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Home & Garden Articles
Pest Control - Roaches
Tue 09 Jan 2007 - 08:15
Pest Control - Roaches
By Stephanie McIntyre
As someone who grew up and lived in New York City for over 35 years, I can't look at even a picture of a roach without feeling my skin crawl and scratching. Nothing disgusts me more than roaches. Since I've moved to the suburbs, I've been lucky enough not to have seen any, but sometimes I'll come across a bug in the garden, and have to look twice to be sure.
Roaches disgust me. I've seen a variety of types, shapes, colors and sizes, and I hate them all. When I was in the city, there was no escaping them. Back then, they didn't bother me as much because there was never a time when at least a few were not around: and often a lot of them. But once I got away and no longer saw them on a regular basis, I developed much less of a tolerance for them.
There were times in NY when we were able to launch a fairly successful assault on them, but as apartment dwellers, you can only control your unit. If neighbors had infestations, eventually you would too. We would occasionally set off roach bombs in the place, which would kill all that the spray came in contact with. Then of course, the fun part was cleaning up dead roach carcasses. But a dead roach is as close to a good roach as one can get.
There was an especially gross experience that you might have every once in a while that could just make you shriek, even if you were a grown man. That's when you'd lift up something like a cushion, or a board you had under the sink, and find literally hundreds of the little b******* crawling over it. That's when the bombs usually came out.
As bad as these normal sized roaches were they were nothing compared to the big ones: the ones we called water bugs. These guys are huge, and gross beyond all reason. They didn't often come in your home, but when they did, oh boy: all other activities stopped. They almost never appeared in numbers in anybody's unit but if you went down into the basement of almost any apartment building, you'd often see dozens. This was surely not an experience for the faint of heart.
When I got married, we honeymooned in Hawaii. Boy they've got some big ones over there. I saw a bunch of T-shirts and posters proclaiming these monsters as the state bird. They weren't kidding either because over there they fly. Imagine one of these creatures flying by your ear (and they make the most disgusting low-pitched buzzing noise while flying) and landing in your hair, or on your neck. That can put a truly memorable stamp on any vacation.
I also spent some time in Kansas and came across another variety. These were big but not as big as water bugs, and black. I turned on the light in a kitchen of a place where I was staying, and the floor was covered with hundreds of them. That was bad. There was no getting rid of them without professional help, and that's whom we called.
But the old methods of roach control didn't really seem to work very well. They went away for a while, but almost always came back. The new way to control roaches is a multi-faceted approach.
First, use borate powders in the places were roaches are active. This powder sticks to them when they walk in it, and kills them when they lick it off. It can kill roaches for a long time, but should not be used where children or pets can get to it.
Get rid of roach hiding places and don't leave food sources for them. Toss out anything like bags, containers and boxes that they can hide in. Caulk up all cracks and holes, and the spaces around pipes. Seal up doors, use mesh around vents, and steel wool and spackling for large gaps and holes. Keep areas clean and crumb and spill free. Don't leave dirty dishes, floors or stovetops out before you go to bed. Make sure all food preparation surfaces are clean. Don't leave pet food out overnight.
Use roach baits where roaches can get to them but children and pets cannot. A little bait goes a long way and can kill dozens of roaches. Baits come in gels and pastes or in bait stations.
Roaches are resilient insects and may come back after your best efforts. Don't be discouraged by this. It may take several attempts but perseverance will eventually pay off.
Stephanie McIntyre and Wendell Bryant are Internet developers. Visit their site at http://pestcontrolbugfreezone.com/indoor-pests/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Stephanie_McIntyre
http://EzineArticles.com/?Pest-Control---Roaches&id=412122
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