Omg. Roaches?! (Atlanta, Gay: home, organic, living)

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by movingsoon2020

There are coyotes here? We had coyotes everywhere in LA, they'd roam around and steal trash and small stray dogs.

The whole metro is swarming with coyotes, though they mostly stay out of the sight of humans and stick to the woods during the daytime.

[frustrated_owner]

This thread reminded me that I needed to find an exterminator. We had a visit from Zone Pest Solutions after calling a few different companies. They had the best quarterly price and also seemed highly rated online.

The guy who came out this morning was friendly and explained pretty much everything. Already seeing some dead bugs outside, yea!

[brownhornet]

The little bugs dont bother me much.. but I swear when I walk through a spiderweb you can see me turn into a chick real quick like. I do NOT fool with spiders I dont care what kind it is.

[cwkimbro]

Decatur residents afraid coyotes will eat pets *| ajc.com

Found this interesting on the front page of ajc.com with a picture of a coyote

[arjay57]

Coyotes have been moving into Atlanta for years and they're all over town. They will absolutely eat your cats, and small dogs, too.

Urban Coyotes: Slinking Towards Eternity by Tim Oliver | LikeTheDew.com

[cali-peach]

So I am new to GA. Stockbridge to be exact!
I have been here a month and so far I have been greeted by these HUGE roaches and they FLY!! OMG! I am fromSouthern California and while I have seen roaches before I have never seen ANY this BIG nor have I had them in my home EVER!! I never see these critters in my kitchen (knocks on wood**) but I think they may be coming from my air vents....I live in an apartment on the 1st floor and have seen more than I care to in the month I have been here! Did I mention they FLY??
I have been using Ortho Home Defense but that doesn't seem to keep them out!! I have also had pest control come in but he seems more amused with my fear of these suckers! What can I do or use? I have children but no pets! We keep a very clean house so I know it is not a dirt issue....I hate bugs PERIOD of any kind but this just takes the cake!!
HELP!

[atlantagreg30127]

Originally Posted by cali-peach

So I am new to GA. Stockbridge to be exact!
I have been here a month and so far I have been greeted by these HUGE roaches and they FLY!!

Commonly called "Palmetto Bugs" here. Pics.

Ortho works so-so on them. Usually somehow gets them to flip over on their bags and wiggle the legs until you can spray them - they stink at being able to flip back over. Depending on the environment around your home, they're very hard to 100% keep out - you're in the warm, humid, South - bugs come with the territory to some degree (even if you don't actually SEE them in your home, somewhere, they're there).

[Nast]

It's not a cleanliness issue, it's more likely a heat and water issue. Depending on the age of your house, it's going to be hard to keep them out 100%. As a warning, it will likely get worse as the weather gets cooler and the air dries out as they start looking for indoor shelters.

We have had them pretty bad in our 1920's era house as it has more cracks, open vents and crawlspaces than we can seal up. We've had success with the following:
1) Get a professional pest control service and let them know the types of bugs you're seeing and where you're seeing them.
2) Use boric acid. You can buy it at the grocery store and sprinkle it around the base of your house, particularly anywhere there are crawlspaces or cracks. Use it in your basement, as well.
3) Keep it dry. Fix any leaky faucets, drain any standing water, wrap up any pipes that have condensation. We bit the bullet and installed a whole house dehumidifier earlier this year. It was expensive, but I was shocked to find that it was sucking out 50 gallons of water from our house every 2-3 days. (As a bonus, your AC won't work as hard and you can use that reclaimed water in your garden.)

We still get about one bug a week, but it has been a lot better this year.

Also - for those that live in town, the City of Atlanta has probably replaced your water meter with one of the new remote devices. If you're like us, the newly installed lids don't quite fit the hole, leaving just enough room for the bugs to get in and nest in there. We had our meter checked out a month or so ago and when we opened the lid literally THOUSANDS of these suckers came pouring out. It took about 10 minutes for them to finish coming out. We now have been putting roach poison in there, too, and they haven't returned. If you're feeling adventurous you may want to take a peek...

[DreamKeeper]

Yeah those aren't cockroaches they are what some people call water bugs or palmetto bugs or tree roaches. They live in trees, bushes and shrubs but will sometimes make their way into your home searching for water. They crave water so if they can't find any outside they will search for it wherever they can find it. The best way to deal with them is to make sure your home is sealed up as best as possible to prevent them from coming in (look for gaps or cracks around windows, doors etc. ). They typically don't breed in your home so you usually don't have to worry about little ones hatching indoors like you do cockroaches.

[lovinthe404]

Hi movingsoon2020...I am a Fla transplant just recently relocated to the Atl area...If it's one thing that I am acustomed to... its those pesky roaches(palmetto bugs)...Being that I am a chemist,there are several cost effective way to control these guys...(1) Roaches breathe through their abdomin which is located on the underside of the body in the back...get a regular spray bottle, make a mixture of soapy water...you can use Dawn, liquid Tide, Joy...any of the like will do...If you spray the roach with this mixture, it will suffocate and die...make sure you spray the back of the roach...amazing results...(2) Good ol' boric acid...there a trick to using boric acid...you must realize that roaches love sugar...so knowing this, go out to walmart and get you some pure cane sure..Dixie Crystal ...i.e...mix it using a plastic spoon...for every one spoonfull of sugar...add two spoonfulls of boris acid...you put the mixture in little plastic containers and spread them about the house...make sure you keep this away from the little ones and pets as well...(3) Last but not least...roaches just love chocalate...again using boric acid as a base...get a .99 cent box of Swiss Miss...now this has a different type of application than the sugar...being that the chocalate is a very fine powder...it make a dusty mist...for every one part of boric acid you use...add 2 parts of chocalate mix....use a common house duster to put the compound where the roaches are prevalent...super results...I hope this is helpful to ya...Stay outta of the heat and enjoy the AWESOME Ga Climate....