[rusty78]

[quote=mango23;14487572]That is not entirely true. The same with my suggestion of the boric acid. Roaches have been around for millions of years and they have interesting abilities to survive. When a roach is poisoned if it has a chance it expels an egg pod. So in effect for every roach you manage to kill dozens will replace it. I am pretty sure that even if it doesn't expel the pod the eggs will hatch inside the mother and the young roaches will consume her as their first meal.
Have you ever seen the movie "the Hellstrom Chronicle"?

For some reason the roaches cannot process baking soda/boric acid...and as a result it binds them up and they return to the nest to die...when they get into the mixture the baking soda sticks to their legs and they carry a certain amount back to the nest with them...that their buddies will also eat...and suffer the same fate...

When the young are born/hatch whatever...they will eat the mother and also digest the baking soda and suffer the same fate...but hell...it worked for me..but maybe your roaches have built up a tolerance...

[mango23]

[quote=rusty78;14487798]

Originally Posted by mango23

That is not entirely true. The same with my suggestion of the boric acid. Roaches have been around for millions of years and they have interesting abilities to survive. When a roach is poisoned if it has a chance it expels an egg pod. So in effect for every roach you manage to kill dozens will replace it. I am pretty sure that even if it doesn't expel the pod the eggs will hatch inside the mother and the young roaches will consume her as their first meal.
Have you ever seen the movie "the Hellstrom Chronicle"?

For some reason the roaches cannot process baking soda/boric acid...and as a result it binds them up and they return to the nest to die...when they get into the mixture the baking soda sticks to their legs and they carry a certain amount back to the nest with them...that their buddies will also eat...and suffer the same fate...

When the young are born/hatch whatever...they will eat the mother and also digest the baking soda and suffer the same fate...but hell...it worked for me..but maybe your roaches have built up a tolerance...

Yea, that is the idea to have them take the stuff back to the nest. The boric acid gets on them as they walk through it. That's why you put it by the base boards where they scurry along. They eat the boric acid as they clean themselves. You don't really want to put out any bate that attracts them even if it kills them. The reason is, more will keep coming because they think they have found a food source.

Roaches are really interesting. They use something like GPS to find food. If you have a few roaches around it is fun to watch. You can through a piece of food out in the middle of the floor and in a short time one will smell it and show up, it doesn't yet know where the food is though. It will come out and you will see it testing the air with it's antenna. Then it will move a foot of so and do it again. After a few tests it will walk directly to the food. It triangulated on the source of the smell. It's amazing to watch and they do it every time without a miss.

[rusty78]

Mango23...you can use the food to find them...me I'll use the baking soda mix...for I am looking to get rid of them...perhaps one day we will meet for a drink...I will bring one from NY...you one from your area...we'll put out some food and see which one finds it first...have fun

[Miles Vineyards]

Having lived up north and in Florida I understand your problem. It is like up here some people are terrified by a little mouse. I have had one run across my chest as I was lying in bed, cute little guys. I would live trap them and release them. My wife said I might as well name them as they will find a way back in. Now the Palmetto bugs are a differant story. When we first moved to Florida we renting a small house near the beach, it had a big time bug problem. I found what I thought were mice turds on top of the kitchen cabinets and at night heard crunching sounds coming from the kitchen. I set mice traps with no luck so one night I snuck into the dark kitchen and heard all this crunching going on and flicked on the light to see a large number of these things running and flying. They were not that evident during the day and I just thought the dog was eating more. It is not funny to wake up to find one of these ugly bugs sitting on your chest with his "Whiskers) tickling your nose. There is one sure cure. Call the exterminator, find a place to stay for a day or so and they tent off and seal the house and kill everyone of those suckers and then sign a periodically inspection agreement. Once you build a new home or update you will probably not have a severe problem but depending on the area it is cheap insurance to have the home inspected periodically. Yes to the person who suggested a moisture problem as this was an old "Cracker Style" house that had a lot of dry rot but chose it because it was temp and the right location.

[bugsbegone]

If you see a Palmetto bug in your home or outside, the quickest way to kill it is to use a solution of dish washing liquid and water.....if it's warm water or hot water, it will kill them in seconds flat! It MUST be dish soap though....it eats away their exoskeleton and they die on contact (they flip over on their backs and they kick away until they kick the bucket)

[jambo101]

For those that are wondering about Palmetto bugs heres a lfesize pic



Usually if you have an infestation of these things you need to call an exterminator..

[ognend]

Originally Posted by lilred0005

With all the heat and rain, the Palmetto bugs(huge flying roaches) are back. Last night as I was walking down the hallway in my house I heard a strange fluttering noise. Yup, one flew over my head and this thing was like 3+ inches long. Unfortunately, I have a horrible, truly debilitating phobia of these things and now I feel like they are everywhere and I'm terrified! I have seen dozens outside and there's been about 3 inside. This is unacceptable, I need help. So, what can I do to rid my home of these things? Does anybody have experience getting rid of these things? Btw, I do have pets(2 dogs & 2 cats) that I don't want to accidentally poison. So please give me some advice as I'm getting desperate to evict these pests. Thanks in advance!

Boric acid is harmless to people but will keep these guys at bay.

I have read most of the comments in the thread and it is pretty sad. These bugs are here to stay, it is funny how people will move to an area and then try to exterminate everything. Someone said that their husband sprays something every 6-8 weeks - duh, you are voluntarily poisoning yourself. Calling an exterminator to spray around your house will kill everything else like toads, frogs, spiders etc. That's STUPID and INCONSIDERATE.

OD

[jambo101]

Originally Posted by ognend

Calling an exterminator to spray around your house will kill everything else like toads, frogs, spiders etc. That's STUPID and INCONSIDERATE.

OD

I agree with your sentiments but you wont find too many people who would live with an infestation of bugs just to avoid killing them and related wildlife in the process of extermination..
Personally i leave all the bugs outside alone,its the ones that come into the house that need to be destroyed.

[Wwanderer]

Originally Posted by flgoose

... An old men told me to get the silver dollar tree leaves and hide them everywhere in your house. So i figured what else i have to loose. I was amazed that this really worked.

I don't know this tree--can someone point me at a picture, or information about this?

Originally Posted by rusty78

A mix of baking soda and powdered sugar works every time......about a 25/75 to a 50/50 mix will do fine...(powdered sugar/baking soda)...the powdered sugar attracts them and the baking soda binds them up when they eat it..

Boric acid and sugar has been traditional in cities up here for decades.

Originally Posted by bugsbegone

If you see a Palmetto bug in your home or outside, the quickest way to kill it is to use a solution of dish washing liquid and water.....if it's warm water or hot water, it will kill them in seconds flat! It MUST be dish soap though....it eats away their exoskeleton and they die on contact (they flip over on their backs and they kick away until they kick the bucket)

Presumably you put this in a spray bottle? Of course, you wouldn't be able to keep that hot. How strong would the solution have to be?

I'm filing all these suggestions away. My mom used to use the pills that you left around and they worked. So far I've only seen one, and I'm hoping that in winter when we're there they won't be too bad, but I will find out in the fall!

[gypsychic]

Originally Posted by ognend

Boric acid is harmless to people but will keep these guys at bay.

I have read most of the comments in the thread and it is pretty sad. These bugs are here to stay, it is funny how people will move to an area and then try to exterminate everything. Someone said that their husband sprays something every 6-8 weeks - duh, you are voluntarily poisoning yourself. Calling an exterminator to spray around your house will kill everything else like toads, frogs, spiders etc. That's STUPID and INCONSIDERATE.

OD

I couldn't agree more! I hate it when people move here and want to exterminate everything! If more people would just leave nature alone it would take care of itself.

The boric acid works well for us for roaches/palmetto bugs, and I leave almost everything else alone (like spiders, which will eat a lot of the bad stuff!) I don't get too many critters in my house to begin with. The dish soap is also a great remedy as quoted above. People, quit poisoning yourselves and the environment!!!