Are roaches a big problem in milwaukee? (Newark, Cleveland: apartments, houses)

[xralphyx]

I am moving out to milwaukee soon. I have never lived with roaches, but was surprised to find out that many apartments out here in utah have roaches. If I move into an apartment in milwaukee, what would you say the odds of it being infested are?

[Pete.]

I've actually never seen a roach in my life. But I guess it depends on the cleanliness of the apartment building.

I do get centipedes and spiders in my house from time to time. But it's not really a big deal.

[Milwaukee City]

I have never known anyone or seen any roaches in Milwaukee, Might have something to do with weather. IE Florida full of bugs and Midwest No bugs. I live downtown Milwaukee and I don't even get mosquitoes or stars for that matter.

[TommyGavin]

There are roaches in Milwaukee. I have seen them and I have brought them home from work.
If they are in the neighborhood, they will be in your house. Depending on the neighborhood, it is entirely possible to have them.

I have had roaches in my home, but it is only because I brought them home from work, in my gear. They don't care about the cold; every cold weather city has them.
BTW...there are plenty of mosquitoes in the city, as well. I have been bitten by plenty of them.

[Rob702]

I never saw any roaches and I am definitely not the master of cleanliness. Guess they are only a minor problem in Milwaukee.

[TommyGavin]

Originally Posted by Rob702

I never saw any roaches and I am definitely not the master of cleanliness. Guess they are only a minor problem in Milwaukee.

I may be nitpicking, but the areas that have roaches, they are anything but minor.
I would, on a personal note, not characterize them as a "minor" problem. They are disease laden and far more prevalent than I think people want to realize.
They also infest every city, not just warm weather. They won't infest a cold-weather city like they do most warm weather, but visit Chicago, Cleveland, NYC and northern New Jersey (Newark, Jersey City i.e.) and there will be plenty of roaches to be had.
They just aren't across the entire city, such as in the south.

The problem with roaches is that if they are in a neighborhood, there is a good chance they will find their way into your home, no matter how clean you are.
So, depending on the neighborhood, that will dictate whether or not there could be roaches in an apartment.

[Rob702]

The only thing I was trying to say is that they are not as prevalent as in.. say NYC. My cousin's house there is spotless but they still have the occasional roach encounter. My apartment was anything but spotless and I never saw any roaches or other bugs, except for fruit flies.
Maybe you're right and it depends on the neighborhood.

I find them disgusting but I have never heard of them carrying any diseases though (not more so than other bugs).

[Geechie North]

I guess we better define cockerroach here.

The German variety is smaller, just as much a disease carrier, and will tolerate the Milwaukee's (and for that matter, most of Wisconsin's climate), although since they can't make it outdoors here numbers are very limited.

The American version that I grew-up with in the Coastal South (where there are two kinds of houses: ones that have roaches, and ones that have burnt) is larger (by about 3x), can fly, and are the toughest (as in survival) critters in the ecosystem.
They go by the name 'Palmetto Bug' in polite society, but they are plain old cockerroaches.

They can't make it up here, without the active assistance of the homeowner, so unless you order some (I have no idea if there are companies that sell roaches, but I guess there could be) and set-out to make conditions in your house or apartment roach-friendly then you will never see one.

[ladyblue09]

Yeah, my impression is that while roaches are everywhere, warmer climates have larger and more numerous ones. In places like Florida it is basically impossible to avoid the "palmetto bug" style roach but we don't have those here....THANK GOD!

[quickdraw]

I had them in Milwaukee when I was going to college in 1982. Two out of two apartments.