets that you cannot let them get into this mixture.
(Half Borax and icing sugar rememdy.)
Well, if you’ve only seen five, then perhaps try the natural remedies :).
I grew up in Texas, where roaches are huge and live everywhere (especially in older houses). My grandmother started using a homemade roach bait that consisted of boric acid and bacon grease (and possibly sugar?), which she rolled up into little balls and stuck in all the baseboard corners of the rooms. They last a long time – I don’t think she had to make new ones more than once a year or so – and we had pretty much zero roach sightings after that.
I don’t know if this has been said yet but roaches also eat the glue found in card board. Make sure you have no card board in the house. Especially if you just moved in and have extra boxes around…they could find a good home in there. I’ve also read that for every one roach you can see there may be up to 200 living in your house that you don’t see…eww!
Don’t think twice. Call in the professionals. I, too, live in GA. When I moved here 3 years ago, I had HUGE roaches. Finally, called them after I killed 3 scorpions, 2 black widow spiders, several little spiders, 3 copperhead snakes and one 3 foot long timber rattlesnake. I’ve lived in 8 states and this is the worse places for critters that I’ve ever lived. You MUST have termite inspection every year, brick house or not. Call the pros, ASAP, because if you have seen one, you have a lot in the walls that you can’t see. (I personally didn’t kill the snakes, I hired someone to do that!) But it has killed my interest in working in the yard which I used to love. Good luck.
another vote for “GET A CAT” from me. i grew up in a roach-infested apt which freaked me out (and scarred me for life) until we got a cat and every morning we found dead roaches all over the kitchen floor… then lesss.. then less.. then there was none at all.
I have two cats as a precaution right now. I always tell my husband, if I see ONE roach in the house (I live in Texas), I’m moving out.
I feel your pain….pests seem to be a problem in our 1970′s split level home. :( Between fleas and pantry moths, the fun never stops!
If anyone has some good suggestions to get rid of EITHER or BOTH (preferably) that would be great. We have tried EVERYTHING, including an exterminator. :(
As for the roaches…have you tried calling an exteriminator? Not that they helped us but you never know!
I relocated to Georgia 10 years ago and nearly lost my mind over the “palmetto bug” problem…..you just don’t see roaches of that size farther north where I’m originally from.
What I’ve found to be VERY effective is a combo of “Ortho Home Defense Max” http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000A0LFLS
AND “Combat Quick Kill Large Roach Bait” http://www.amazon.com/Combat-Quick-Large-Roach-Insecticide/dp/B00275BNYS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1257789259&sr=8-2…be diligent at following directions on the labels and replacing/re-spraying as recommended and this will truly help immensely.
Best wishes!!!
I too live in GA. You need to call in professionals. Trust me when I say you can do everything suggested and you’ll still need them. It sounds like they are in the walls. We had a neighbor who tried to handle the situation on her own and the roaches actually started getting in her appliances. She finally called in the big guns! They had to come out to her home once a week for 5 weeks to kill all of them and keep them from coming back. I wish you luck with this. I can only imagine how you must feel!
Sometimes it isn’t the fact that the house is older, but that the plumbing in the neighborhood is older. A few years back (before we lived in our neighborhood) some work was done on the plumbing lines and the older homes had roaches coming up their drains. The solution? Pour a little straight bleach down your drains and into your toilets every evening for a few days. The little dirtbags will choose another drain to explore if yours smells like bleach! Good luck.
I live in Houston, where roaches are EVERYWHERE. The picture in the post isn’t even a real bug, and I still have the creepy-crawlies just looking at it. I second the comment above that the problem is most likely worse than you think it is.
The only way we have found to get rid of them, and to keep them out, is regular pest control. We had one service that came every three months. We took a short break (from the payments) when that company went out of business. Several months later, I saw a couple in the house and called a new service. Turns out that short break was enough time for them to set up camp in our attic and garage – the new service called it an “infestation.” Yuck!
The service we have now comes every two months and only treats the outside of the house, which cuts down on the chemicals inside the house. I think they treat inside once or twice a year. While I hate spending money on it every month, it is definitely worth it.
Good luck – I totally feel your pain.
Buy a spray container – http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31wES4SHNsL.jpg – and some BIFEN – http://www.pestproductsonline.com/products/Bifen_IT_multi_use_insecticide_3_sizes-2-1.html
This product was recommended to me a few years ago by a co-worker who is knowledgeable about pesticides, etc. He said this is one of the safer items out there today. This stuff is great … potent and lasts a long time. We used it and all the bugs went away (to bug heaven).
i live in GA, too, but my cat enjoys roach-hunting, so we don’t really have a problem. :)
ok, I love this blog I read it almost every day- and I’m am totally trying to go “green” on everything- with that being said I do have to say you need an exterminator for this! My dad has his own exterminating business and I worked for him for 2 years, and growing up with it. Roaches are the kind of bug that only comes when there is food around- they DO NOT “get into” food- it’s all crumbs and stuff left out. Also if your neighbor had/has roaches and has/had them treated then they will run, so they could have come to your place from another home, or if you bought furniture or appliances that are not new in box’s, also the previous owners could have had them, it has nothing to do with the age of your home. You NEED to have it treated from a professional; you CAN NOT get them to leave without it. You need to take everything out of the kitchen and completely clean it all out! Then you need to have someone come treat it, and it will/ can take up to 3-4 months to get rid of the problem and that is if you clean every day, and have them out monthly until they are gone, they are extremely hard to get rid of.
They live in appliances, anything that plugs in, they will be in your microwave, toaster, and especially behind your fridge, also in small places, like baseboards, or tiny holes.
Also I must say that the insecticides that my father uses- which if the exterminator you get follows the guidelines- are not harmful, they have made certain guidelines so they are not as strong as they used to be- granted if after the exterminator left you went and licked it, you could get sick, but they should treat around your baseboards and once that is dry there is no harm. Drying takes maybe 3 min. and then they will probably treat the roaches with a gel that the roaches will eat and will kill them. It’s not as bad as everyone seems to think!
Hope this helps- like I said they are hard to get rid of and a home remedy will not do! Also make sure you have roaches and not water bugs- they are two different things… Even though people think they are the same- water bugs will be in your drains and look a little different then roaches. They aren’t as hard to get rid of!
We had a problem with roaches the first few months we lived in our South Carolina home (it had been unoccupied for at least 6 months…). Where I was from up north they aren’t a problem unless you are unclean…or at least that’s what I was raised believing. So when I found one in our house…and then two…not only did my house smell like bleach, but I also wiped out the local supply of rubbermaid- well I did some research after my deep clean only to find that they are extremely common down in the south. All my coworkers must have thought I was a crazy yankee who had never seen a bug- because I half whispered that I had roaches when I was explaining my perdicament! I talked to more than one native southerner that said that where there was one or at least two, there were often many many more. I called a local and trusted professional in my area and (knock on wood) haven’t seen a one since. One of my friends tried some product from the local home improvement store just a few weeks ago, and I got a text last week saying she had found two more live roaches…so I’m glad I did what I did, even though I hate spending that kind of money, it was worth it!
Boric Acid! Blanket the edges of your house with it. It will definitely kill them. Check to see if it’s safe to use inside with pets.
We also caulked and plugged up every hole and crack we could find.
Rake up leaves and don’t leave dead wet things in your yard, they love this!
If you have a crawl space, dump a bottle of boric acid in there also.
If they are crawling on you at night, like a previous poster said, the problem is probably worse than you think. We had this happen and once we looked around, we found that they were everywhere!
I second Rachel’s idea – get a cat!
I used to use a combination of roach baits and Ortho Home Defense as recommended by Allison. When we got our cat I stopped because I realized he was catching roaches and didn’t want him getting poisoned too. Whereas before we used to still see roaches from time to time, now we never see or hear them. It keeps the cat from getting bored too :-)
Sorry about your problem.
Look up DIATOMACEOUS EARTH.
Sorry — I posted before I was done. Diatomaceous earth is supposed to be nontoxic to humans and pets. I think it kind of kills the bugs from the outside in. We used it for centipedes (YUCK!). I THINK it may have worked, not sure. I put it around the outside of the house and around baseboards, in the basement, etc. It can be found in GARDEN CENTERS. DO NOT get the kind they use to filter pools — that one IS TOXIC.
We had the same problem in our home in NC. Everyone around us hired professionals to treat often but with little babies in the house we opted against it. Instead we did a barrier of pesticide outside of the house (it comes in a sprinkle can) and otherwise just kept everything as clean as you normally would with the exception of keeping our food in canisters and containers rather than boxes. We liked to keep our windows open and we noticed more of a problem after they had been open for a day or so, but, other than that we had to catch and release one every few weeks. Like you said, you aren’t dirty, it’s just kind of the way things are in that climate. Still yucky to deal with though.
Good luck with the bugs!
I’m in CT and we just had a few what we think are stink bugs in our house (let me know if its something else). They are big, look like grasshopers, but don’t hop and they crawl up the walls. I’ve never seen anything like it in MA where I am from. Does anyone know anything about these nasty bugs? Should I be worried that they are in the walls? Or is it just the cold that caused them to come in?
Use Erin’s recipe way up at the top. I would suggest at least TRYING to do something that doesn’t involve heavy chemicals first. If it doesn’t help you can always bring in the big guns.
Unlike some people have commented, Borax IS harmful to people and animals, so don’t put it where they’ll eat it or lick it.
Buy a spray container – http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31wES4SHNsL.jpg – and some BIFEN – http://www.pestproductsonline.com/products/Bifen_IT_multi_use_insecticide_3_sizes-2-1.html
This product was recommended to me a few years ago by a co-worker who is knowledgeable about pesticides, etc. He said this is one of the safer items out there today. This stuff is great … potent and lasts a long time. We used it and all the bugs went away (to bug heaven).
It’s the only thing we’ll use now and a bottle (1 pint) lasts forever as it is concentrated.
Here’s a link that explains the ingredient – http://www.domyownpestcontrol.com/bifenthrin-c-114_116.html
Five would be too many for me too, Rebekah! A few years back, I lived in an apartment for 5 months that got infested (due to overcrowding). From the research I did on roaches, I seem to remember that the roaches travel through poorly structured or improperly maintained buildings (so through the walls) and also through the pipes! So just patching up your walls might not be enough! I was away for Christmas when the roaches infested my apartment (so glad it wasn’t me who found them), but the infestation occurred when our kitchen sink backed up…..water flooded the sink and floor, and apparently, my friend’s boyfriend said the roaches were doing laps in our kitchen sink. So gross. I actually never returned to that apartment…..luckily the poor management allowed us to break our lease. Apparently our neighbors upstairs had been living with this problem for a year, and the apartment complex brought in someone to spray on a weekly basis. From what I’ve learned, spraying the baseboards is not enough….to properly eliminate roaches, the entire building needs to be evacuated and fully bombed.
One thing to note is that roaches carry their eggs on their backs. So if you step on one to kill it, you may get eggs onto the bottom of your shoe, which will then be spread throughout the house….
After close to a year living in our NC home we started to notice roaches and spiders in the house. So my husand bought some liquid that you put in a spray bottle and sprayed the whole outside of the house… concentrating arround windows and doors the most. And then we used some bug bombs and put a bomb in every room of the house.
End result… we found like 6 [mini & big] dead roaches in the house. And soon after every morning I would find a new roach that is belly up on the floor. But after maybe 2 weeks of the bombing… I never saw a single one in the house again…. however lizards was a different story!
I don’t know the brand of the things we bought but it came from Home Depot.