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.
I used to have a professional bug man but he didn't get rid of the bugs, which really bugged me!
Hubby goes to Home Depot and gets some type of bug stuff that is safe for the dog (she is outside most of the time) but gets rid of the bugs. He puts it along the foundation of the house.
Bugs are part of our world but when they enter MY HOUSE, uninvited...they must die!
I love the Combat paste. I had a house in Memphis where I saw everything including Palmetto roaches. It seemed like when there was a big weather shift (barometric drop?) they'd flock in through the bathroom drain. UGH!
Combat paste is great for all roaches. It's in a syringe type applicator that you use along the cracks of the baseboard, cabinets, you can even put it in your dish cabinet along the upper edges under the shelves.
I have them in my apartment. They're coming from somewhere else because my place is as clean as clean can be. It's maddening and upsetting and I am literally counting the days until I can move out. I'm also not looking forward to going through every single box I own to make sure I don't bring any to my new place.
After the pest control people employed by the apt. complex came and sprayed, it didn't help. So my friend's husband mixed up a lethal batch of BIFEN and I sprayed it around every door, window and floor edge in the place. No roaches for almost 2 weeks. Then they started to show up again, so I sprayed again, and again I am in a lull.
I didn't have them at all until we started getting so much rain earlier this summer. :-/ I'm so sorry you're dealing with this. I literally shake and cry when I see them, and I have to kill them, there is no one else with me and it's either that or try to sleep knowing they are in there.
Keep a running shoe handy to whack them mercilessly, and be ready to move fast. They are FAST. Also, they can climb on the ceiling -- I know, GROSS. (Just thinking about it gives me the shivers.) Use a broom to swat them down and then smack those b*stards with a shoe!
They've been bad this year, that's for sure. At least in my case.
The good news is that you're not alone, OP. Also good news ... the larger ones are gross critters, but many are harmless. Some are the generic "wood roaches" (including Pennsylvanian... though those are actually kind of smallish ... and that black roach that everyone CALLS the "wood roach", but in reality, many roaches like living in wooded areas, including Americans.). As someone I know once told me, it's not IF you get roaches. It's when.
Realize that even if you keep your kitchen/dining room nice and clean, they may still come in. There is a type of wood roach (that "generic" blackish one with the two thin stripes on either side of its head) that likes porch lights, stupidly flies in, and dies. Harmless, but alarming if you're not used to them. One way to deal with that is by using yellow porch lights.
American cockroaches can be a nuisance. They will even eat book bindings and skin flakes, so unless you're REALLY ultra-meticulous, there is chance you'll meet them even if you ARE Mr. or Ms. Clean. The good news is that they're not nearly as nasty as the German, Oriental and (IMO) brown-banded ones. THOSE are really bad news, and need a thorough pest program via a professional. The Americans are coppery-brown with a figure eight or hourglass shape on the back of the head. And yes ... they're quick.
The American ones like hanging around the plumbing ... or at least mine does. I use a bead of two or Advion in plumbing areas, and scatter Harris roach tablets here and there in case. I have a pest control guy do the outside. Once in a while (I find that these things tend to come in cycles ... some years are much worse than others), they do get annoying inside the house, so I have him treat the inside, too when that happens.
I find the best way to stop them around food and cabinets ... actually, in most places, since I don't like inhaling that cockroach spray stuff ... is with a spray bottle of soapy water. Dish or hand soap will work, though I read somewhere that a drop or two of the Dr. Bronners peppermint stuff helps, so I stick that in there as well. If you have a quick pest you can't squish (let's say you can't reach him, or you really don't like spraying that roach spray around kids), soak him. (The roach, not the kids, though soaking them with soap probably won't hurt them.) Try to get him to flip over and soak his belly for extra measure. I find the kill rate with that method is actually pretty high. Soap and roaches don't mix well.
However, I find that cockroaches have a habit of resurrecting themselves, even after you think they're dead, so after slowing one down with the spray, I try to get it (I used to be squeamish, but years of living here has softened that a little), and give it a proper water burial in the local commode. Between the spray, being squished and the watery grave, I HOPE that does the trick. I do feel sorry for those that cross me when I have a bad day, though ... I bisect those before throwing them in the potty. (More like "!@#$ of a !@#$! I'm in NO mood for THIS!") Great way to release anger. Almost feel sorry for the things. Almost.
I think if you vacuum them up, they probably have survived the trip and crawl back out again to torment you. They're tough little critters.
Maybe you keep seeing the same ones that you vacuum up.
100% that eggs were laid and there is an impending infestation of great magnitude.
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.
They're coming from somewhere else because my place is as clean as clean can be. It's maddening and upsetting and I am literally counting the days until I can move out. I'm also not looking forward to going through every single box I own to make sure I don't bring any to my new place. 
