Ok so, we started seeing roaches in our apartment yesterday and when I got home from class today there were more... They had been taken care of for a while and I don't know what the deal is and why they are back. So I called the office, and because of their Contract with Orkin, they only come to our apartments on Wednesdays. Are they allowed to make me deal with this for another week?

2/8/2007 3:10:32 PM

Or, am I allowed to hire my own exterminator and deduct it from my rent?

2/8/2007 4:02:00 PM

Or, go to the grocery store and pay $10 for some roach foggers.

2/8/2007 4:08:18 PM

Did that...doesn't work.

2/8/2007 4:08:40 PM

^ What the hell kinda roaches do you have?

2/8/2007 4:23:47 PM

I would say they are the "medium" sized ones. We have also seen the things they call Palmetto bugs (Call them what you want, they are still nasty roaches). The time we fogged before, it seemed like they were gone for a day and then came back worse, plus its a huge pain in the ass to take all of the food and our cat out of the apartment and sit in the car for 3 hours (what else would we do with the cat?)

2/8/2007 4:26:00 PM

If there's one roach, there's usually thousands.

2/8/2007 5:22:01 PM

I know, thats so comforting ^

2/8/2007 5:35:45 PM

we had good luck with the sticky traps

2/8/2007 7:16:02 PM

you do know they're the only ones who are gona survive the nuclear winter?

Better kiss up to them while you can...

2/8/2007 7:25:31 PM

Bust out the bait traps and spray along crevices where they might emerge.

Also, go buy some great stuff (can of foam insulation) and fill in every little hole you can find with it. It's disgusting, but it gets rid of some gaps pretty damn quick.

2/8/2007 7:43:42 PM

Joe's Apartment?

2/8/2007 10:45:53 PM

I've always had luck with the bait traps and Raid. My cats usually take care of any insect that gets into our house, they love to chase after them and then kill and eat them.

2/8/2007 10:49:57 PM

Ask for Carl when you call the exterminator.

He was a linebacker in high school.

2/8/2007 11:00:19 PM

when i lived on brent rd, our front and back porches were crawling with roaches during the warm months. i kinda had fun with it though. sneak up on them with an air rifle (unloaded), aim it point-blank, and shoot. it's so much fun to watch roaches 'splode.

2/8/2007 11:18:35 PM

I don't think they can legally make you deal with that for a week! Call student legal services and maybe the health dept!

2/9/2007 12:45:05 AM

Get the gel thats in the tube, that you put all around the baseboards.

That stuff works wonders.

Remember, you never get rid of roaches, you just make them move to another location. So whats most likely happening is that you are forcing them into a neighbors apartment, who then forces them back into yours.

2/9/2007 7:19:55 AM

^ exactly so the apt complex should spray your entire building not just your apt!

2/9/2007 2:06:22 PM

Quote :

"Also, go buy some great stuff (can of foam insulation) and fill in every little hole you can find with it. It's disgusting, but it gets rid of some gaps pretty damn quick."

yep, foam in a can works wonders

2/9/2007 2:27:33 PM

They do spray the entire building every 3 months, but the people just come in put a little spray under the kitchen sink and some of the baseboards and even they will tell you it doesn't do anything

2/9/2007 2:44:25 PM

maybe you should just keep your house clean....that might help

2/9/2007 5:24:17 PM

^but as stated previously...if you don't kill them they just move from apt to apt...so if one apt is nasty they will all have roaches!

If you have to take pics n call the health dept!

2/9/2007 5:26:53 PM

they won't go where there isn't food

2/9/2007 5:28:07 PM

I am pretty sure a roach can find food anywhere! The only place that would be 100% clean without food for them is a place that has been newly built in cleaned!

2/9/2007 6:54:40 PM

I really wish it was as simple as keeping our house clean...We already keep all of our food in sealed plastic bags, rinse dirty dishes and put them immediately in the dishwasher, we have gotten rid of all cardboard boxes, we vacuum and sweep and clean the counters all the time to keep crumbs up. What more should I be doing?

2/9/2007 10:17:31 PM

Blow up the house.

That'll teach 'em!

2/9/2007 10:39:46 PM

damn roaches would prolly live through that...lol

2/10/2007 3:03:46 AM

Do you have the big ones (1 inch) or tiny ones (1 cm)? If you've got the tiny German roaches, you should probably just go ahead and move*, because the way they reproduce you'll never get rid of them.

*move, and put stuff in storage for a week, bug bomb the storage unit, and clean things out before moving to the new place, or they could move with you.

2/10/2007 7:18:34 PM

just make sure you save room for them in your bed

2/10/2007 7:24:17 PM

Nah, theyre not the tiny ones. They are about an inch. I guess that is good?

2/10/2007 8:35:55 PM

Quote :

"If there's one roach, there's usually thousands. "

Actually, the entomological statistic that I have read is for every visible roach at a random interval of time, there are nine unseen within the same location. Therefore, if you see two in your kitchen, anticipate about 20 somewhere within that space.

They send out scouts you know.

2/10/2007 9:26:11 PM

^ ewwwwwwwww & ok Grissom

2/10/2007 11:42:48 PM

anyone else giggle at the title

i love cock...

roaches

2/11/2007 12:29:16 AM

I am not Suzie Q. I'm just on her computer and saw this post.

First, Iceplaya, the notion that roaches only live in unclean places is completely untrue. They can eat anything including woodchips, microscopic dead skin flakes, and cardboard. You are more likely to see them if you have a cluttered, filthy apartment, but also they just live everywhere. Especially in populated apartment buildings. Whether or not they take up residence in your kitchen is more luck of the draw than anything. If a neighbor moves out, they'll find somewhere else to live-clean or not.

The comment about foam. That is absolutely the best defense. You have to go into your kitchen, pull open everything and clean it bare. Then locate every gap, crevice, and hole (including around your pipes and behind your appliances) and spray them with insecticide and then fill them with foam. Then set off a fogger and you should be good. You just have to eliminate every entry point and hiding place in your kitchen that they could possibly use. The orkin man won't help the kind of problem you have. He'll just push them in the holes for a bit, then they'll come back out when the air clears.

It's true you are pushing them to your neighbor's apt. But this is a small battle in a war against an elusive enemy and you have to save yourself and your roommates first.

2/11/2007 9:51:29 AM

^^^^actually, yes that's very good. If you've got the big ones, you stand a chance of rarely seeing them again w/ proper treatment.

2/11/2007 12:30:38 PM

What do you do about these guys?

2/11/2007 9:39:20 PM

hardcore chemicals to immobilize just in case it has the gift of flight or jumping >1 foot in the air

then steel toed work boot FTW

2/11/2007 10:34:00 PM

I think if I saw that thing, it would be time to evacuate..

2/12/2007 5:18:49 PM

2/12/2007 5:21:21 PM

^^^^ The tarantula is cute. I am getting a Chilean Grey Rose if I can find one.

Off topic, but spiders are beneficial to us, as they eat many insects unless you have a) cockroaches
or b) a spider infestation itself.

2/12/2007 8:29:34 PM