Solved bug problem!!

[homebuff]

Well its been a while since i've posted on this subject. In case you did'nt know I am finally getting rid of those nasty things. I have simply been using those lg. mouse traps & a spray bottle of HotShot oderless & non stain bug spray. Got it from the Dollar store. It really does work great. No more worring about them crawling on my dishes & silverware & on me at night. The only thing I hate is having to sweep them all up. But thats fine w/me. For the eating them I should have baged them all up& mailed them to the person that liked to eat them but I would'nt want to poison them w/ them. I finally accomplished something. No more miceor bugs. The ants have even dimishished some too. Had them bad too. Thanks for all the advice guys.

[Yanita]

Hi,

Glad you are reducing your roach population...but I would like to add a few comments.

A colony of 30,000 roaches can live for one month a small smear of grease...amazing huh...although you have a found a way to reduce the population I would continue your method for a very long while to come, they lay eggs!

Roaches thrive in warm, dark, moist areas. Check around your water heater for signs of eggs, typically looks like little black specks.

Every few months I pull out my stove and make sure that the sides are free of any food that may have gotten down between it and the counters, do the same with all appliances. Also keep the toaster clean of all crumbs.

If you use any chemicals around your hot water tank be careful, read the instructions if it is a spray chemical, SOME if not all are extremely combustible.

Good luck...and thanks for the update.

Yanita

[homebuff]

Thanks Yanita for that info, i'll get right on it. I do see but not as many eggs as before. They would be attached to my cloths in my closet stuck to them. They look like little capsules & are black. I know they love the water cause i used to see them in my tub when I would go in there to take a shower. I assume the spray bootle of bug spray is getting rid of the ants as well cause they have dimished as well.I'll tell you whats creepy is when your lying there sleeping & one crawls in bed w/ you & it will make you jump right out of bed slinging your arms every direction trying to get them off you. Now thats really creepy. You have been very helpful, thanks many times over. David

[Yanita]

Hi,

You are very welcome...

Another thought be sure to use the attachment on your vacuum and vacuum every little crack and crevice, around baseboards, vent etc, under sinks behind the fridge. Those dam things live in the darkest of areas. Don't forget to empty your cupboards and do the same. Hopefully you have a vacuum that requires a bag, as soon as you are done vacuuming EVERYTIME remove the bag and make sure to burn it!

If you have a bagless machine then empty the contents into a bag and burn that, remove all filters and either replace with new or make sure you wash them very well.

I don't have roaches thankfully, but living in the south they seem to be a problem in some homes, even those that are very wealthy and owning a million dollar home. I clean several of these and I maintain a vacuum for strictly these homes. This vacuum although maintained as stated above NEVER comes into my home.

One finally thought comes to mind...somewhere I either heard or read that roaches like to live in paper/cardboard etc...if you are a collector of said items...get rid of them, they will be loaded with eggs!

Yanita

[homebuff]

Thanks Yanita! Yes i do keep alot of boxes in one room full of computer parts & such but don't know of anything else I can store them in. I bought some plastic drawer type bins to keep some computer parts in. I have a bagless upright sweeper but I simply dispose of the bugs by putting them in the trash & send them to the dumpster. Thanks again! The bugs are disappearing little by little but some are still around.

[homebuff]

Well! Yanita the bugs are still around but not as many & they still climb in bed w/ me. The Hot Shot oderless & stainless spray I got at Dollal Store is working good but they seem to keep collinating somewhere under the trlr. My bathroom floor is sagging in a bit from water leaking at the tub but only repaired the existing floor & new tub a while back & didn't remove the old particle board under the new board installed outside the tub. The flooring under the tub is new treated board. Maybe their staying in that area breeding, but they seem to be all around the house. My wife & I jump evert time thay jump or crawl on us while on our computers. Its gets frantic around here. Can't use a fogger which I would love to because of the pets. Thought of using a fogger under the trlr. but worried it would really stirr them up from under the trlr. & they would all come up inside. I HATE THOSE DARN THINGS!!! Thank goodness their not those nasty roaches. Thanks for listening. David!

[Dirty White Boy]

The only way I know to stop roaches is a nuke...not sure that'll work either though. My old apartment we had house centipedes. If you have never come across these things, you are very fortunate. They are often compared to roaches in their difficulty to control. We siliconed every single crack that we could find. If it was a large crack under the sink or below the trim we put boric acid down then siliconed. Dozens of glue traps in dozens of locations. Home Depot sold a bug killer for about $10.00 that came in a gallon jug and had a sprayer that was used behind everything.


Best of luck...

[homebuff]

Yeh! DYB, Yanita turned me on to the boric acid & its been working some what good but have found out using the glue traps & that HotShot clear bug spray in a bottle from the Dollar Store was the best for me. I spray it in all sorts of locations throughout the house at night away from where the dogs cannot get to it & wake up in the morning & there are tons of them dead. I like it cause it has no odor what so ever!! Had a problem a long time ago with scorpions though at a lake house. They were all under the house. Got rid of them in a hurry. Ive repaired my floors so much, there are cracks all along the walls that are hard to seal up. I use that foam insulation spray, but is'nt so pretty to look at. Not that good of a carpenter getting the plywood to fit snug against the wall I'd better stop my gabling on before Yanita locks this post for good. Yanita! I like to hear alot about people with bug problems & how they got rid of theirs. It is very handy. Have a nice weekend all.

[Guest]

Hello all, I live in a double wide in the middle of a corn field. A family Friend came to stay for a couple of weeks, and brought roaches with him. Ever since then they have only multiplied by the MILLLIONS!! I have since found out that a MH is the WORST place to try and get rid of roaches. There are SO many more places for them to hide than in a regular house. It is disgusting. I wont even invite friends over anymore, because they will see the parade. I have tried just about everything OTC and legal. I have tried bombs, glue, sprays, vacuuming, but they are still here. Although I found that the vacuuming helps a TON. Everytime you vacuum your whole kitchen, or when you find a spot they are clustering at, suck those bad boys up and that is 5,000 less than you had before. I make sure that I take the trash out every night before I go to bed, and I started to keep my dogs food bowl outside. That made a big change. When you find one cluster point for them, and attack it, they just move it to another point. Here are a couple of things I found that will just help populate them...

1. DO NOT KEEP POTATOS OUT... I usually leave them in the pantry in a basket. Dont do this if you have roaches. They burrow into the potatos and nest, plus it is a constant food source for them....

2. cardboard is not the only thing they thrive in. ANYTHING wooden. wich is really a pain in the butt, because most of my furniture is wooden. I have tons of baskets that are for decoration in my house that are made of wicker type, get rid of them now!! put them in storage if you have to.... but they will somehow weave into them, and it is a place they love to hide.

3. If possible buy a little at a time, plastic totes that seal well, or even use jars, and old butter tubs once they are used. anything that is pretty seal tight, and transfer all loose type food into it. Otherwise you are just giving them more food.

4. wipe all your counters at night with windex. I found this helps with keeping them off the counters at night while they are foraging. I make sure and clean my kitchen really well every night, and make sure all the dishes are done, all the water drops are cleaned up, and there is NO food at all. Plus wiping everything down with windex, or even that new clorox spray, where it has bleach in it, but is safe for immediate touching for kids and pets...cant remember the name..and throw your trash OUTSIDE your house everynight as well...

I have heard that garlic helps to get rid of them. just lay out a couple of garlic cloves all around your house... i love the smell of garlic, so its not that bad for me (havent tried it just yet) but the one thing I have noticed is that the ONLY cupboard and surface they are not in in my kitchen is my spice cabinet. so there might be some truth to that.

If anyone has any other little tips, please let me know as well, because they are making me want to burn my house down. I just cant afford to have the bug people come out, because I know how much work it will be to spray and gel every single crack and crevice in this house. as I said, I have a huge double wide.

[Yanita]

Hi,

Roaches can survive a nuke attack!

All things/solutions provided are really only band aides. Once you have roaches it is about impossible to completely rid yourself of them.

Not sure why a mobile home would be harder to rid of pest than any other home, construction is quite similar, only with lesser quality construction materials.

At any rate, one of the key things in using pesticides in your home is to make sure the underneath of your home is sprayed as well, and then do the ground perimeter outside, then EVERY crack and crevice in the home. To not do so will simply run the pest under the home or bring them up from the bottom.

Cleaning up crumbs is good cleaning practice regardless if you have pest, BUT, to not pull out your appliances and clean any grease that might of gotten between your stove and counters is leaving a constant food source for roaches. A colony of 30,000 roaches can feed for one month off of a small smear of grease!

I am going to move this to the OFF TOPIC forums as it is getting lengthy and not a repair question...

Yanita

[homebuff]

I hope you don't mind this last comment to Mrssmith2b Yanita. I have found the Rid-a-Bug & HotShot oderless & stainless spray from the Dollar Store or WalMart to be the most effective for me 100% effective. I have got rid of just about all of those nasty waterbugs. Looks as though they had some cousins running around w/ them that were somewhat smaller & a lt. greyish color but definately not the common roaches you see in some homes. Let me know if you have tried it & if it was effective. Just take it & spray it around all the baseboards & under the cabinets & behind the fridg. & washer & dryer & stove. Don't worry cause it will not affect the pets cause mine don't even bother it by trying to lick it. It has no oder. I love it!!! Good luck!

[homebuff]

Oh! one more thing. make sure to keep a broom & dust pan handy cause when you get up the next morning you will have your work cut out for you cleaning them all up.I already used up one broom getting rid of them.