Hi-

About a month ago, I signed a lease for an apartment- started moving
furniture in about a week later. It was about then that I Noticed I
had roaches. I called my manager and he sent out an exterminator
(Eradico) to 'treat' my apartment. They covered the floor molding,
kitchen floor corners and bathrooms with this light bluish powder.
That was a week ago saturday. Since then, I've been checking back
every day to see how many new ones have died. The first day there
were roughly 10 dead. Since then, there have been fewer and fewer,
and the dead ones have been smaller and smaller. I checked today and
couldn't find a single one. Is this a good sign?

wrote:

Hi-

About a month ago, I signed a lease for an apartment- started moving
furniture in about a week later. It was about then that I Noticed I
had roaches. I called my manager and he sent out an exterminator
(Eradico) to 'treat' my apartment. They covered the floor molding,
kitchen floor corners and bathrooms with this light bluish powder.
That was a week ago saturday. Since then, I've been checking back
every day to see how many new ones have died. The first day there
were roughly 10 dead. Since then, there have been fewer and fewer,
and the dead ones have been smaller and smaller. I checked today and
couldn't find a single one. Is this a good sign?

It can be a good sign but not always. Assuming they were the German
roaches.. http://www.ipconetwork.org/pests/bsshow.mv?g.rcno=35 The only
reason they would be along the baseboards is due to a high population in
the usual locations they hide. Appliances such as the dish washer or
cabinet crevices, counter spaces. The blue powder, more than likely
boric acid, will kill insects that get into it, but it can also be a
repellant where insects now avoid the treated areas so what looks like
control is actually just insects out of sight still growing in numbers.
If they are the large outdoor type of roach, aka water bugs, palmetto
bugs, wood roaches, etc,
http://www.ipconetwork.org/pests/bsshow.mv?g.rcno=40 or
http://www.ipconetwork.org/pests/bsshow.mv?g.rcno=62 the numbers you are
seeing are probably from an outdoor population getting in or came with
the furniture if it was stored for any period of time. If it is from an
outside population getting in the solution will be an outdoor
application for the pests. If it is just roaches that hitched a ride
from storage, the dust, though unsightly should work.

The size difference can be different things going on. If it were just
very small ones showing up then it is only hatchlings emerging from
dropped egg cases. If it is various sizes of the young ones, for the
German roaches they tend to stay hidden the younger they are so the
adults are usually the first to be seen followed by the nymphs. If it
is the outdoor species there may be a water issue going on where now
that people are using the water in the home, more wetness is
accumulating somewheres allowing the roaches to exist.

Lar

Thanks Lar. Before the manager called the exterminators, I took a few
dead ones to an exterminator who said they were German Roaches.
However the exterminator who sprayed said they were 'brown bandit'.
I'm assuming he meant brown banded? Anyways, since I only noticed
them after the furniture was delivered, I suppose it could have been
that, but I kind of doubt it.. I've found a couple whoppers, but the
past day or two have just been tiny (or small) ones. I'm going to try
cooking something there tomorrow night as I haven't fully moved in
yet, and see if any come out to see what's cooking. There's also a
huge hole in the wall under the kitchen sink where the pipers are, and
I have a feeling that's where they're coming from. Spray foam to the
rescue.

On Mar 5, 3:08 pm, Lar wrote:
wrote:
Hi-

About a month ago, I signed a lease for an apartment- started moving
furniture in about a week later. It was about then that I Noticed I
had roaches. I called my manager and he sent out an exterminator
(Eradico) to 'treat' my apartment. They covered the floor molding,
kitchen floor corners and bathrooms with this light bluish powder.
That was a week ago saturday. Since then, I've been checking back
every day to see how many new ones have died. The first day there
were roughly 10 dead. Since then, there have been fewer and fewer,
and the dead ones have been smaller and smaller. I checked today and
couldn't find a single one. Is this a good sign?

It can be a good sign but not always. Assuming they were the German
roaches..http://www.ipconetwork.org/pests/bsshow.mv?g.rcno=35The only
reason they would be along the baseboards is due to a high population in
the usual locations they hide. Appliances such as the dish washer or
cabinet crevices, counter spaces. The blue powder, more than likely
boric acid, will kill insects that get into it, but it can also be a
repellant where insects now avoid the treated areas so what looks like
control is actually just insects out of sight still growing in numbers.
If they are the large outdoor type of roach, aka water bugs, palmetto
bugs, wood roaches, etc,http://www.ipconetwork.org/pests/bss...v?g.rcno=62the numbers you are
seeing are probably from an outdoor population getting in or came with
the furniture if it was stored for any period of time. If it is from an
outside population getting in the solution will be an outdoor
application for the pests. If it is just roaches that hitched a ride
from storage, the dust, though unsightly should work.

The size difference can be different things going on. If it were just
very small ones showing up then it is only hatchlings emerging from
dropped egg cases. If it is various sizes of the young ones, for the
German roaches they tend to stay hidden the younger they are so the
adults are usually the first to be seen followed by the nymphs. If it
is the outdoor species there may be a water issue going on where now
that people are using the water in the home, more wetness is
accumulating somewheres allowing the roaches to exist.

Lar

wrote in message
ups.com...
Thanks Lar. Before the manager called the exterminators, I took a few
dead ones to an exterminator who said they were German Roaches.
However the exterminator who sprayed said they were 'brown bandit'.
I'm assuming he meant brown banded? Anyways, since I only noticed
them after the furniture was delivered, I suppose it could have been
that, but I kind of doubt it.. I've found a couple whoppers, but the
past day or two have just been tiny (or small) ones. I'm going to try
cooking something there tomorrow night as I haven't fully moved in
yet, and see if any come out to see what's cooking. There's also a
huge hole in the wall under the kitchen sink where the pipers are, and
I have a feeling that's where they're coming from. Spray foam to the
rescue.


For your move, did you get any free cardboard boxes from a supermarket? If
yes, get them out of the house ASAP.

Cool. Well some of the furniture I had delivered came in boxes.
Those were broken down and thrown away after we found the roaches. I
suppose it's possible they were in there. But in any case, I haven't
stayed a single night in the apartment since I signed the lease. So
there's been no food, no water. I don't know if that makes any
difference in my odds of being done with these little buggers. Can I
purchase boric acid on my own, in case I vacuum some up while
cleaning?

On Mar 5, 3:30 pm, "JoeSpareBedroom" wrote:
wrote in message

ups.com...

Thanks Lar. Before the manager called the exterminators, I took a few
dead ones to an exterminator who said they were German Roaches.
However the exterminator who sprayed said they were 'brown bandit'.
I'm assuming he meant brown banded? Anyways, since I only noticed
them after the furniture was delivered, I suppose it could have been
that, but I kind of doubt it.. I've found a couple whoppers, but the
past day or two have just been tiny (or small) ones. I'm going to try
cooking something there tomorrow night as I haven't fully moved in
yet, and see if any come out to see what's cooking. There's also a
huge hole in the wall under the kitchen sink where the pipers are, and
I have a feeling that's where they're coming from. Spray foam to the
rescue.

For your move, did you get any free cardboard boxes from a supermarket? If
yes, get them out of the house ASAP.

wrote:
Thanks Lar. Before the manager called the exterminators, I took a few
dead ones to an exterminator who said they were German Roaches.
However the exterminator who sprayed said they were 'brown bandit'.
I'm assuming he meant brown banded? Anyways, since I only noticed
them after the furniture was delivered, I suppose it could have been
that, but I kind of doubt it..

I wouldn't think an exterminator would confuse the two roaches. Brown
Banded would be more likely to be found in a storage or warehouse type
setting that possibly let them be brought into the apartment, but in
over 18 years in the business I have come across Brown Banded roaches
only once. They really aren't that common.

I've found a couple whoppers, but the
past day or two have just been tiny (or small) ones. I'm going to try
cooking something there tomorrow night as I haven't fully moved in
yet, and see if any come out to see what's cooking. There's also a
huge hole in the wall under the kitchen sink where the pipers are, and
I have a feeling that's where they're coming from. Spray foam to the
rescue.

If it turns out to be German roaches is the issue, you can take care of
them with the "Combat Gel" found at the grocery stores, easy enough to
apply and more effective and lot less toxic and messy than boric acid.
For the outdoor roaches, as you guess the opening in the wall may be
where they are getting in, though if there is any sort of plumbing
problems they will continue until the moisture is gone. Boric acid
applied along the baseboards as the company did will eventually kill any
that crawl into it, but you are only treating a symptom, not curing the
illness.

Lar

It's called "Roach prufe", and works well. Available anywhere.

If you can seal off all entry points, and I mean down to the pipes running
through your building, doors, toilet, every drain & sink, you can kill an
infestation (as I have) without insecticide in about two to three weeks ( I
work OS for three months a year = easy) - eggs may hatch in this period
though. They can't live without water for more than about 2 weeks.

wrote in message
ups.com...
Cool. Well some of the furniture I had delivered came in boxes.
Those were broken down and thrown away after we found the roaches. I
suppose it's possible they were in there. But in any case, I haven't
stayed a single night in the apartment since I signed the lease. So
there's been no food, no water. I don't know if that makes any
difference in my odds of being done with these little buggers. Can I
purchase boric acid on my own, in case I vacuum some up while
cleaning?

On Mar 5, 3:30 pm, "JoeSpareBedroom" wrote:
wrote in message

ups.com...

Thanks Lar. Before the manager called the exterminators, I took a few
dead ones to an exterminator who said they were German Roaches.
However the exterminator who sprayed said they were 'brown bandit'.
I'm assuming he meant brown banded? Anyways, since I only noticed
them after the furniture was delivered, I suppose it could have been
that, but I kind of doubt it.. I've found a couple whoppers, but the
past day or two have just been tiny (or small) ones. I'm going to try
cooking something there tomorrow night as I haven't fully moved in
yet, and see if any come out to see what's cooking. There's also a
huge hole in the wall under the kitchen sink where the pipers are, and
I have a feeling that's where they're coming from. Spray foam to the
rescue.

For your move, did you get any free cardboard boxes from a supermarket?
If
yes, get them out of the house ASAP.

wrote in
ups.com:

Cool. Well some of the furniture I had delivered came in boxes.
Those were broken down and thrown away after we found the roaches. I
suppose it's possible they were in there. But in any case, I haven't
stayed a single night in the apartment since I signed the lease. So
there's been no food, no water. I don't know if that makes any
difference in my odds of being done with these little buggers. Can I
purchase boric acid on my own, in case I vacuum some up while
cleaning?



yes,even supermarkets carry it.
an insect growth regulator will be of great benefit,too.
They affect all sorts of little buggers,very bad for them.

Often,one of your neighbors is the reason for their presence in your
apartment.They're migrants from their apartment.



--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net

On Mar 5, 2:39 pm, wrote:
Hi-

About a month ago, I signed a lease for an apartment- started moving
furniture in about a week later. It was about then that I Noticed I
had roaches. I called my manager and he sent out an exterminator
(Eradico) to 'treat' my apartment. They covered the floor molding,
kitchen floor corners and bathrooms with this light bluish powder.
That was a week ago saturday. Since then, I've been checking back
every day to see how many new ones have died. The first day there
were roughly 10 dead. Since then, there have been fewer and fewer,
and the dead ones have been smaller and smaller. I checked today and
couldn't find a single one. Is this a good sign?


no, because your neighbors may have them. the building may have a
problem.
they are hard to get rid of in an occupied complex for so many
reasons.
paying a dollar reward bounty for each one they can kill in 2 minutes,
also ask the neighbors' kids the question of how many they can't kill
in the kitchens.
see:
http://pested.unl.edu/pesticide/page...&pageObjId=106

On Mar 5, 2:39 pm, wrote:
Hi-

About a month ago, I signed a lease for an apartment- started moving
furniture in about a week later. It was about then that I Noticed I
had roaches. I called my manager and he sent out an exterminator
(Eradico) to 'treat' my apartment. They covered the floor molding,
kitchen floor corners and bathrooms with this light bluish powder.
That was a week ago saturday. Since then, I've been checking back
every day to see how many new ones have died. The first day there
were roughly 10 dead. Since then, there have been fewer and fewer,
and the dead ones have been smaller and smaller. I checked today and
couldn't find a single one. Is this a good sign?


no, because your neighbors may have them. the building may have a
problem.
they are hard to get rid of in an occupied complex for so many
reasons.
paying a dollar reward bounty for each one they can kill in 2 minutes,
also ask the neighbors' kids the question of how many they can't kill
in the kitchens.
see:
http://pested.unl.edu/pesticide/page...&pageObjId=106
and click on the free links to the chapters.

Lar inspired greatness with:


If it turns out to be German roaches is the issue, you can take care of
them with the "Combat Gel" found at the grocery stores, easy enough to
apply and more effective and lot less toxic and messy than boric acid.


Thanks for the tip on "Combat Gel".

It's my understanding that boric acid is non-toxic to humans though.

Cam-man wrote:
Lar inspired greatness with:


If it turns out to be German roaches is the issue, you can take care of
them with the "Combat Gel" found at the grocery stores, easy enough to
apply and more effective and lot less toxic and messy than boric acid.



Thanks for the tip on "Combat Gel".

It's my understanding that boric acid is non-toxic to humans though.


Boric acid is LOW toxic to humans..but while using it as a dust/powder
it will be 50- 100 times more toxic than the main insecticides I use off
of my truck for roach control or insecticides you will buy over the counter.

Lar

On Mon, 05 Mar 2007 14:08:18 -0600, Lar wrote:


The size difference can be different things going on. If it were just
very small ones showing up then it is only hatchlings emerging from
dropped egg cases. If it is various sizes of the young ones, for the
German roaches they tend to stay hidden the younger they are so t

I've wondered about this for a long time. Will the same cockroach be
different sizes in its own lifetime? How many different sizes will it
have in one lifetime? How does it get bigger? Does it molt? I never
found any empty cockroach shells or skins, and I thought I would if it
shed its outer layer like a snake.

mm wrote:

On Mon, 05 Mar 2007 14:08:18 -0600, Lar wrote:


The size difference can be different things going on. If it were just
very small ones showing up then it is only hatchlings emerging from
dropped egg cases. If it is various sizes of the young ones, for the
German roaches they tend to stay hidden the younger they are so t


I've wondered about this for a long time. Will the same cockroach be
different sizes in its own lifetime? How many different sizes will it
have in one lifetime? How does it get bigger? Does it molt? I never
found any empty cockroach shells or skins, and I thought I would if it
shed its outer layer like a snake.

Depending on the species, will have an egg capsule that can have a
couple of dozen babies a bit larger than a BB. As they grow they go
through a number of instars and do molt. The American roach, the
largest will reach adulthood after a year or so. For most species you
can tell adults from immatures, even if they are the same size, by the
wing coverings. If you can see the body bands, like an armadillo, they
will be the immature nymphs. You probably have seen studies where
cockroach/insect allergens account for over 50% of child allergies in
inner cities. It is the molted skin that causes this. The skins just
break down into smaller pieces and never really totally go away.

Lar

What I don't know is if it's worth it or not to stay in this
apartment. If I go spray foam and caulk crazy, use that combat bait
in all my wall outlets, light switches and cupboards, is this a
problem I can be rid of? Or should I find another apartment and
reloacte before I move my stuff in? (apt is currently empty except for
tightly wrapped and 'baited' furniture)

On Mar 6, 9:54 am, Lar wrote:
mm wrote:
On Mon, 05 Mar 2007 14:08:18 -0600, Lar wrote:

The size difference can be different things going on. If it were just
very small ones showing up then it is only hatchlings emerging from
dropped egg cases. If it is various sizes of the young ones, for the
German roaches they tend to stay hidden the younger they are so t

I've wondered about this for a long time. Will the same cockroach be
different sizes in its own lifetime? How many different sizes will it
have in one lifetime? How does it get bigger? Does it molt? I never
found any empty cockroach shells or skins, and I thought I would if it
shed its outer layer like a snake.

Depending on the species, will have an egg capsule that can have a
couple of dozen babies a bit larger than a BB. As they grow they go
through a number of instars and do molt. The American roach, the
largest will reach adulthood after a year or so. For most species you
can tell adults from immatures, even if they are the same size, by the
wing coverings. If you can see the body bands, like an armadillo, they
will be the immature nymphs. You probably have seen studies where
cockroach/insect allergens account for over 50% of child allergies in
inner cities. It is the molted skin that causes this. The skins just
break down into smaller pieces and never really totally go away.

Lar

wrote:

What I don't know is if it's worth it or not to stay in this
apartment. If I go spray foam and caulk crazy, use that combat bait
in all my wall outlets, light switches and cupboards, is this a
problem I can be rid of? Or should I find another apartment and
reloacte before I move my stuff in? (apt is currently empty except for
tightly wrapped and 'baited' furniture)



Once again it depends on the roach species and the amount present if it
is fact German roaches. It may be worth the expense, if your apt manager
allows it to have your own service company come in to at least inspect.
The worst roach problems in the individual apartment can be taken care
of though if you are in a building infested you will always find dead
ones about now and then.

Lar

On Tue, 06 Mar 2007 08:54:17 -0600, Lar wrote:

mm wrote:

On Mon, 05 Mar 2007 14:08:18 -0600, Lar wrote:


The size difference can be different things going on. If it were just
very small ones showing up then it is only hatchlings emerging from
dropped egg cases. If it is various sizes of the young ones, for the
German roaches they tend to stay hidden the younger they are so t


I've wondered about this for a long time. Will the same cockroach be
different sizes in its own lifetime? How many different sizes will it
have in one lifetime? How does it get bigger? Does it molt? I never
found any empty cockroach shells or skins, and I thought I would if it
shed its outer layer like a snake.

Depending on the species, will have an egg capsule that can have a
couple of dozen babies a bit larger than a BB. As they grow they go

Thanks. This answres a question I"ve had for a long time.

You know, the little ones are actually cute. Like puppies, kittens,
and babies, if only they didn't grow up.

through a number of instars and do molt. The American roach, the

Aha!

largest will reach adulthood after a year or so. For most species you
can tell adults from immatures, even if they are the same size, by the
wing coverings. If you can see the body bands, like an armadillo, they
will be the immature nymphs. You probably have seen studies where
cockroach/insect allergens account for over 50% of child allergies in
inner cities. It is the molted skin that causes this. The skins just
break down into smaller pieces and never really totally go away.

Lar

On 6 Mar 2007 07:41:00 -0800, wrote:

What I don't know is if it's worth it or not to stay in this
apartment. If I go spray foam and caulk crazy, use that combat bait
in all my wall outlets, light switches and cupboards, is this a
problem I can be rid of? Or should I find another apartment and
reloacte before I move my stuff in? (apt is currently empty except for
tightly wrapped and 'baited' furniture)

You have to talk to all your neighbors and see if they have roaches
and see what the landlord and they are doing about it. AIUI, in big
cities landlords with x or more tenants have to spray etc. INSIDE each
infested apartment, not just in the halls. but AIUI there are many
small cities with fewer laws in general and fewer to protect tenants
in particular. I think in those places, when one also has a landlord
who doesn't care, and when the problem extends beyond ones own
apartment to ones where the tenant isn't going to make his own major
effort, the remedy is to move. But you haven't even moved in yet, and
I don't think you know much about the situation. And we certainly
don't know. What town or city is this?

And iirc, if one neighbor is a pig of a certain kind, that apartment
can be a refuge for them. Not all piggish behaviour causes problems.

The roaches are not stupid, and if they are attacked in one part of
the building, they retreat to another. Then they spread out again
later.

In my building in Brooklyn, in my first aparment there were roaches
(but they only came out at night!). The second year I moved to a 3 BR
apartment that had none, and I had no roaches for about 7 years, then
they arrived and got progressively worse. IIRC we had gotten a new
landlord a couple years earlier and he skimped to save money, so there
was NO regular exterminator and that allowed the roaches to spread,
and after a couple years it was pretty bad. Other tenants were in
court with him, and the court forced him to reinstitute monthly
visists by the exterminator. Then I did my part by "bombing" my
aparment, and there were no roaches for the last 4 years I lived
there.

Not every problem means the ll has bad intentions. It may be confined
to one apartment at first and he may not even know about it. Or it
may have recently got worse, and he doesn't know that.

Also things get stirred up iirc when people move out. Or spraying
etc. in one apartment can force the roaches from there into another
one that didnt' have them.


Those boxes with the furniture you mentioned. Were they new boxes? I
don't think new boxes from furniture will have roaches.

When I moved to Baltimore, I was careful to not bring roaches, by
leaving things behind, or taking them apart and spraying. (They like
warm spots, so for a while they lived in this table clock I had hung
from a nail in the kitchen.) But when I was unpacking, I saw one come
out of a box, and he went the other way, and the box kept me from
catcfhing him bofore he escaped.

Then a couple weeks later, I got some used furniture from people I
barely knew, and one got out of that. I was distressed that I had
introduced two roaches to my clean house. I wondered if they would
meet each other, and if one was a boy and the other a girl. But after
a few weeks, I figured that something had interfered in any possible
relationship.


On Mar 6, 9:54 am, Lar wrote:
mm wrote:
On Mon, 05 Mar 2007 14:08:18 -0600, Lar wrote:

The size difference can be different things going on. If it were just
very small ones showing up then it is only hatchlings emerging from
dropped egg cases. If it is various sizes of the young ones, for the
German roaches they tend to stay hidden the younger they are so t

I've wondered about this for a long time. Will the same cockroach be
different sizes in its own lifetime? How many different sizes will it
have in one lifetime? How does it get bigger? Does it molt? I never
found any empty cockroach shells or skins, and I thought I would if it
shed its outer layer like a snake.

Depending on the species, will have an egg capsule that can have a
couple of dozen babies a bit larger than a BB. As they grow they go
through a number of instars and do molt. The American roach, the
largest will reach adulthood after a year or so. For most species you
can tell adults from immatures, even if they are the same size, by the
wing coverings. If you can see the body bands, like an armadillo, they
will be the immature nymphs. You probably have seen studies where
cockroach/insect allergens account for over 50% of child allergies in
inner cities. It is the molted skin that causes this. The skins just
break down into smaller pieces and never really totally go away.

Lar

Well I'm going to try cooking tonight, and see how many houseguests I
find. Between the german and brown banded species, which is harder to
be rid of?

On Mar 6, 10:57 am, mm wrote:
On Tue, 06 Mar 2007 08:54:17 -0600, Lar wrote:
mm wrote:

On Mon, 05 Mar 2007 14:08:18 -0600, Lar wrote:

The size difference can be different things going on. If it were just
very small ones showing up then it is only hatchlings emerging from
dropped egg cases. If it is various sizes of the young ones, for the
German roaches they tend to stay hidden the younger they are so t

I've wondered about this for a long time. Will the same cockroach be
different sizes in its own lifetime? How many different sizes will it
have in one lifetime? How does it get bigger? Does it molt? I never
found any empty cockroach shells or skins, and I thought I would if it
shed its outer layer like a snake.

Depending on the species, will have an egg capsule that can have a
couple of dozen babies a bit larger than a BB. As they grow they go

Thanks. This answres a question I"ve had for a long time.

You know, the little ones are actually cute. Like puppies, kittens,
and babies, if only they didn't grow up.

through a number of instars and do molt. The American roach, the

Aha!

largest will reach adulthood after a year or so. For most species you
can tell adults from immatures, even if they are the same size, by the
wing coverings. If you can see the body bands, like an armadillo, they
will be the immature nymphs. You probably have seen studies where
cockroach/insect allergens account for over 50% of child allergies in
inner cities. It is the molted skin that causes this. The skins just
break down into smaller pieces and never really totally go away.

Lar

On 5 Mar 2007 11:39:42 -0800, wrote:

Hi-

About a month ago, I signed a lease for an apartment- started moving
furniture in about a week later. It was about then that I Noticed I
had roaches. I called my manager and he sent out an exterminator
(Eradico) to 'treat' my apartment. They covered the floor molding,
kitchen floor corners and bathrooms with this light bluish powder.
That was a week ago saturday. Since then, I've been checking back
every day to see how many new ones have died. The first day there
were roughly 10 dead. Since then, there have been fewer and fewer,
and the dead ones have been smaller and smaller. I checked today and
couldn't find a single one. Is this a good sign?

imho:

When we lived in apartments we often had roach tag. We would get
them, then 'bomb' the apartment, and then they left. The left for my
neighbors, which would get fed up and then 'bomb' their apartments.
This resulted in them returning.

Often the only way to get rid of roaches to remove the people and
fumigate the whole building. This is costly, and doesn't prevent
tenets from bringing them back in.

Just thinking out loud....


tom @ www.MedJobSite.com

mm inspired greatness with:

You know, the little ones are actually cute.


LOL, no they are not! I kill them all with extreme prejudice.

wrote:
Well I'm going to try cooking tonight, and see how many houseguests I
find. Between the german and brown banded species, which is harder to
be rid of?



Due to the numbers German roaches can appear in they would be considered
"harder" to rid, though with todays products, especially if there is an
exterminator involved it should be no great feat. But if a
home/apartment has a heavy roach population, it didn't get that way in
just a couple of weeks and they will not be cured in a couple of weeks.

Lar

On Tue, 06 Mar 2007 01:51:48 -0600, Gerry Atrick
wrote:

On 5 Mar 2007 11:39:42 -0800, wrote:

Hi-


What do you call a FEMALE c_ckroach ????????

****ROACH - What else would you call it?

wrote:

Cool. Well some of the furniture I had delivered came in boxes.
Those were broken down and thrown away after we found the roaches. I
suppose it's possible they were in there. But in any case, I haven't
stayed a single night in the apartment since I signed the lease. So
there's been no food, no water. I don't know if that makes any
difference in my odds of being done with these little buggers. Can I
purchase boric acid on my own, in case I vacuum some up while
cleaning?

There is probably water in drain traps and toilet? If water evaporates
from drain traps, they can come from sewer. The love cozy spaces in
stacks of paper, envelopes with glue and cardboard boxes. We had major
infestation in our condo when we moved here, made worse when upstairs
neighbor moved out. Our exterminator used bait, including near plumbing
entries and light receptacles. It was a boric/peanut butter concoction
and applied with a thingy like that used for decorating cakes . that did
it for us. We left some forgotten food packages in our camper and didn't
use it for about a year. When we opened it up again, it was like a
Biblical plague - disgusting. The had chewed through unopened
paper/plastic wrap on Ritz crackers, and even chewed up my rubber flipflops!

On Tue, 06 Mar 2007 15:54:11 -0600, Cam-man wrote:

mm inspired greatness with:

You know, the little ones are actually cute.


LOL, no they are not! I kill them all with extreme prejudice.

If you think that they are "cute", go rent a copy of the movie
"Joe's Apartment".
:-)

Doug

Doug wrote:
On Tue, 06 Mar 2007 15:54:11 -0600, Cam-man wrote:


mm inspired greatness with:


You know, the little ones are actually cute.


LOL, no they are not! I kill them all with extreme prejudice.


If you think that they are "cute", go rent a copy of the movie
"Joe's Apartment".
:-)

Doug

Well I have never heard one called cute, but have several times had
customers refer to this species as pretty.
http://arrow-pestcontrol.com/100_2192.JPG

Lar

On Mar 6, 11:13 am, mm wrote:
On 6 Mar 2007 07:41:00 -0800, wrote:

What I don't know is if it's worth it or not to stay in this
apartment. If I go spray foam and caulk crazy, use that combat bait
in all my wall outlets, light switches and cupboards, is this a
problem I can be rid of? Or should I find another apartment and
reloacte before I move my stuff in? (apt is currently empty except for
tightly wrapped and 'baited' furniture)

You have to talk to all your neighbors and see if they have roaches
and see what the landlord and they are doing about it. AIUI, in big
cities landlords with x or more tenants have to spray etc. INSIDE each
infested apartment, not just in the halls. but AIUI there are many
small cities with fewer laws in general and fewer to protect tenants
in particular. I think in those places, when one also has a landlord
who doesn't care, and when the problem extends beyond ones own
apartment to ones where the tenant isn't going to make his own major
effort, the remedy is to move. But you haven't even moved in yet, and
I don't think you know much about the situation. And we certainly
don't know. What town or city is this?

And iirc, if one neighbor is a pig of a certain kind, that apartment
can be a refuge for them. Not all piggish behaviour causes problems.

The roaches are not stupid, and if they are attacked in one part of
the building, they retreat to another. Then they spread out again
later.

In my building in Brooklyn, in my first aparment there were roaches
(but they only came out at night!). The second year I moved to a 3 BR
apartment that had none, and I had no roaches for about 7 years, then
they arrived and got progressively worse. IIRC we had gotten a new
landlord a couple years earlier and he skimped to save money, so there
was NO regular exterminator and that allowed the roaches to spread,
and after a couple years it was pretty bad. Other tenants were in
court with him, and the court forced him to reinstitute monthly
visists by the exterminator. Then I did my part by "bombing" my
aparment, and there were no roaches for the last 4 years I lived
there.

Not every problem means the ll has bad intentions. It may be confined
to one apartment at first and he may not even know about it. Or it
may have recently got worse, and he doesn't know that.

Also things get stirred up iirc when people move out. Or spraying
etc. in one apartment can force the roaches from there into another
one that didnt' have them.

Those boxes with the furniture you mentioned. Were they new boxes? I
don't think new boxes from furniture will have roaches.

When I moved to Baltimore, I was careful to not bring roaches, by
leaving things behind, or taking them apart and spraying. (They like
warm spots, so for a while they lived in this table clock I had hung
from a nail in the kitchen.) But when I was unpacking, I saw one come
out of a box, and he went the other way, and the box kept me from
catcfhing him bofore he escaped.

Then a couple weeks later, I got some used furniture from people I
barely knew, and one got out of that. I was distressed that I had
introduced two roaches to my clean house. I wondered if they would
meet each other, and if one was a boy and the other a girl. But after
a few weeks, I figured that something had interfered in any possible
relationship.

On Mar 6, 9:54 am, Lar wrote:
mm wrote:
On Mon, 05 Mar 2007 14:08:18 -0600, Lar wrote:

The size difference can be different things going on. If it were just
very small ones showing up then it is only hatchlings emerging from
dropped egg cases. If it is various sizes of the young ones, for the
German roaches they tend to stay hidden the younger they are so t

I've wondered about this for a long time. Will the same cockroach be
different sizes in its own lifetime? How many different sizes will it
have in one lifetime? How does it get bigger? Does it molt? I never
found any empty cockroach shells or skins, and I thought I would if it
shed its outer layer like a snake.

Depending on the species, will have an egg capsule that can have a
couple of dozen babies a bit larger than a BB. As they grow they go
through a number of instars and do molt. The American roach, the
largest will reach adulthood after a year or so. For most species you
can tell adults from immatures, even if they are the same size, by the
wing coverings. If you can see the body bands, like an armadillo, they
will be the immature nymphs. You probably have seen studies where
cockroach/insect allergens account for over 50% of child allergies in
inner cities. It is the molted skin that causes this. The skins just
break down into smaller pieces and never really totally go away.

Lar

I currently live in Brooklyn on the third floor. I had an overlap of
a month between my Brooklyn apartment and my old apartment, which was
located in Manhattan. A friend was going on an early flight wanted to
stay in my new apartment prior to me moving my furniture in, so we
purchased an airbed and stayed the night (the Brooklyn apartment was
much closer to JFK). Anyhow, I noticed a lot of bugs that night! I
wasn't exactly sure what they all were.

Of course, me being in panic, I knew I was going to have someone
exterminate the place before I moved in for good. First I painted the
whole apartment. Then I paid someone to clean it; because while I
don't mine cleaning up after myself, cleaning up after a prior tenant
I've never met is something I'd rather avoid if I can. In NY it is
common practice to not actually deep clean a place before it is
rented. I asked the landlord to replace all of the floors as both
bedrooms and the living room were carpet. Yuck. Then I paid an
exterminator to spray the entire apartment while it was still empty.
That got rid of any bugs that were outside of the kitchen and
bathroom. I wanted to do this a couple weeks before moving in because
I do have a cat and I always worry about that...

Anyhow, it's been about six months now. The landlord does have an
exterminator come in once a month, but for the past couple months I
have missed him. I'm kind of OK with this (for now), because my cat
was sick and I didn't want to risk causing any added stress to him. I
do see some big ones in the hallways sometimes. We do live above a
bodega, which is what I think attracts them the most, with five
apartments in the building, including my own. I am friendly with all
of my neighbors and I have seen all but one apartment and they appear
to be very clean and tidy.

I haven't seen a cockroach, not even a small one, in over a month
(knock on wood). I basically NEVER leave food out, not even the cat's
food. I keep my dishes clean. I seal all food in airtight
containers; this includes food in the fridge as well as sugar and
cereal in the cupboard. I try to give them no reason to come into my
apartment. While I know they can survive on water alone, I don't
think this is what attracts them if there are other things nearby that
are better (for instance, unsealed bagels in the store downstairs).

Anyhow, it is a struggle and you can never get into dirty habits.
Keep your house clean and clutter-free and I think that's the best way
to avoid them. It's a good practice anyhow! Good luck!

On Thu, 08 Mar 2007 08:24:51 -0600, Lar wrote:



Well I have never heard one called cute, but have several times had
customers refer to this species as pretty.
http://arrow-pestcontrol.com/100_2192.JPG

That's not the kind I thought were cute. Big ugly legs, and
noticeably wide body.

Lar

Well, if I start with verrrry small, the egg case, I think the egg
cases are very ugly. They remind me of fat mommas dragging them behind
them.

But the smallest size -- isn't that 2 or 3 mm. -- and not the German
ones, the rounded, blacker, maybe shiny ones, with shorter legs, when
there were only one or two of them maybe, I have thought a couple
times were cute. Something about their proportions. I think that was
only because I knew I would win the war and didn't feel threatened by
them.

Back to the larger ones: Did you know that when you step on them to
kill them, and you hear that noise when you crush them, sometimes you
haven't crushed them at all or killed them. They know how to snap
their fingers, to fool people who are stepping on them. It's one of
their survival skills. Pretty clever, huh.

Just kidding, in case anyone took me seriously.