Moving advice - cockroaches on the Westside / South Bay (Vista: apartment complexes, lease)

[danidanidani086]

Hi everyone! I'm moving in the next month or two and am looking for some advice regarding cockroaches and apartments.


I currently live in Playa del Rey (Falmouth Ave, south of Manchester) in an older apartment on the ground floor. The place seemed fine when I first moved in a year ago, but over the past year, there has definitely been a roach problem. It's awful and makes me anxious just thinking about it!


My number one priority for my next apartment (studio or 1x1) is a roach-free environment. But it's so hard to tell if a place is going to be roach-free for the next year just from a quick tour. I seriously can't deal with another year of this! I'd like to get others' advice on the prevalence of roaches (and other pests) in different Westside/South Bay areas, neighborhoods, apartment complexes, etc.


The areas I am looking to move to include Palms, Culver City, Mar Vista, Marina del Rey, Playa del Rey, El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, and Redondo Beach. Also my budget is $1700, so there's a chance I'll be moving into an older building. But I will definitely not be living on the first floor.


Thanks in advance for everyone's help! I really appreciate any and all input!

[Cloudwalker]

Have you talked to building management about it? It's a health issue, so they should be on it.


Also, don't know if it's related to cockroaches necessarily, but I think there is a bit of a rat problem at the moment (last 3-4 months) in large parts of the westside, so maybe the two are related. Perhaps it's seasonal? I would also hazard a guess that the more apartments there are in a building, the harder it is to control roaches, but otoh many of the big buildings spray for pests annually.


Only lived in one place that had a roach issue. The way we finally resolved it was boric acid, laid along trails. Scratches the abdomen and they dry up, no poison involved (but you don't want pets to have access to it). You can also put it on a sheet of aluminium foil and slide that under the fridge (they go for the heat and food scraps). You have to be consistent with it for a couple of weeks, but it does work.


Also, are there palm trees near your apartment? Roaches live in them, perhaps they are coming in periodically during adverse weather.

[danidanidani086]

Yeah, we've talked to the management but nothing he's done has fixed the problem. And we just didn't want to deal with the legal headache of getting out of a lease. The lease is up May 31st anyways, so I just want to get out of there and not look back.


I know they are doing a lot of sewer work in the Playa del Rey / Westchester area and digging up the roads, so I'm sure that has something to do with it (might be related to the rats too which I didn't know about). The roaches definitely come out more in the summer. And they're HUGE. And some fly. We don't have any palm trees nearby. Instead we have these huge trees that drop seed pods that make a mess of the sidewalks and cars parked underneath.


I'd never seen a roach in my home until I moved to Playa del Rey (both in a house north of Manchester and my current apartment). Never saw one at my parents' house or the dorms at LMU or my boyfriend's apartment just down the street next to Westchester High School. That's why I suspect that some areas are more prone to roaches than others. It seems like Playa del Rey is, and I just don't know which other areas are as well. That's why I'm reaching out to others on here because it's not like a landlord is going to truthfully tell you if there is a roach issue when you tour an apartment.


Cloudwalker, if I may ask, which area/neighborhood were you living in that had the roach issue? (If it was on the Westside)

[CALGUY]

The best advice I can give the op is to find a single detached house to rent, instead of an apartment.
Don't look for a duplex, because you may have the same problem.
If the house is clean on move in, keep it that way, ant you should be free of roaches.

One other point.
When you move, you will have to take a lot of time making sure none of your current furniture, and belongings have roaches in, or on them, so they don't make the move with you.

Bob.

[danidanidani086]

Thanks for the tips! I'm definitely planning on thoroughly inspecting all of my things before moving into a new place.

Unfortunately, with my budget of $1700 I can't afford a standalone house in the areas that I am considering (listed in original post). That's why I'm looking at studios and 1x1's.

When I tour apartments, I am looking to see if the place looks clean, but that can only get me so far. My current apartment appeared clean when we toured it, yet look where we are now. Bummer is apartment tours don't reveal the problems you'll have months down the road.

I am mostly interested in hearing about the areas, neighborhoods, and apartment complexes where people have seen roaches in their homes. I understand that just because one person had a roach in their apartment doesn't mean that will be the case for every unit. However, there is definitely a trend of some areas being more prone to roaches. In fact, we see roaches on the sidewalk at night on Falmouth Ave. I guarantee we are not the only apartment on this block that has this problem.

[Cloudwalker]

We brought the roaches on ourselves, unfortunately. Bought a portable dishwasher off Craigslist, looked spotless, but sadly no. Once we started running it, the heat must have activated eggs up in the inner workings, 2-3 weeks later, little roaches everywhere. Single family house in Santa Monica, Ocean Park area. Also lived in an older 4plex in same area, never had roaches, but landlord sprayed every year.

[danidanidani086]

Thanks for that info, Cloudwalker! I actually had no idea that they could leave eggs in appliances. I just spent all morning researching methods to prevent roaches and eggs from hitchhiking to the next place.