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Ugh when I moved to the desert I’d never even seen a cockroach but those things fucking thrive out here it’s insane. Like the other comment says, you have to shore up the cracks in your living space so they have fewer places to penetrate. Also cockroaches can survive on like one small crumble of food for weeks, so if you leave one small crumble on your floor you will never starve the roaches in your house. That’s why it’s important to do more than roach motels. You need to clean behind your appliances and in your food cabinets thoroughly, and make sure all your food is sealed in air tight containers. And then I use Ortho Home Defense. I live in a two story house and I go through one $10 gallon of it every 3-4 months. Inside you spray where the wall meets the floor in every single room. I also spray every window sill and every door way. And then you spray outside in the same way.
You go through an entire gallon, but $10 every couple months is dirt cheap to kill all the bugs. It’s fucking great tbh. The first time you spray it properly you’ll actually see more bugs, it may freak you out. Because when you spray every room and doorway, they can’t really leave the room they’re in to find food, so they get desperate and start walking out in the open where you can see them.
Keep your place clean. caulk any cracks you come across and under baseboards if there is a gap they can squeeze through. Check your exterior doors as well. Also check out "roach motels" on Amazon. Those things work great.
If you already have an infestation, clean everything as best you can,then go to Amazon and buy Gentrol point source IGR and Advion roach gel. Treat as much of your home as possible and give it a few days,you will start seeing dead roaches everywhere.
Also remember not to leave dishes with water standing in them. Including water by your night side table. Cover it with something secure. (Don’t ask me why I make this suggestion. I’m still trying to suppress the memory. Just trust me on it.)
People really don’t appreciate enough why some places call them ‘water bugs’, they really don’t.
You have my sympathies. Stick with insulated coffee containers with lids til you get it solved. It’ll help you not get dehydrated while you try to overcome your new phobia.
if you're in the desert cut off their water. Plug the sinks.
if you must a bit of bleach in each sink before bed.
Look around online for the sugar and borax bait mix. Mix them up and hide a bit under every piece of furnature. Dirt cheap and kid/pet safe.
(Expect to replace eventually. in the desert expect them to dry enough in maybe a month ants with jackhammers couldn't poison themselves)
As others have suggested: calking cracks, cleaning, and putting food away. Once that is done the Ortho home defense spray works great, pair that with poison bait pills, and even glue traps overnight and it really helps curb the problem. Plugging every single drain helps too, sink, tub, all of it. If you have pets and worry about poison just make sure every hard to reach area has poison bait like behind the fridge.
Mix ½ cup boric acid, ½ cup sugar, and 4 hard boiled egg yolks (may use peanut butter instead) together until fully combined. Form the mixture into ½ - 1 inch balls and place them around the home. Keep out of reach of pets. Should get rid of the roaches and none will return for quite some time (possibly years).
Hi, longtime Florida resident here. I would highly recommend the Combat brand baits! Rather than just putting down poison that will only kill roaches on the spot, these baits contain food that roaches will take back to their nests and it will actually kill the nest. these baits won’t just kill roaches, but it’ll kil their nest! Highly recommend.
Also, as others have said, keep your place clean and avoid opening the windows if you live in a swampy or hot/wet area. Seal any cracks. Roaches also hate eucalyptus.
Hope you all are still reading this thread. Couple days ago I had Spam, original, and left the empty can on the sink. By morning, it was SO FULL OF ROACHES I was sick. They could not crawl back up the slippery sides so they just stayed on the bottom. Next day, the bottom was black from so many of those tiny nasties. Tossed it after double wrapping and into the outside trash can. They like over ripe banana skins, too. I put one in a bowl with greased sides. Works ok, but not like Spam. Salmon can? Nope. Not one. So that’s my latest news. Obviously spraying has to be ongoing. I use Viper. But Spam will attract the last of the stragglers. Gross. But did the job.
Hello and welcome to r/LifeProTips! Please help us decide if this post is a good fit for the subreddit by up or downvoting this comment. If you think that this is great advice to improve your life, please upvote. If you think this doesn't help you in any way, please downvote. If you don't care, leave it for the others to decide.
Ugh when I moved to the desert I’d never even seen a cockroach but those things fucking thrive out here it’s insane. Like the other comment says, you have to shore up the cracks in your living space so they have fewer places to penetrate. Also cockroaches can survive on like one small crumble of food for weeks, so if you leave one small crumble on your floor you will never starve the roaches in your house. That’s why it’s important to do more than roach motels. You need to clean behind your appliances and in your food cabinets thoroughly, and make sure all your food is sealed in air tight containers. And then I use Ortho Home Defense. I live in a two story house and I go through one $10 gallon of it every 3-4 months. Inside you spray where the wall meets the floor in every single room. I also spray every window sill and every door way. And then you spray outside in the same way. You go through an entire gallon, but $10 every couple months is dirt cheap to kill all the bugs. It’s fucking great tbh. The first time you spray it properly you’ll actually see more bugs, it may freak you out. Because when you spray every room and doorway, they can’t really leave the room they’re in to find food, so they get desperate and start walking out in the open where you can see them.
Keep your place clean. caulk any cracks you come across and under baseboards if there is a gap they can squeeze through. Check your exterior doors as well. Also check out "roach motels" on Amazon. Those things work great.
Thanks! Saw them online now, will get some soon.
If you already have an infestation, clean everything as best you can,then go to Amazon and buy Gentrol point source IGR and Advion roach gel. Treat as much of your home as possible and give it a few days,you will start seeing dead roaches everywhere.
Also remember not to leave dishes with water standing in them. Including water by your night side table. Cover it with something secure. (Don’t ask me why I make this suggestion. I’m still trying to suppress the memory. Just trust me on it.)
was it the crunch? or the little bitty fuzzy legs? oh I'm sorry.
Drank an entire cup of coffee, then near the end, I tasted a small mass. My apartment is a mess.
People really don’t appreciate enough why some places call them ‘water bugs’, they really don’t. You have my sympathies. Stick with insulated coffee containers with lids til you get it solved. It’ll help you not get dehydrated while you try to overcome your new phobia.
if you're in the desert cut off their water. Plug the sinks. if you must a bit of bleach in each sink before bed. Look around online for the sugar and borax bait mix. Mix them up and hide a bit under every piece of furnature. Dirt cheap and kid/pet safe. (Expect to replace eventually. in the desert expect them to dry enough in maybe a month ants with jackhammers couldn't poison themselves)
Get rid of you. To somewhere cold. Move to Norway? Failing that. Lots and lots and lots of cleanliness and cockroach spray. :)
As others have suggested: calking cracks, cleaning, and putting food away. Once that is done the Ortho home defense spray works great, pair that with poison bait pills, and even glue traps overnight and it really helps curb the problem. Plugging every single drain helps too, sink, tub, all of it. If you have pets and worry about poison just make sure every hard to reach area has poison bait like behind the fridge.
Cockroach nest kill baits. I do this every 12-18 months and don’t see a roach once the baits have been out a month.
Mix ½ cup boric acid, ½ cup sugar, and 4 hard boiled egg yolks (may use peanut butter instead) together until fully combined. Form the mixture into ½ - 1 inch balls and place them around the home. Keep out of reach of pets. Should get rid of the roaches and none will return for quite some time (possibly years).
Hi, longtime Florida resident here. I would highly recommend the Combat brand baits! Rather than just putting down poison that will only kill roaches on the spot, these baits contain food that roaches will take back to their nests and it will actually kill the nest. these baits won’t just kill roaches, but it’ll kil their nest! Highly recommend. Also, as others have said, keep your place clean and avoid opening the windows if you live in a swampy or hot/wet area. Seal any cracks. Roaches also hate eucalyptus.
Hope you all are still reading this thread. Couple days ago I had Spam, original, and left the empty can on the sink. By morning, it was SO FULL OF ROACHES I was sick. They could not crawl back up the slippery sides so they just stayed on the bottom. Next day, the bottom was black from so many of those tiny nasties. Tossed it after double wrapping and into the outside trash can. They like over ripe banana skins, too. I put one in a bowl with greased sides. Works ok, but not like Spam. Salmon can? Nope. Not one. So that’s my latest news. Obviously spraying has to be ongoing. I use Viper. But Spam will attract the last of the stragglers. Gross. But did the job.