Help! Cockroaches are invading!

[1.2.3.A.B.C.]

This is embarrassing but I joined this forum because I need help dealing with cockroaches. I just recently moved to a new place and the landlord refuses to rid my kitchen of cockroaches. (He says I brought them with me - which I did not!) Legal matters aside, I really just want a way to get rid of the roaches as quickly and safely as possible, without making a huge battle with my newish landlord, who frankly seems a bit off kilter and I don't want to battle it out with him just yet, if I can deal with this on my own.

 

I am afraid to use any of the products from The Home Depot for fear of the stuff becoming airborn. I did call one of the 800 numbers on one of the products and was told to just remove the bird for 12 hours till the product has a chance to dry. But the fear is that with the breeze the dried product will become airborn and my bird will inhale it. And I called Terminex and some of the other companies but they are terribly expensive and I just cannot afford it, since I'm on my own and have other expenses.

 

What do you guys think? Do you think the products from The Home Depot are safe to use, so long as my bird is out of the home for 12 hours? Alternately, does anyone have any known remedies that are safe? I have read on the Web about many home remedies but none seem to really be all that efficacious. So far the only thing I've tried is pulverizing bay leaves and sprinkling them around - but what a mess! And I'm still seeing roaches, so apparently they are not that deterred by bay leaf scent!

 

Please help. I am embarrassed by this problem and freaking out, since the dang things are getting bigger and there are more of them with each passing day and they are spreading out from just right around the kitchen sink to now over by the fridge and stove, too.

 

Thanks, everyone. I'll post some more information about myself as I get time and as I get this horrible problem solved.

[Dave007]

Roaches have been around for more than 3 million years. They've become resistant to just about anything that's used. They've even learned how to benefit from different pesticides. They can live in the harshest conditions. The only thing that a perrson can do is deter them a little but that doesn't last long. Most places that have roaches need to be professionally fumigated. Exterminators are used. It's expensive and usually the landlord is the one that gets that service. In apartment buildings that have roaches, the landlord has the exterminators come in every 6 mts. Products that home depot and other similar places don't sell items that permanently get rid of roaches and those products have long lasting odor. To a roach, the best room is the kitchen. Food, trash, humidity, water pipes, food closets, under and behind fridges, under and behind stoves. Sorry to be so down about this but I've seen this many times. The kitchen is the hardest place to remove them from.

If the area is professionally fumigated, people and pets would have to leave but the after odor will remain for quite a while ( days).

[inc0gnito]

I used lots of Boric Acid powder and those Roach traps for a month and have completely eliminated the roach infestation in my apartment. You have to remove any cardboard boxes, clean the counter tops and basically remove as much clutter as possible.

[Momo]

i dont know if this help or not but in my country people mix soap with water and put inside sprayer if they dont want to use chemical stuff.when u see the roach spray it on top of their body/head.soap have something that can block their respiration system and they die faster.i killed them with soap water until now and i found it more effective than chemical ones.

 

lavender,soap bar, lemon,bay leaf/cucumber is good stuff for emergency now until you find better way to kick them out.just simple cut lemon/soap/bay leaf/cucumber and put them around the place they like to come.this should help if they are not really a lot yet.

 

u can spray the area with garlic juice.blender garlic and water 1:5.spray it to the are they like to come.they will hate to come around.

be sure u check if any holes around your house and u have to close it.

good luck!

Edited June 17, 2012 by Momo

[Acappella]

I don't think there's any way to go but to take on the landlord. He/she has to provide a habital space for rent. Keep up your end legally eg. pay the rent, make sure the place is spotless, so you look golden and the landlord, not so much. Can you get a letter from your previous landlord stating that there was no roach problem with you or your previous home? In Canada there are strong landlord\tenant laws and places where you can take conflicts that will make them live up to their responsibilities. I'm sure it's the same in the States. If you can get them to bring in professionals I would board your bird outside the home for at least a week.

 

Get things out of boxes and into sealed plastic bins or bags. Wash linens and then store them in vacuum bags (We can get them here in $ stores so not as expensive as Space Bags brand name). Take out the garbage every day. Pull everything out of the cupboards and give them a good clean, then wipe clean with vinegar and water. Pull the appliances out from the wall. You might even unscrew the back plate from the stove and give it a good thourough vaccum. Maybe before you put the appliance back you could lay down double sided tape along the wall. Carpet tape is stickier than anything so if you use it make the floor-down side a little less sticky by blotting it on some fabric first. Otherwise you'll be cursing my name when you try to pull it off the floor. lol Also, inspect under all the sinks in the house. If there are any gaps around the hole where the pipes enter the house get some caulking or expanding foam and seal them. (Ask at the home inprovement store which kind is best). Same around windows, especially basement windows.

 

Or, you could do what some guy friends did when I was in college. Get a bunch of people together, turn off the lights for 10 minutes, and then award a prize to the person who stomps the most bugs when the lights come back on. (It doesn't have to be beer, that was just the prize of choice amongst jazz students in the '80's!)

[judygram]

I have never had to deal with cockroaches so do not know much about them except they tend to come out in the dark. Of course the landlord is going to say you brought them with you but if you can get in touch with the former tenants to find out if they were there before they left it would hold a lot of credence to your fight with him. Keep at him to get something done about them even if you have to move out for a while, no one should have to put up with them and take the other's advice on doing what you can to keep them out.

[1.2.3.A.B.C.]

Bay leaves don't work. I just watched a roach walk right up to a bay leaf and just go about its business. He didn't seem put off whatsoever.

 

Thank you to everyone who has responded thus far.

 

Come on, guys! Doesn't ANYONE have any more advice? I mean, cockroaches are apparently prolific as heck and have been around forever, and only a few people responded? Surely more of you have had to deal with these disgusting vermin, yes? If so, what did you do?

 

Does anyone know of a way to keep boric acid from becoming airborn? I know it is poisonous to roaches but I worry the stuff will get into the air and hurt my bird. How can I use the powdery stuff without it becoming airborn?

 

Please respond if you have any helpful information at all. I have read lots of ways to kill them on the Web but the trouble is, those ways will also kill a bird. Please respond if you have any advice at all, even if you think it is trivial.

[CLB]

You might try a "do it yourself" pest control. We have a local store for do it yourselfers, they sell stronger products more like what the pros use. You could talk to them about the bird situation too. Just a thought.

[Momo]

mmm last year we've been attacked by termites in our place and i need to poison all of our room.we had 2 parakeets at that time so we cant use chemical poison.i found liquid acid powder from chinesse or indian(?) pharmacy herbal shop and it works well.u should try to research herbal pharmacy(they have cockroach,mites,termites,alates,even for mouse killer!and they are natural) around your place.i empty my house for 2 weeks and rewash all the area after poisoning.our birds are okay and they dont show any sign of sickness.

good luck,i hope you can get rid of them soon.

[DawnMM]

Since you live in an apartment the best thing to do is get the landlord to exterminate all the apartments...if you only do yours, they go next door, and then they come back. That happened to me when I lived in an apartment...everyone gets to share the roaches. I wish I knew of a safe alternative for you, but like I said if all of the apartments aren't treated, they will just come back. Good luck!

[Wingy]

This might give you some ideas http://lancaster.unl.edu/enviro/pest/factsheets/120-94.htm

 

It is just my opinion but if you want to use boric acid or food grade diatomaceous earth it should be safe to place around the perimeter, seal the room and run an air cleaner for several hours. I have used boric acid in the past and it wasn't that dusty. I must say I didn't use the application container it came with because it didn't pour well. I used a piece of folded paper to edge it along the floor molding.

[kittykittykitty]

I use sticky traps. They seem to work well inside. I have placed two in the bathrooms, three in the kitchen, two in the living room. I placed one in each bedroom closet as well. After changing them once the cockroaches seemed to be gone, at least there were no more on the third time around.

Boric acid is good for silver fish but it is a poison.

Edited June 24, 2012 by kittykittykitty