Roaches will.not.go.away.

[ladybugchild77]

I am so disgusted. Since I moved into this apartment in July I have been losing a battle with my little houseguests and it makes me feel sick. They are everywhere - small - big - and in-between sizes. The apartment complex roach bombed a few months ago (they did the entire building and we actually had to vacate for three days) and it was ok for a month but now they are all over again - it actually seems worse. My dd#2 has severe asthma so I am afraid to add more chemicals. How canI kill them? This is so making my skin crawl...

[Meems]

Boric Acid. I had to buy it at our pharmacy, behind the counter. The pharm asked what I was using it for (I am assuming people use it to make meth or something?!)

I read all about it online.

google "natural pest control"

Put it up high, tops of cabinets, etc and wipe down everything w/ vinegar and water.

[BunnySlippers]

mix some diatomaceous earth with water and spray corners and cracks.
I see you are in a warm climate- how about releasing some geckos in your apt?
I have heard they are great insect control.

[wombatclay]

Do you have a dishwasher? Roaches can "nest" in dishwashers (in the casing, you wont see them when you look in the washer) so it can be worth asking the complex to replace the dishwasher if all else fails.

Boric acid (or ground chalk), cleaning everything you can think of (fridge grills, under stoves and the under siurface of cook tops, the underside of counters and cabinet walls, etc), keeping everything in sealed glass containers... it all helps.

Good luck!

[beansricerevolt]

Another thing you may want to consider is your neighboring buildings.
We rented from a place years back that had roaches. They would come out of our kitchen sink.
After a few months of trying to get rid of these things, we found out that they were coming from the abandoned house next door. This house must have been infested because they would crawl through pipes into our home. We ended up moving.

[boysrus]

Here, buy these
http://doitbest.com/main.aspx?member...=64&sku=756293
Your grocery store will carry them. They kill most of the roaches that cross over them. Those that don't get killed become sterilized, so it fixes the problem really quickly. You hide them under the appliances and by the sink, so babies and pets don't get into them.

[ladybugchild77]

Thank you so much for your replies. I went out and bought "roach motels" which I put in the cupborads. Those of you with weak stomachs might want to skip this part - so I was putting one in the cupboard above my fridge that I rarely use and there were at least 100 of them in there - mostly alive and they all scattered when I let in the light. I just about died. They are all over the darn place - in all cupboards, in the bathroom in the kitty's food. This is so disgusting. And I will definitely get the complex here to change my dishwasher - that is a very good idea; I have seen them in there too. And when I opened up my microwave tonight there was even one on there running around. I want to cry.

[nicoley73]

Originally Posted by ladybugchild77

Thank you so much for your replies. I went out and bought "roach motels" which I put in the cupborads. Those of you with weak stomachs might want to skip this part - so I was putting one in the cupboard above my fridge that I rarely use and there were at least 100 of them in there - mostly alive and they all scattered when I let in the light. I just about died. They are all over the darn place - in all cupboards, in the bathroom in the kitty's food. This is so disgusting. And I will definitely get the complex here to change my dishwasher - that is a very good idea; I have seen them in there too. And when I opened up my microwave tonight there was even one on there running around. I want to cry.

I lived in a place like this once - I couldn't even use my drip coffee maker because they would get in there. I don't know if there is much you can do - your building is probably infested. Try to make sure that there is never any food or water left out. Check for drips under your sinks. Seal up any holes under the sinks. Water attracts them almost as much as food. Put all dry foods in air-tight containers, or ziploc bags, or keep it in the fridge. Call your landlords and have them exterminate again. We did all this and still had problems - it was really hopeless.

So sorry you are dealing with this - I sometimes have nightmares about my old apartment, it was so disgusting. But now I know to check for the signs so we've never rented an place with a bug problem since.

[ladybugchild77]

Originally Posted by nicoley73

I lived in a place like this once - I couldn't even use my drip coffee maker because they would get in there. I don't know if there is much you can do - your building is probably infested. Try to make sure that there is never any food or water left out. Check for drips under your sinks. Seal up any holes under the sinks. Water attracts them almost as much as food. Put all dry foods in air-tight containers, or ziploc bags, or keep it in the fridge. Call your landlords and have them exterminate again. We did all this and still had problems - it was really hopeless.

So sorry you are dealing with this - I sometimes have nightmares about my old apartment, it was so disgusting. But now I know to check for the signs so we've never rented an place with a bug problem since.

So what are the signs to look for? Of course the model apartment looked great when I saw it but I never saw this one before I got the keys on move in day.

[ctdoula]

Can you move? I don't think you'll ever get rid of them.... you can be as clean as the day is long, but if your neighbors aren't... they'll keep coming back.

[boysrus]

If you do move, check all of your stuff diligently before you leave. And when you unpack as well.
With the roach motels, did you get the egg stoppers as well?
We had a pretty bad roach problem and it was cleared up with the stoppers plus motels, and also a can of Raid (8 months pg with baby #1 and I was spraying the insides of food cabinets when I would see one because it grossed me out that badly)
We were able to live in FLorida for two years without a roach problem, thanks to those egg stoppers

[boysrus]

If you do move, check all of your stuff diligently before you leave. And when you unpack as well.
With the roach motels, did you get the egg stoppers as well?
We had a pretty bad roach problem and it was cleared up with the stoppers plus motels, and also a can of Raid (8 months pg with baby #1 and I was spraying the insides of food cabinets when I would see one because it grossed me out that badly)
We were able to live in FLorida for two years without a roach problem, thanks to those egg stoppers

[ladybugchild77]

I got the Combat roach motels but there is nothing there about egg stoppers - is that something different? I would love to move but I have a lease until June and even if I was able to get out of here I can't afford it. I will honestly probably be here another year just because I can't afford to go anywhere else. Off to do some more cleaning...

[boysrus]

The egg stoppers are different. It will say on th epackage that it sterilizes roaches. You should be able to get all you need for less than $10

[azzuranotte]

I recently read that splenda and equal will kill them. Worth a try.