[StarfishKey]

Be mindful not to have more chemicals than the roaches were doing you harm in the first place. I kept my place clean and dry (they will seek water in droughts around plumbing), vacuumed regularly to be sure there were no droppings, put out a few traps, and lined my apartment room perimeters with upside-down tape a few times a year to be certain that I did not have a bad infestation. I never caught more than one, and often none at all. I never saw more than one maybe every 4 months outside of the tape attempts, either. I never sprayed even once, and my health is better for it.

I would have called for an exterminator though if there had been evidence of a bed infestation. And then I probably would have moved, because the exterminator is not going to clean out the air ducts and everything for you, and the droppings are really bad to breathe in regularly with the air conditioning. Living with monthly bombings is very unhealthy. Roaches are not actually worse than lizards or anything else, just try to keep them out of the house and away from the perimeter of your home as much as possible, keeping in mind that this is their natural habitat and just like ants or anyhing else, they will get in from time to time. They're not going to harm you, as long as you don't give them the opportunity to mess up your air quality. But if you keep spraying poison into your house, you're doing that anyway.

Mosquitoes have far more potential to give you a serious disease, and cause pain, but people are not nearly as afraid of them as cockroaches. You can control the impact of both on you up to a certain extent - but again, this is Florida, it comes with the territory and you need to accept that if you're moving here.

I am in SFL, and I am grateful that the ones I've seen at least are not as bad as those I've seen in Central America, in the rainforest. The cockroaches that I have found in FL don't fly, and are only around 2 inches long - only half the size of their Southern cousins. When you go to sleep in the country in Central America, all you hear all night long is slap slap slap slap as they smack themselves back and forth against all the walls while these blackish brownish things the size of small rats fly clumsily right over your bed, eventually falling on you a bunch of times before getting up and flying off again and smacking yet another wall and falling down again. Then you get to listen to the bang bang bang of iguanas crawling under the corrugated tin roofs all night, and as they crawl over each other repeatedly hit the metal over your head with their spines. Then you get up to take a walk because you can't sleep, and as you fumble for the light in the hallway to the outdoors, you almost touch a 6," fat wolf spider hanging out next to the switch on the wall. Then you head out the door to get a breath of fresh air and you just miss stepping on a Fer-de-lance snake hanging out under the doorstep, the most poisonous snake in Central America. [This was an actual single night I had, not even an exaggeration.]

See, now that you know what Central America is like, Florida doesn't seem so bad, right? 3 cockroaches a year looking for nothing but a quick sip of water and then to run away from you, a few mosquitoes that don't tend to carry things like malaria or yellow fever as they do in other countries - just an itchy bite, and rarely any dangerous encounters in your own house unless you keep a pet viper (please don't - they get loose). Especially if you live in a city and not in a tent in the Everglades, critters are certainly here, but are unlikely to pose any major threat to you.

[Enigma777]

I think you will find that they are mostly outside and near the water. We had some in our garage once, but got rid of them fairly easy. Watch where you sit by the water at night (on docks, etc.). We only saw them in the house once--after a two week vacation with no AC in the house. They like it hot and humid. I've seen the exact same bugs same size called "water bugs" in NYC and they fly there also.

[Enigma777]

Originally Posted by Christinerica

I heard George Zimmerman is opening a pest control company down there..."Stand your ground Pest removal" he specializes in the application of 9mm pest control.

He only goes after the ones wearing hoodies.

[StarfishKey]

Originally Posted by Enigma777

I think you will find that they are mostly outside and near the water. .

That is not true in SFL if you live near the Everglades - you'll get more the closer you are to the edge of it, which usually is very inland, like West Kendall in Miami. Now I'm living in the Keys right on the waterfront, and I have seen a few in the yard early in the morning under a pile of leaves, but I live in a stilt house and have never seen a single one nor any evidence of one in the house. The inspection didn't turn up any either. I hope, hope, hope to keep it that way... but who knows. Once they get in the walls, they're in. I'm glad so far they've been too lazy to bother to climb all that way...

I think it depends on how close you are to where they naturally live (or urban infestations), but also on food availability, and weather conditions - during drought, and flooding, they tend to come in.

[chopchop0]

I've found them to be less common near the beachside, also less bugs in general there

[jambo101]

Some are so big you may as well give em a name and keep them as a family pet..
Or you can do the usual routine.
Violet & Me trying to handle the World's Biggest Palmetto Bug (what happens when Noelle leaves) - YouTube

[The b8nk]

Originally Posted by Christinerica

I heard George Zimmerman is opening a pest control company down there..."Stand your ground Pest removal" he specializes in the application of 9mm pest control.

No he specializes in the removal of gangsta wanna be cockroaches....

[Sugah Ray]

Originally Posted by Cblake11

Ok, so we are moving soon to Florida and the one issue that people keep bringing to my attention is the ginormus cockroaches! Are they really such a huge problem, and if so, what can be done about them?

Yes they are a problem. Calking your baseboards, windows and wall cracks usually is enough to keep them outside your home.

Some fly. It's nasty.

[unquiltom]

I have a lot of Muscovy ducks that hang out in my neighborhood. Most people try to chase them off because they poop a lot. I feed them and give them water to drink and in return, they do a great job at keeping the bug population in check. I've seen them fight with each other trying to get at a palmetto bug when they land in my driveway.

[Florida or Bust....]

Muscovy duck..... Hmmmm, I think I have had them for dinner a few times.