Roach Infestation Nightmare, Help!! (Home Depot, stove, sink, living room)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Last week was one of the most hellish weeks of my life. I've lived in an apartment for two years, and for the first time, I was afraid to go home. I didn't want to turn on the kitchen light and see these awful creatures again. Somehow, my apartment has become almost completely infested with german cockroaches. I clean my kitchen regularly ,but my unit is the middle of a 9 unit building. No telling where they are coming from.
A week ago, I wasn't too freaked out. I saw one or two in my kitchen around the fridge. I did some research online and kept finding diatomaceous earth as a good supposedly safe effective solution. I went to Home Depot and bought a bag. First mistake. I didn't know there was a food grade version, and apparently my version is non-food grade and dangerous to breathe it. I got a small cup of the powder and chunked it around the sides of the fridge. Second mistake. It sent up a dust cloud and I ran out of the kitchen afraid that I had breathed in this stuff. Third mistake. I put down too much of it. I didn't see piles of dead roaches the next day. Instead I was horrified to see like 10 roaches crawling up on the sink and around the nearby walls. I killed everyone I saw and chunked more powder in my cabinets.
At this point, I called the landlord and told her my place was almost inhabitable. She said they would spray my apartment the next day. I was at work, and was dismayed to see more roaches and baby roaches crawling on the floor. Apparently the spray only stirred them up and pushed them into areas like my living room and laundry closet! Even worse, I saw them crawling inside my stove around the LED clock. Gross and freaky.
I left my apartment for the weekend and the management came in, and bombed it. This appears to have given me the upper hand. I didn't see roaches crawling everywhere last night, or one hiding underneath anything I pick up. My biggest problem is I don't know how to cook or eat anymore. For example, I thought I could just wash my dishes in soapy water first, then eat supper on them, and wash them again. But then I wondered if the roach had crawled on my wash cloth. Then it is contaminated. I bought all new wash cloths and thought I would immediately put them in ziplock bags. But after washing my dishes, the rag would mildew in the bag. I need to air dry it, and that means leaving it for roach exposure.
Another problem is my apartment has a lot of clutter. I don't have enough room for all my dvds and blu rays so I have a lot of cardboard boxes. I rented a storage building so I could move as much stuff out as possible. But then I found out that roaches love cardboard! I couldn't risk carrying a roach or eggs into the storage building. What's the best solution to move my books and movies? I am going to buy plastic totes, but I wonder if I should hand wipe every single movie in case a roach walked on it. Would rubbing alcohol work? Or am I being too paranoid? lol I just want my life back and not carrying roaches with me when I leave in May!
Read the sticky at the top of the forum. Also - the difference between food grade and regular DE is minimal. You do want to eliminate that clutter and cardboard if possible.
Thanks for the link. I was looking more for advice on how to approach eating and living with these damn bugs until they go away. After last night, it appears they have migrated from the kitchen to the living room around my computer. I'm worried they will crawl inside. I put plastic over it, but it feels like a lost cause. Is there any way to truly seal out the buggers? I put my blu rays in a cardboard box, sealed tight with clear mailing tape. I couldn't believe it. A roach had actually somehow climbed underneath the tape to the sticky part. If they can do that then they can slide inside the watertight plastic tote boxes I bought.
Then I saw one in my closet. I tried to kill it, but it feel right into my box of comics. Now I'm worried that I will have to throw out hundreds of dollars worth of comics. God I hate these things so much.
Clean and declutter your apartment, then keep it spotless and free of any sources of food or water. Otherwise you are creating the perfect environment for them.
Storage,
If you get all plastic storage boxes, chances are they won't get in them. They like cardboard to tuck into and lay eggs, can't do that in plastic. If you are worried about your collectibles put them in zip lock bags and then into plastic storage boxes. You have to get rid of every last cardboard box.
Kitchen,
start using paper towels. Throw them away.
Keep your garbage bag tied up and sealed at all times until you throw something in it. Keep your food in the cupboards in plastic boxes as well.
Keep your food in the fridge in zip lock bags and plastic boxes as well.
The bugs are looking for food, water and a place to snug into. Keep your home clean and dry without clutter.
Sounds hard but you get used to it. People in the tropics live with a certain amount of bugs and just get used to it. I've spent a lot of time in Hawaii and learned how to keep my unit pretty clean. Look at the Hawaii forum on this board, they are very familiar dealing with cockroaches: http://www.city-data.com/forum/oahu/...cockroach.html
Cockroach (apartment, lease, condo)
Wash all your food cans, bags and wrappers before throwing the in the garbage.
Seal throw away food in baggies if you don't have a garbage disposal.
Keep your trash can washed and cleaned inside and out, especially the bottom.
Put a stick up light that stays on in the cupboard that holds the trash.
Storage,
If you get all plastic storage boxes, chances are they won't get in them. They like cardboard to tuck into and lay eggs, can't do that in plastic. If you are worried about your collectibles put them in zip lock bags and then into plastic storage boxes. You have to get rid of every last cardboard box.
Kitchen,
start using paper towels. Throw them away.
Keep your garbage bag tied up and sealed at all times until you throw something in it. Keep your food in the cupboards in plastic boxes as well.
Keep your food in the fridge in zip lock bags and plastic boxes as well.
The bugs are looking for food, water and a place to snug into. Keep your home clean and dry without clutter.
Sounds hard but you get used to it. People in the tropics live with a certain amount of bugs and just get used to it. I've spent a lot of time in Hawaii and learned how to keep my unit pretty clean. Look at the Hawaii forum on this board, they are very familiar dealing with cockroaches: http://www.city-data.com/forum/oahu/...cockroach.html
Cockroach (apartment, lease, condo)
Great tips, thanks so much. I have been keeping my kitchen absolutely spotless, not even a crumb so they are probably migrating to the other areas with all the cardboard boxes. Getting rid of the clutter is my number one priority. I think tonight, I might just get rid of all the boxes and do a mass dump of everything into trash bags and then tie them up until I can get things transferred to the totes. That would at least get all the cardboard out of the house.
I do have some cardboard boxes of unopened pasta and crackers. Should I toss them as well?
If in doubt toss. My Mother in law tells stories of cockroaches laying their eggs in any liquids as well; coffee pots, water, tea.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
