Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My building has a cockroach problem as well. I have it pinned down to jackass tenants leaving garbage in the recycle rooms. Once I went in there and someone threw pizza boxes that had actual full slices of pizza in them.
Basically, if others have cockroaches, chances are you will too. Now that doesn't mean they will stay forever. You need to go through your entire apartment. Find all cracks, crevices, and anything that would allow them to come in and fill them. Every single area needs to be filled. Then obviously, remove all garbage, dry up all water, and ensure everything is spotless.
You can try boric acid powder. Just sprinkle in the hard to get to areas to ensure any cockroaches that go that way will die. It's a constant battle to ensure they stay out of your apartment.
I have seen plenty of cockroaches. The waterbugs are freaky! They are massive! I hate sitting on my couch and watching one slowly walk across my carpet. Trying to kill them seems to take forever too. No matter how many times I hit them with my shoe!
I know it sounds bad, but I'm used to seeing the tiny ones. It's like spotting a fly. The big ones still freak me out but the best part of them, they are loners. Usually you will only see one or two of them. They tend to be cleaner then the smaller ones and don't cause as many problems (besides freaking you out).
Every time you move into a new apartment, it's important to caulk and seal all the baseboards, door trims, and under the sinks and cabinets. Do it before you bring in your furniture and you'll avoid 99% of all insect & rodent problems
I see what you're saying--but I was talking about the waterbugs. If they're as big as the OP described then it's not a typical roach (I'm about to gag and have my lunch sitting right next to me )
When I lived in my apartment (we lived there for over 10 years between 2 different apartments) I could count on one hand how many times I had a waterbug in the apartment and it was only the bathtub. Once I covered the tub drain I didn't see anymore waterbugs.
Yes, Waterbugs (Great American Cockroach) CAN swim but they really don't. They linger where it's wet at the bottom of a house, usually a basement or a first floor. They'd rather walk on the floor than climb. They go to almost 2 inches and are truly disgusting. They can even BITE.
We get them occasionally in the three story basement garage or around the compactors downstairs but regular exterminating keeps their numbers very low and you almost NEVER see a bug on the upper 40-odd floors.
I think ours walk up the block from the always wet Second Avenue Subway big dig. I've almost never seen the common roach, the German Cockroach in the building...for this I give thanks.
I'm not sure if they can enter from pipes, but some can survive underwater for up to half an hour. That would seem to be enough time to crawl up the pipe and through the 'S' trap if they had a mind to do so.
Cockroaches are among the hardiest insects. Some species are capable of remaining active for a month without food and are able to survive on limited resources, such as the glue from the back of postage stamps. Some can go without air for 45 minutes.
New York has so many eating establishments. From what I have heard there are not blueprints for the entire water and sewage system running under the city. Then, there are the subways underground. All are a source of water (I once read that they are a type of waterbug).
If the people in your building are fastidious and there are regular exterminations, then most infestations would come from street level. I have heard that the higher up your domicile is the fewer roaches you usually see.
It's true that when extermination is done the entire building should be treated at once or else they just run from apartment to apartment until the coast is clear again.
I have heard that there are some buildings in NY that are sealed, meaning all the holes you are told to find and plug in your apartment has been done to the entire building. Even these buildings have whole building exterminations several times annually.
Roaches come in many sizes. I have seen a display of Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches that someone said were his pets. I saw one as large as the OP saw in the doorway of a store once. There are Central American and Australian giant burrowing cockroachs that ares 3.5 inches long.
Most run from light, but the Asian type likes light. What happens if you just keep nightlights on?
The ones with the wings are the sky divers/parachute jumpers. They are the worst. When you see those, you should know you have an infestation problem in your building, and your losing the battle. I've lived in apartments all my life, and I even had one crawl in my nose while I was sleeping, and woke up sneezing it out. You have to move out of apartment buildings altogether, plain and simple. When I did that, I never had any bug problems again.Try to move in an area where there are mostly two four or six flats, or it will be a neverending battle. I also heard they can even walk twenty miles.
The one i've seen today had wings supposedly.. I didn't pick up the corpse after constantly spraying it with the bleach (cleaner..the spray i've used)...I waited until my husband got home and he looked at it and said it has wings..[/quote]
Last edited by glenninindy; 10-11-2013 at 04:48 PM..
OP, sorry but your post was funny. i can imagine a girl freaking out over a big ass roach.
if you see them during the way you should multiply the ones you see by at least 15, and thats the minimum population in your apt
i stayed in a 1.8 mil penthouse apartment on broadway/noho and there still were a few roaches there. NY is a dirty city unless you live in a new luxury high rise.
is there not a roach problem in Toronto? you should have made sure the apartment was roach free before signing the lease.
I have heard that there are some buildings in NY that are sealed, meaning all
the holes you are told to find and plug in your apartment has been done to the
entire building. Even these buildings have whole building exterminations
several times annually.
When they come for the annual extermination, often they find that all the residents are long dead of asphyxiation.
When they come for the annual extermination, often they find that all the residents are long dead of asphyxiation.
Ha. Probably. Often windows do not open these days.
Just a curiosity, how would a person actually know a building is roach free before moving in? I'm sure most people would tell you that, but do you just ring bells and speak with tenants?
Ha. Probably. Often windows do not open these days.
Just a curiosity, how would a person actually know a building is roach free before moving in? I'm sure most people would tell you that, but do you just ring bells and speak with tenants?
That wouldn't work anyways. When we moved in we had a ton of roaches that we exterminated and its taken care of. We asked the people across the hall from us if they ever saw cockroaches and they said never and they had been there for years. After they moved out we went in to their empty apartment and saw dead cockroaches in there...
Nobody wants to admit they have in a face to face conversation, but anonymously on the internet? Sure, why not?
Roaches? Let's see Manhattan is 10 ****ing miles long. People live next to each other. It's a reality of life. I had a termite/centipede/house centipede infestation living in a basement in rural PA. Look those up and try imagining waking up to something crawling up on the wall through the shadow of the wall. the 5/6 inch house centipedes in the middle of the night
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
)
