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Old 05-15-2014, 10:30 PM
 
Location: St. George, Utah
755 posts, read 1,114,724 times
Reputation: 1973

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cactusland and juram, from here on out I'm hoping to be like you and not to see any more. I won't go looking for them! As long as they are outside doing their confused wandering, though, I'm fine with it! I feel like I've taken a crash course in roaches in the past couple of days between the information from the pest control company and all the input here. Thanks to all of you who understood what I was asking and shared your experience!
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Old 05-16-2014, 11:09 AM
YAZ
 
Location: Phoenix,AZ
7,700 posts, read 14,033,743 times
Reputation: 7037
Ugh.

When I first moved here ten years ago, I was working for that big aerospace company that's a household name. Well, it was a beautiful evening and I decided to enjoy my lunch break outside (night shift), and I heard a rustling noise in the trash can.

Biggest cockroaches I have ever seen.

Feeling disgusted, I went back inside.....only to find that one had climbed up inside my shirt......




Fast forward to 2009 when we purchased our latest home.......

No roaches.....but we had a small problem with black widows.

Not hard to eradicate, BTW.

Monsoon season came, and much to my chagrin, was finding those bigazz roaches in my pool skimmer.

WHERE IN THE HECK ARE THEY COMING FROM?

Well, I found out.

While watching a storm come in, I witnessed a Super Roach get blown out of the neighbor's palm tree....and did a swan dive right into the pool.
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Old 05-16-2014, 02:00 PM
 
Location: St. George, Utah
755 posts, read 1,114,724 times
Reputation: 1973
Quote:
WHERE IN THE HECK ARE THEY COMING FROM?

Well, I found out.

While watching a storm come in, I witnessed a Super Roach get blown out of the neighbor's palm tree....and did a swan dive right into the pool.
See?! This is what I had always been told when visiting Florida--that there are certain types of palms that they like and there's no getting around them if you have palm trees. So when I first saw the two on the patio, I assumed they had come from the palm tree even though when I'd asked about that previously the Arizonans I'd asked looked at me like I had three heads (remember the consistent, "Never!" Yeah, it was that again.)

The landscaper also didn't seem to think they would be in that tree, which confused me, but I tell you I have my eye on it anyway by gosh. lol

The pest control guy didn't even think they would be in the palm tree, but he sprayed it for me just the same . He is my very favorite person this week. Very favorite! Yay for the pest control guy!!

I am told there's no avoiding them in the valve boxes or any place that stays damp, and that's just fine. I don't go sticking my hands in low dark places around here (MT) because we, too have black widows and other nasty spiders if we don't spray, and we don't often. I won't go sticking my nose in any damp low places either, that's all!

I don't really even care if I see them scuttling around once in awhile (please no flying into me though. EEEk!) as long as I know it doesn't indicate anything out of the ordinary. Normal. Expected. Now that I know what that is, sort of. It's probably not "never".

Quote:
Feeling disgusted, I went back inside.....only to find that one had climbed up inside my shirt......
Ugh. NO. I would have flipped. Crawling across my toe is one thing, but inside my shirt would put me over, lol. In no small part because I now know how....juicy...even a relatively small one was when squished. Ick. Just no.
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Old 05-18-2014, 07:18 AM
 
140 posts, read 173,536 times
Reputation: 87
I just had a thorough visit from a pest control company. They sprayed like mad outside and dusted the windowsills. I feel better, however they also showed me quite a few opportunities to seal the house and that will cost some money.
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Old 05-18-2014, 07:50 AM
 
Location: Sonoran Desert
39,003 posts, read 50,987,327 times
Reputation: 28183
Quote:
Originally Posted by Montanama View Post
See?! This is what I had always been told when visiting Florida--that there are certain types of palms that they like and there's no getting around them if you have palm trees. So when I first saw the two on the patio, I assumed they had come from the palm tree even though when I'd asked about that previously the Arizonans I'd asked looked at me like I had three heads (remember the consistent, "Never!" Yeah, it was that again.)

The landscaper also didn't seem to think they would be in that tree, which confused me, but I tell you I have my eye on it anyway by gosh. lol

The pest control guy didn't even think they would be in the palm tree, but he sprayed it for me just the same . He is my very favorite person this week. Very favorite! Yay for the pest control guy!!

I am told there's no avoiding them in the valve boxes or any place that stays damp, and that's just fine. I don't go sticking my hands in low dark places around here (MT) because we, too have black widows and other nasty spiders if we don't spray, and we don't often. I won't go sticking my nose in any damp low places either, that's all!

I don't really even care if I see them scuttling around once in awhile (please no flying into me though. EEEk!) as long as I know it doesn't indicate anything out of the ordinary. Normal. Expected. Now that I know what that is, sort of. It's probably not "never".



Ugh. NO. I would have flipped. Crawling across my toe is one thing, but inside my shirt would put me over, lol. In no small part because I now know how....juicy...even a relatively small one was when squished. Ick. Just no.
I think you are right about them not being in palm trees. They, like scorpions, live in a dark damp places. Palm trees do not offer food or habitat that either would want. In all my years here and trimming palms (I do my own landscape chores ), I have yet to see anything but fronds when trimming a palm. That is not to say you won't find them there ever. I just don't believe that having palms in the yard does anything to your odds of seeing a roach or a scorpion.

I have them in the valve box all the time. You can get rid of them by opening the cover (look out - they go everywhere), but if you close it back they come back. I sprayed the inside of the boxes once long ago and that worked for a few days, but they there were roach bodies in there.

You commented that you are visiting in winter, normally, no? You don't see roaches much, if at all in winter. Same with scorpions.

Last edited by Ponderosa; 05-18-2014 at 08:00 AM..
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Old 05-18-2014, 09:12 AM
YAZ
 
Location: Phoenix,AZ
7,700 posts, read 14,033,743 times
Reputation: 7037
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ponderosa View Post
I think you are right about them not being in palm trees. They, like scorpions, live in a dark damp places. Palm trees do not offer food or habitat that either would want. In all my years here and trimming palms (I do my own landscape chores ), I have yet to see anything but fronds when trimming a palm. That is not to say you won't find them there ever. I just don't believe that having palms in the yard does anything to your odds of seeing a roach or a scorpion.

I have them in the valve box all the time. You can get rid of them by opening the cover (look out - they go everywhere), but if you close it back they come back. I sprayed the inside of the boxes once long ago and that worked for a few days, but they there were roach bodies in there.

You commented that you are visiting in winter, normally, no? You don't see roaches much, if at all in winter. Same with scorpions.
Looking back on that palm tree roach.....the wind WAS blowing fairly well......it might have been blowing around and just landed on that tree.....then got blown into the pool.

I poke around in the yard daily, and I've never seen anything other than ants around the palms.
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Old 05-18-2014, 02:48 PM
 
2 posts, read 4,163 times
Reputation: 10
We moved back to Phoenix 8 years ago after retirement. We bought the home in June but didn't move in until November. We didn't know to plug the drains in the bathrooms, so when we moved in we found 1 dead cockroach in the bathroom. Have never seen one since, and we are on our second home here. So don't forget to plug the drains before you leave. We have never seen any in either yard either. Guess we were very lucky, but we do have pest control outside during the warmer months. All will be well for you too.
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Old 05-18-2014, 02:56 PM
 
Location: USA
7,776 posts, read 12,398,067 times
Reputation: 11812
Quote:
Originally Posted by Montanama View Post
Oh. God. I left the drains unplugged. I have this image in my mind of giant cockroaches partying all over my house right now. Super!! lol

So, what then? Does everyone plug their drains all the time when not using them?

How do I get to the place DetroitN8V enjoys?



I'm not there to spray every month. Inside and out? Why don't sewer roaches ever come up your drains, and what can I do to make sure that's the case for me?

When people say they "never see them," I'm no longer sure what they mean. Never see them inside? Outside? Never see them in Phoenix? I mean, I see them everywhere when I'm out shopping. And again, the landscaper? Wouldn't he bump into them, dead at least, fairly regularly?

This is what's bothering me about it. Not that we asked dozens of people, but literally everyone we've spoken to about it has said "never." (Except home watch guy who said "almost never".) I would like to get to "almost never" or "never" but can live with seeing them (dying) in the yard IF it's normal.

Having one crawl out of the dishwasher might put me over the edge though.
When they say they never see roaches, it may mean they don't go to their kitchen at midnight and turn on the light, or at 10 o'clock pm. I realize I'm repeating myself. lol
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Old 05-18-2014, 05:38 PM
 
Location: St. George, Utah
755 posts, read 1,114,724 times
Reputation: 1973
Well, we'll find out soon enough. I am quite happily at peace just knowing there isn't some kind of an infestation growing in our absence, which is all I really cared about. Judging by this thread, normal ranges from "Nope, never." to "Oh, yes you do, you just don't know it." I guess mileage varies.

I wonder if I'll be tempted to sneak into the kitchen and pop on the lights, Rubi3?! Probably not. Although I am curious as to just how effective all this spraying will be.

I will probably never have occasion to open the valve box (except under extreme duress, lol) until we are there on a more full-time basis, when I can be in charge of my own landscaping maintenance too. At that point I'll just have to get over it. Any case it's better to know they are there than to be surprised. As you might have surmised, I'm less concerned with the bugs themselves than with all the unknowns I associate with them!

I'm an avid gardener, so I look forward to discovering what grows in Arizona--though it's a ways down the road. I suppose that will include finding out what unfamiliar critters I'll be bumping into while gardening too . Fire ants?

We hope to be at the house every few weeks year round for short stays (extended weekend). Longer stays (a week or more) will be in the winter and most especially during the "spring" season which in MT is just an unbearable extension of winter for people like me, lol. Our summer visits will mainly be to "see what it's like", keep an eye on the house, attend events we don't have access to here, and just get out of Dodge as we periodically need to do.
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Old 05-18-2014, 09:36 PM
 
Location: Chandler, AZ
453 posts, read 1,623,882 times
Reputation: 338
The house I rented in a great area, was full of them in the garage, the landlord acted like it was no big deal but to me I was mortified. I got those fog things and killed every single one of them. They are huge here. Yuck!!!
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