Need a Good Exterminator for Roaches Asap!! (trees, rental property)

[txdemo]

Go to Solutions on Beechnut and Chimney Rock. They'll sell you the right stuff and you can take do it yourself in about 15 minutes. I use Cyzmic CS and have no issues.

[HoustonBornNRaised]

Originally Posted by westhou

That's disgusting. I would have been traumatized by that. I need a Xanax just reading this.

I have a severe roach phobia. I can't even touch a picture of one. They disgust me. My sisters are the same way, and it's because...

Originally Posted by Bike4Life

Haha, well I live in a 1950s home with a huge tree in my backyard and many trees in our neighborhood. Yet, I almost never see any roaches in and around my house. When I do, it's because I've waited too long for the next self-extermination. Having it exterminated at least once a year will keep the problems back. Most say do it 4x a year but I think they are just trying to make money.

My father refused to exterminate.

I don't know what his problem was. He was a highly educated man. Just tight, I guess.

[NTT]

This is what I buy. It's a DIY indoor & outdoor pest control that works quite well: Cy-Kick CS, CyKick CS, Cyfluthrin Insecticide - Free Shipping. My main problem was spiders and those big roaches come in the house occasionally. This took care of them. For the first application, I mixed 2 oz. per 1-gallon. Followed applications only need 1 oz./gal.. I actually saw 1 huge spider crossed over the application area and seconds later, rolled over and died.

Local Solutions Stores carry it too but it costs a little more: Cykick CS Insecticide with Cyfluthrin

Considering one 16-oz. bottle gives you 6 to 16 applications, it's really affordable and doesn't take but a few minutes to spray around the house. Long ago, I called a pest control service and paid attention to where he sprayed. I did the same with the DIY solution.

[honeyinhouston]

Just buy a can of Bengal roach spray and spray around your floorboards. It costs about $8.00/can, but worth it.

[HookTheBrotherUp]

Originally Posted by honeyinhouston

Just buy a can of Bengal roach spray and spray around your floorboards. It costs about $8.00/can, but worth it.

^^^ This stuff works great! I brought a rental property in Montrose, an old home with lots of trees around. My wife and I freaked out at first to see so many huge roaches in between the walls when we did repair/remodel work. I purchased a couple of cans of that stuff, and after a couple of weeks, they all died and disappeared. I have not seen them in over 1.5 years. I spray about every six months, never see them.

[TXbywayof]

Great timing OP on this post. HoustonBornNRaised, I also just had one land by me this week while sitting on the sofa watching TV. I thought it was a moth. My DH says "don't move". I ask if it's a moth. He says it's a roach. Is he kidding? Don't move? Rest assured, I moved. I also need a new solution. Bike4Life, I agree 100% that you don't need to spray quarterly, and that's the rub for most of the exterminating companies. They are relentless with calling to schedule and I CAN'T STAND IT. I find treating every 9 months works well.

In which case I may have to do the do-it-yourself route:

For the do-it-yourselfers, do you treat both inside and out? I really don't like the idea of spraying along the floors inside the walls. I used ABC at one time who treated inside the walls through the attic and also outside, but they became a huge PITA to deal with and arrogant as all get out.

[Augiec]

Thanks for this post! I'm going to try the suggestions here. I also live in an older home. Mine has a large oak tree in the backyard. I've also read a good idea is to get some caulk & seal any gaps you might have inside your kitchen cabinets & stuff to keep the buggers out in the first place. I'm still not sure which pesticide to get. I'm reluctant to get something to spray along the baseboards since I have a 5 month old & a small dog. I know she'll be crawling in a few months (the baby, not the dog :P) so I don't want her that close to the stuff.

I also have some outdoor spray treatment I've been meaning to use around the perimeter of the house. I bought it from Lowe's a while back. Would it be a good idea to spray that if we've had an exterminator come within the past month? Or would mixing different pesticides weaken them & allow the roaches to develop an immunity or resistance?

[SkyeKing]

Depending on your situation, go to Solutions - several in Houston - and get Demon or similar. It has been what professionals use and I have used it for 15 years. Put in a 1 gallon tank sprayer and do all outside foundation 1-2 feet up and then 1 foot out on ground. Do around all dryer vent areas, water spigots, etc. Do garage, doorway/threshold areas, etc. You may want to do inside also under sink, and certain areas. OK for pets when dry. I try to do outside and thresholds only, but you may want to do everything if bad.

[westhou]

Originally Posted by honeyinhouston

Just buy a can of Bengal roach spray and spray around your floorboards. It costs about $8.00/can, but worth it.

How about Raid? Is Bengal more effective than Raid?

[HoustonBornNRaised]

Originally Posted by TXbywayof

Great timing OP on this post. HoustonBornNRaised, I also just had one land by me this week while sitting on the sofa watching TV. I thought it was a moth. My DH says "don't move". I ask if it's a moth. He says it's a roach. Is he kidding? Don't move? Rest assured, I moved.

Ack. I would still have the heebie-jeebies.

We built a house in '11, and have never had the inside treated. We only have the outside treated, for the same reasons that OP mentioned - my pets, and my nine month old grandson. So far, so good, but we also have very immature trees here, so I'm sure over time that'll change.

I found a crapload of egg casings in our courtyard about a month ago. They look just like wood roach egg casings. I was thisclose to calling the exterminator out, when I realized that I was seeing June Bug egg casings (the roach's ugly cousin).