American Cockroaches (apartments, house, buy)

[glass_of_merlot]

American Cockroaches

Give me one good reason they exist on this planet, especially in my apartment. I never leave food out. I vacuum often. I never leave dirty dishes in the sink for a longer period of time.
One time I even found one dead in our bed!! But I think that was my cat putting it there.
Most of the roaches I see are actually dead. They are laying there upside down on the carpet or kitchen floor or in our bedroom! Yesterday I saw one running and I swear I emptied out half a can of cockroach spray on that mother you know what until he crumbled up like a raisin.
What do I do about this!
I see one about once or twice a week during the summer months.

[KeyserSoze]

I feel for you. Unfortunately you can't do a whole lot but keep them at bay. Roaches are a part of life in the South -- especially in the summer. Best thing to do is to continue what you've already said you've been doing -- keep everything clean and don't leave any water out. But like you say, at least they're dead when you find them.

Just to share some of my experiences -- I remember when I heard a loud shriek from my aunt(who's TERRIFIED of bugs) and I saw a HUGE one in the cabinet. And I remember when I lived my cousin in an apartment, the place was infested. I slept on the floor, and I felt one crawl on my face that I thought I had killed earlier. Nevertheless, I left for the summer. Came back once to visit, and I remember seeing another huge one inside that managed to get inside the house. The thing could fly(albeit very poorly) and was pretty mobile. When I came back, she had the place fumigated. Never saw a roach then, except for a small dead one in the morning.

[glass_of_merlot]

Originally Posted by KeyserSoze

I feel for you. Unfortunately you can't do a whole lot but keep them at bay. Roaches are a part of life in the South -- especially in the summer. Best thing to do is to continue what you've already said you've been doing -- keep everything clean and don't leave any water out. But like you say, at least they're dead when you find them.

Just to share some of my experiences -- I remember when I heard a loud shriek from my aunt(who's TERRIFIED of bugs) and I saw a HUGE one in the cabinet. And I remember when I lived my cousin in an apartment, the place was infested. I slept on the floor, and I felt one crawl on my face that I thought I had killed earlier. Nevertheless, I left for the summer. Came back once to visit, and I remember seeing another huge one inside that managed to get inside the house. The thing could fly(albeit very poorly) and was pretty mobile. When I came back, she had the place fumigated. Never saw a roach then, except for a small dead one in the morning.

Omg, it makes me sick. Thanks for your reply.

[UofMGrad92]

They will get into even the cleanest house exploring or looking for water in the summer. Apartments open up a whole new problem because you share walls with people who might not be as clean as you are. I've been in apartments in nice complexes (well, reasonably nice) where the insides of cabinets were full of roaches. If you had a similar neighbor next door, you wouldn't be able to keep them out no matter what you tried.

If the complex is spraying (and it sounds like they are if you mostly find them dead), not much more you can do. As for why they exist, I'm guessing it has something to do with the fall of man and God's punishment. Any other bug I find in my house I just smash and move on. I find a roach and I freak out like it's a rattlesnake, chasing it around with my heart pounding and my ears filled with my own shrieking.

[JoeCartpath]

Just think of them as Palmetto bugs. That'll make you feel much better

[ArkansasTraveler]

Originally Posted by glass_of_merlot

American Cockroaches

Give me one good reason they exist on this planet,

[they be cleaners]

can of cockroach spray on that mother you know what until he crumbled up like a raisin.

I use a squirt bottle filled with rubbing alcohol - it rubs em just right and does not leave a stain. Plus it does not cost as much as them roach sprays.

[bjh]

There existence just goes to show how truly random nature is. Bugs are built for survival, not looks. That's for sure!

While you can't control what your neighbors do in a complex, you can ask for a pest control treatment.

I live in one apt. (briefly, I am happy to say) that was bug free until some slobs moved upstairs and it started practically raining them down from overhead. They had brought in the bugs in their stuff!

The exterminators pretended to service they building. Seriously, they never came to my apt. on days I was home and they were supposed to treat. You might want to check that out.

[jedc]

Try this. People rave about it, and it really does seem to work as well as folks say. (It did for me, at least. There is a drawback, though: it works so well that the next morning you'll be forced to see a bunch of dead roaches that came out of hiding to die.)

http://www.bengal.com/

[glass_of_merlot]

Originally Posted by jedc

Try this. People rave about it, and it really does seem to work as well as folks say. (It did for me, at least. There is a drawback, though: it works so well that the next morning you'll be forced to see a bunch of dead roaches that came out of hiding to die.)

Bengal Products Inc.

can i buy it in the store?

[glass_of_merlot]

Originally Posted by UofMGrad92

They will get into even the cleanest house exploring or looking for water in the summer. Apartments open up a whole new problem because you share walls with people who might not be as clean as you are. I've been in apartments in nice complexes (well, reasonably nice) where the insides of cabinets were full of roaches. If you had a similar neighbor next door, you wouldn't be able to keep them out no matter what you tried.

If the complex is spraying (and it sounds like they are if you mostly find them dead), not much more you can do. As for why they exist, I'm guessing it has something to do with the fall of man and God's punishment. Any other bug I find in my house I just smash and move on. I find a roach and I freak out like it's a rattlesnake, chasing it around with my heart pounding and my ears filled with my own shrieking.

LOL
If I see a spider inside the apartment I save its life and take him outside to "freedome" . There is something about cockroaches.