Tropical mamas, help - roaches in my dishwasher!!!

[3_opihi]

Ok, well the title pretty much says it all... We've been having this problem for awhile, and been trying to ignore it/ use sticky traps to get rid of them, but now it's just out of control. I just opened my dishawasher and I think I saw like 20 run out!!! (and before you think I'm disgusting, I live in Hawaii where this kind of stuff is pretty standard).

Obviously we can't spray in there. Is there anything I can do??? We can't take our dishwasher out from under the counter, which is I think a big part of the problem. If I could pull it out and clean and set some traps I'd be set. Plus, I think they are actually IN the dishwasher.

[aussiemum]

Eeewwww. But you have my utmost sympathy. I can't stand cockies either & they can get to plague proportions here, too. I'll just throw out a few thoughts, & perhaps one might be useful to you.
First off, is there a panel at the bottom that you can remove & gain better access to the underside of the machine? Is there any space at all between the bottom of the machine & the floor? If so, you may be able to spray insecticide under there if you absolutely have to- I'm assuming the space is too tight for those little flat raid traps. Try rinsing your dishes off before putting them in, or run it straight after you load it so the critters don't have a chance to feed. Or don't use it for a while so they move out, but most people prolly wouldn't like that. Who knows if it would work, too... my dishwash has ants, personally, but they are not too bad & so I don't worry about them. But if I kept the machine closed when it had dirty dishes in it, I think the problem would improve.

Also, make sure your bin (garbage?) and compost bucket are tightly closed, & rinse out your recycling- in general, minimising their food source does help eventually, imo, but it's not perfect & it takes persistance & an obsessive kitchen cleaning regime. :

I hope that helps a bit anyway! Good luck!

[mommyof3andcountin]

I'd say fog the nearby cabinets, and the dishwasher with some type of bug fog, then set bunches of traps to whereever you can reach.

Then run your dishwasher 2 or 3 times with bleach or vinegar or detergent to get rid of the leftover bug spray, and rinse dished well before you stick them in the dishwasher.

Also, if you can get UNDER the house, I'd send DH under there with a can of that expanding foam to plug up any holes. Don't want new critters in there, when you are killing off the old ones, LOL.

And keep an eye out on freecycle for a new dishwasher, LOL.

[ASusan]

I'm not tropical, but I had a thought.

It probably wouldn't clear them up, but it may help - Run a cycle or 2 or 3 with Borax. There is an ingredient in borax that is supposed to help with roaches and other bugs (ants).

[3_opihi]

Thanks you guys! I am going to take your advice.

Part of the problem is that we can't get that bottom panel off the dishwasher to clean under it. Last night I had a little bit of a melt down and dh said that he would take it apart this weekend and clean it out.

Thanks for the borax tip too! I'm going to try that. I've sprinkled it around the dishwasher before and that really works. Another thing I'm thinking of trying is not using it for a couple days, but setting some big boric acid bait balls in there to entice them. barf.

I think that I will have to make it somehow, "break" so our landlord gets us a new one though.