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I bought a little house in T or C, will be actually moving 10/16/10. Am in the process of cleaning it and setting up utilities. Not seeing any live cockroaches as that was a big worry; using boric acid, plugging drains at night seems to keep them away. Is it possible to live in So. NM cockroach free if you are diligent?
I need to set up internet, cable tv and probably a land line. I have been to baja and windstream websites; not sure which to go with. Any suggestions? Am considering just getting local channels through an antenna; does anyone still do that? I guess I would need one of those converter boxes.
Any suggestions or comments on any of the above would be appreciated, thanks.
the boric acid will work, but to help the fight more would be to caulk typical areas of vulnerability that may not have caulk or caulking is failing/failed....under the sinks (kitchen/bath), along baseboards, along thresholds and weather stripped entries, along cabinets (particularly behind the stove and fridge areas), etc. IMO, caulking also aids in negating the actual use or need for the boric acid in at least areas of where food is stored and will be more cost-effective in the long run. Good food storage practice is also another front line defense AND keeps the food from becoming stale via the typical use of swamp coolers as a means of ac. Even doing the mentioned and boric acid will not fulling negate the roaches, both introduced and native species. My best friend's mother is a complete neat freak when it comes to avoiding roaches and even she got stuck battling them with the caulk and boric acid treatments while living in Alamogordo and Las Cruces. From a biological standpoint, if you're that worried about them then you might want to not eat chocolate, ketchup, or peanut butter as they contain the highest insect parts via processing that is allowable by the FDA -- chocolate has the highest volume of cockroach parts.
As for T or C utilities I can't help; never lived there. Antenna use is suppose to be dead courtesy of the FCC/government converting TV signals to digital, so yes you'll need a converter.
I figure to harness the roaches and use them to plow the garden.
...Or if you have a smaller, lightweight car and a LOT of roaches....thinking roach coach here!
If you haven't moved in yet, are concerned about a resident population of cucarachas, and want to start fresh, why not pay a pest control company to come out, eyeball your place inside and out (it's not enough to kill them indoors if there are colonies around the exterior of the home) for likely spots and give it a good spraying. Lay waste to the little buggers once before you move in then practice the good advice you've already been given, and you can live relatively bug free.
We have an interior treatment once a year and once every other month, mostly in the warm months, on the exterior. Bug sightings are very, very rare. My wife HATES bugs.
The pest control people can use stuff that degrades quickly, so you're not filling your house with awful stuff. Our indoor/outdoor cat has no problems whatsoever with what our bug guy uses. The bait stuff he often puts outside homes is verboten, however, as it can hurt pets.
Thanks to all replies except the first guy, HerpsNM, considering you have never lived there and think it's amusing to tell people horror stories about food and vermin. I don't agree with you about them not being able to be eradicated as I lived in So. Ca. many years ago and the only places I lived where they could not be gotten rid of (not easy but possible) was in an apartment building, for obvious reasons. I was just wondering how local people dealt with the problem.
I did actually have a pest control person come to my house in T or C and will continue to call them if necessary. I have not actually seen a live cockroach, just trying to be preventative. Thanks again for all who replied.
Wow, sorry to get the panties bunched. The stories are factual, sad to say -- I lived 7 years in Alamogordo and 7 years in Las Cruces. I've battled roaches in both locations.
COMMODITIES AND DEFECT ACTION LEVELS Product DEFECT (Method) Action Level
ALLSPICE, GROUND
Insect Filth
(AOAC 981.21)
Average of 30 or more insect fragments per 10 grams
Rodent filth
(AOAC 981.21)
Average of 1 or more rodent hairs per 10 grams
DEFECT SOURCE: Insect fragments - pre/post harvest and processing insect infestation. Rodent hair - post harvest and/or processing contamination with animal hair or excreta
SIGNIFICANCE: Aesthetic
ALLSPICE, WHOLE
Mold
(MPM-V32)
Average of 5% or more berries by weight are moldy
DEFECT SOURCE: : Preharvest and/or post harvest infection
SIGNIFICANCE: Potential health hazard - may contain mycotoxin producing fungi
APPLE BUTTER
Mold
(AOAC 975.51)
Average of mold count is 12% or more
Rodent filth
(AOAC 945.76)
Average of 4 or more rodent hairs per 100 grams of apple butter
Insects
(AOAC 945.76)
Average of 5 or more whole or equivalent insects (not counting mites, aphids, thrips, or scale insects) per 100 grams of apple butter
DEFECT SOURCE: Mold - post harvest infection. Rodent hair - post harvest and/or processing contamination with animal hair. Whole or equivalent insects - preharvest, and/or post harvest and/or processing insect infestation,
SIGNIFICANCE: Aesthetic
APRICOTS, CANNED
Insect filth
(MPM-V51)
Average of 2% or more by count has been damaged or infected by insects
ASPARAGUS, CANNED OR FROZEN
Insect filth
(MPM-V93)
10% by count of spears or pieces are infested with 6 or more attached asparagus beetle eggs and/or sacs
Insects
(MPM-V93)
Asparagus contains an average of 40 or more thrips per 100 grams
OR
Insects (whole or equivalent) of 3mm or longer have an average aggregate length of 7mm or longer per 100 grams of asparagus
CHOCOLATE AND CHOCOLATE LIQUOR
Insect filth
(AOAC 965.38)
Average is 60 or more insect fragments per 100 grams when 6 100-gram subsamples are examined
OR
Any 1 subsample contains 90 or more insect fragments
Rodent filth
(AOAC 965.38)
Average is 1 or more rodent hairs per 100 grams in 6 100-gram subsamples examined
OR
Any 1 subsample contains 3 or more rodent hairs
Shell
(AOAC 968.10-970.23)
For chocolate liquor, if the shell is in excess of 2% calculated on the basis of alkali-free nibs
DEFECT SOURCE: Insect fragments - post harvest and/or processing insect infestation, Rodent hair - post harvest and/or processing contamination with animal hair or excreta, Shell - processing contamination
SIGNIFICANCE: Aesthetic
.......
PEANUT BUTTER
Insect filth
(AOAC 968.35)
Average of 30 or more insect fragments per 100 grams
Rodent filth
(AOAC 968.35)
Average of 1 or more rodent hairs per 100 grams
Grit
(AOAC 968.35)
Gritty taste and water insoluble inorganic residue is more than 25 mg per 100 grams
DEFECT SOURCE: Insect fragments - preharvest and/or post harvest and/or processing insect infestation, Rodent hair - post harvest and/or processing contamination with animal hair or excreta, Grit - harvest contamination
SIGNIFICANCE: Aesthetic
Normally I don't go to such posting levels. And I do very sincerely apologize if this offends you further. T of C is a mere 1 hour drive from Las Cruces. I've spent a fair amount of time in the general vicinity of T or C throughout the years, utilizing public facilities while enjoying my biology-based passions where I encountered cockroaches. Unfortunately, in my personal opinion, as well as the opinion of a former college professor at NMSU, they may be out of sight and out of mind but they're still there. In my college years I lived with roommates whom were paranoided about cockroach presence, one of which was my best friend's younger brother. We had a rental house fumigated, sprayed, and treated with boric acid AND still encountered roaches. We have both native and introduced species of cockroaches within the state, they are just one of many other critters that go bump in the night out here.
Again, I apologize if this offends you. My original post, nor this one were intended as such. Merely an opinion, and offer of guidance from a native New Mexican biologist.
I guess the OP didn't get the humorous angle on the insect parts in food.
I'll agree with Herp that you might not see em but they'll always be there, cause they're virtually everywhere in the world. Maybe the ultimate survival species.
Doesn't mean I don't do constant battle, but I know I'll never be rid of them.
In Old Mexico I've eaten Jumiles (a beetle in Guerrero), Chapulines (cured grasshoppers in Oaxaca, also a local PIZZA topping), and Escamoles (Ant eggs sauteed in garlic butter) very frequently over the years. All are very tasty, but I have a little trouble convincing the lovely and talented Mrs Tecpatl of this... She likes the Escamoles though...loves garlic.
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are very, very rare. My wife HATES bugs.
, but I have a little trouble convincing the lovely and talented Mrs Tecpatl of this...
