Cats and roach control

[littleRD]

thanks for the information! i'm in the healthcare industry so things are relatively flexible for me in choosing where i want to go but nyc is definitely my top choice right now.

[ABQConvict]

Waterbugs are just a really big sub-species of roaches. They are, in fact, the native cockroach to North America. They are actually only native to the South and tropical areas but live in northern cities because of the warmth of the buildings. The little cockroaches are actually an invasion species from Asia despite often being called 'German' cockroaches.

Whatever you call them, they are disgusting. I have controlled them by putting a plastic bag filled with water over all the drains when I'm not using them and a little bit of boric acid in likely locations, near a crack in the wall, along the base of kitchen cabinets and the stove. Went for years without seeing one, live or dead, with this method.

Also, I periodically clean the drains with Drano and bleach.


ABQConvict

[littleRD]

waterbugs are terrifying. i once moved out of an apartment in milledgeville, ga in the the middle of the night because one flew across my bedroom, crawled across my pillow and into my bed. needless to say that was the tipping point for me in that apartment and i left that night.

ABQ, i'm having a hard time picturing the plastic bag thing. you take a plastic bag (like a ziploc sandwich bag), fill it with water, and sit it on top of each of the drains? the roaches cant crawl out from under that?

[ABQConvict]

Originally Posted by littleRD

ABQ, i'm having a hard time picturing the plastic bag thing. you take a plastic bag (like a ziploc sandwich bag), fill it with water, and sit it on top of each of the drains? the roaches cant crawl out from under that?

Yup. I used the 1-gallon size about half full or less so that it sinks a little bit into the drain and pancakes out on the sink bottom. I tried that on the recommendation of a nationally syndicated pest-control newspaper columnist. It seemed to work. I had a bad roach problem for years and it ended right there.


ABQConvict

[heygirlhey]

ABQ is right. Covering your drains will reduce the problem because they come through the drains. Also, another tip is to keep your apt colder than 70, so they won't come in that way either...of course that's in the summer. I've never seen them in the winter.

[el borracho]

Try sticky traps

[SeventhFloor]

what does everybody think about the roach gel?

[msina]

Boric acid, cheap, effective and safe.
Boric acid - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Straight Dope: What's the best way to kill cockroaches?