I think I found a cockroach by my kitchen sink

[Essene]

Okay, so this is going to sound a bit ridiculous to some of you, but I don't know that I've ever actually seen a cockroach before. I mean, chances are, that I have, but I'm simply not certain of it...

Here's what happened:

I walked over to my kitchen sink thinking "Hey I should take care of these dishes." I hadn't washed the dishes as of yet, which is unusual as normally I do the dishes before I go to work.

Hiding along the backboard between the rear lip of the sink, and a window was a beetle-esq looking bug. Said bug was brown, and roughly a half an inch long (yes, I am an American).

Happening so quickly upon our first encounter, we had not yet predetermined a safe word, so when I went to town on it's ass with an overturned can of Nature's Promise fat free cooking spray I didn't feel the need to stop myself when it started screaming "Nooooooo!!!!!"

Needless to say said bug got powned, but the act of powning was no easy feat. I hit that sucker not once, but twice with my can of Natures Promise fat free cooking spray, and the aftereffects were absolutely deeeesgusting. White bulbous viscera spilled forth from it's loins, and I instantly thought back to a conversation that I had while in college in Washington, D.C.

Post one particular centipede encounter, I was eating popcorn in my dormroom when some girls came in. They mused that the centipede sighting was linked to cockroaches, and then proceded to tell me a great deal of lore concerning the bug.

Two things they told me have stuck with me all these years...

The first being that "roaches" are incredibly difficult to get rid of because if you squish them the egg sack sprays everywhere. (I'm horrified to think that I sprayed nasty, gross, invisible cockroach eggs all over my kitchen counters.) The second item being that insecticide doesn't work on them.

Now, I googled roaches - what they look like, tips to get rid of them, favorite safewords, leather gear, etc. One site said that insecticide alone does not work, and that de-cluttering is essential.

My house is not cluttered at all (my daughter's playroom does not count because it's on a completely different plane of existance). In fact, it's pretty damn clean the majority of the time. (I have a toddler, so crumbs happen, but we sweep the majority of them up.)Save for a few decorative items, my kitchen counters are clear. I left some dishes in the sink for roughly nine hours, so I think (unless it isn't time to worry about it yet because it was only one) my next step is getting some spray or something.

-Now before you tl;dr me, I'll embolden the important bit.

I'm hoping that people with more knowledge than I on this subject will be willing to give advice and input.

I'm also looking for an insecticide that will be effective, and not be harmful to my kid.

 

[pierced_boy]

Hahaha I Loved this, well done!
Clearly you have been too casual and hence unethical with the roach so must endure whatever comes your way from bugs

 

[chy_girl]

I don't know about the roaches on your end of the country, but ours are fairly easy to beat if you catch the infestation early enough.

Call the exterminator out and have him treat it with the gel. The roaches pick it up and carry it back to their nests for a food source. The trick is to make sure all the other greasy parts are cleaned - stove (inside and out), counters, exhaust hood over the stove, top of the fridge, under the fridge, etc.

If you live in a shared building (duplex, apartments, etc), let the management company/owner know so the surrounding units can be treated also.

And for the love of all that's holey in the universe - do NOT let them spray!!!! The gel goes in specific locations that children shouldn't be into anyways and it give a visual indicator as to how much they're feeding... and it actually works. Spraying for them simply dumps chemicals all over the house and the roaches make a break for fresh air for awhile. Once the house airs back out, they're back in.

Good luck!

 

[graceanne]

I agree with chy about the exterminator, but I'd also suggest you pull out your stove and fridge and clean under them. Invest in tupperware so that they can't get into any of your food, and be extra careful about about leaving out food and wiping crumbs for awhile.

 

[Netzach]

Combat - quick, now, before it's out of hand. Works - spray is totally not right if you've just spotted your first.

 

[rida]

I've got to accept that we share living spaces one way or the other.
However the rule is: I do not want to see you. If I do, you are dead. HAHA

Ok, that joke aside, the type we have here can fly! And that is what scares me the most.

I live in an apartment complex, so even if I smoke them out, they just move to the neighbor before coming back. I have plenty of little poisoning food traps in hidden corners (so they can do like with the gel, bring it back to their nest) and make sure to give them a little talk from time to time about "the rule".

And yeah, they don't die easily with bug-spray of any kind ...

As a related and separate aside, as anyone seeing the movie "Joe's apartment"?
I confess I hated them a little bit less after seeing it

 

[satindesire]

I second Combat!

Use the gel. Put it up in dark places, they hate light. It'll show you on the box where the good places are to apply it.

The gel won't drip or run into your things and can be effective for MONTHS. This part of Oklahoma is very wet and warm, so the bugs are literally out of control. My family has used the gel for years and it works SOOO good!

Here's a link to show you what the product looks like. You can get it in places like Wal-Mart.

http://combatbugs.com/roach-products/combat-source-kill-max-gel-30g/

 

[eastern sun]

If you're in attached housing (i.e. apartment houses, townhouses, etc.), boric acid along the drainboards and any pipe openings keeps other people's roaches out of your house.

They also like to nest in paper piles (so avoid piles of magazines, newspapers, etc. that remain unread for long periods of time). I've found them in my bookcases, nesting between the cover and pages of my college textbooks (the one's I haven't read since I was in school ).

 

[rosco rathbone]

I second the boric acid. You have to use a lot of it though.

 

[FloggingMolly]

I have nohing of use to add, apart from to wish you good luck. I have seen Joe's Apartment though, funny but silly.

 

[rosco rathbone]

You think roaches are bad....let me tell you about bedbugs some time.

 

[Netzach]

Boric acid also good, though I've found it sometimes not to be quite enough.

Bedbugs = throw out everything, then move.

We have weird bugs here. I had a flour beetle infestation and they're pesky MF's. I had to throw out most of my dry foodstuff - they get into almost anything.

 

[BiBunny]

At my old apartment, we had fruit flies. The garbage disposal would only work every now and then. You'd call the maintenance people, and they'd come tinker with it. Then, it'd work a day or two and conk out again. So food would get stuck down there in it and attract those damn fruit flies. There was nothing you could do but vacate the cats and bug bomb the place every couple of months to keep 'em under control.

As for roaches, if you're catching it early (and it sounds like you are), I third the suggestion for Combat.

 

[chy_girl]

At my old apartment, we had fruit flies. The garbage disposal would only work every now and then. You'd call the maintenance people, and they'd come tinker with it. Then, it'd work a day or two and conk out again. So food would get stuck down there in it and attract those damn fruit flies. There was nothing you could do but vacate the cats and bug bomb the place every couple of months to keep 'em under control.

As for roaches, if you're catching it early (and it sounds like you are), I third the suggestion for Combat.

A handy trick for fruit flies (or most any kind of little, flying pain in the ass gnats) is a glue trays for mice or rats as and catch them on it mid-air. Gloves are a good idea cause that crap doesn't like to come off anything and it's a little time consuming, but it works great. It's even cathartic if you've battled the damned things for very long.

 

[Essene]

Thanks for all your suggestions, and support!

Rida, I realized that I do have a tendency to collect paper and cardboard in the garage (it shares a wall and a door with the kitchen) so that I can bundle it up and recycle it. I'll have to stay more on top of that.

I will definitely be trying the combat. Thanks for the linkage SD.

 

[satindesire]

Thanks for all your suggestions, and support!

Rida, I realized that I do have a tendency to collect paper and cardboard in the garage (it shares a wall and a door with the kitchen) so that I can bundle it up and recycle it. I'll have to stay more on top of that.

I will definitely be trying the combat. Thanks for the linkage SD.

Oh sure, my pleasure honey.

 

[rida]

We have weird bugs here. I had a flour beetle infestation and they're pesky MF's. I had to throw out most of my dry foodstuff - they get into almost anything.

And they can eat through tin foil !!!

Thanks for all your suggestions, and support!

Rida, I realized that I do have a tendency to collect paper and cardboard in the garage (it shares a wall and a door with the kitchen) so that I can bundle it up and recycle it. I'll have to stay more on top of that.

I will definitely be trying the combat. Thanks for the linkage SD.

You are welcome, but it was EasternSun that gave the tip on them liking to nest in papers and cardboard. I actually just discovered that myself having had to clean up the book shelf at work ... (it had not been touched for about ... 6 years or so).

 

[Essene]

And they can eat through tin foil !!!




You are welcome, but it was EasternSun that gave the tip on them liking to nest in papers and cardboard. I actually just discovered that myself having had to clean up the book shelf at work ... (it had not been touched for about ... 6 years or so).

Whoops! I think I was distracted by your hot-to-trot gams!

Thanks EasternSun for the tip!

I live in a house that abuts conservation land, and behind my house there is a slow moving creek whose water table is so low certain parts of the year that you might forget it's even there.

-Huge, huge breeding ground for mosquitos and all sorts of stuff. We have a lot of spiders as well, but I don't mind them as they keep that sort of stuff in check. -Which reminds me that I need to have a serious discussion with them about the cockroach that I found.

If they can't handle a job, then they need to outsource to the centipedes.

 

[graceanne]

Boric acid also good, though I've found it sometimes not to be quite enough.

Bedbugs = throw out everything, then move.

We have weird bugs here. I had a flour beetle infestation and they're pesky MF's. I had to throw out most of my dry foodstuff - they get into almost anything.

Ah, weevils. I had that issue, it's why all my dry good are in tupperware containers now; it keeps them away. Also good for keeping away mice and rats.

At my old apartment, we had fruit flies. The garbage disposal would only work every now and then. You'd call the maintenance people, and they'd come tinker with it. Then, it'd work a day or two and conk out again. So food would get stuck down there in it and attract those damn fruit flies. There was nothing you could do but vacate the cats and bug bomb the place every couple of months to keep 'em under control.

As for roaches, if you're catching it early (and it sounds like you are), I third the suggestion for Combat.

Pour bleach down your garbage disposal once a week. In fact that's a good idea, anyway, cause they don't ever get them clean.

-Huge, huge breeding ground for mosquitos and all sorts of stuff. We have a lot of spiders as well, but I don't mind them as they keep that sort of stuff in check. -Which reminds me that I need to have a serious discussion with them about the cockroach that I found.

My only issue with spiders is the noise my kids make when they see one. My feeling has always been I'd rather have spiders than the food they eat like flies and the like.

 

[Essene]

Ah, weevils. I had that issue...

AGGGHHHH!!!! RED RED RED RED!!!

HARD LIMIT HARD LIMIT!

*GAG*

One time...

I found weevils in my pasta!

 

[graceanne]

AGGGHHHH!!!! RED RED RED RED!!!

HARD LIMIT HARD LIMIT!

*GAG*

One time...

I found weevils in my pasta!

Ew! I found them in my cornmeal. Luckily BEFORE I used it. Went out the next day and bought containers for all my dry goods.

 

[Bi_Kitty]

We even had these little things at the apartment Bunny was talking about with the fruit flies. Talk about scary looking.

 

[graceanne]

We even had these little things at the apartment Bunny was talking about with the fruit flies. Talk about scary looking.

I hate earwigs. They're so gross looking.

They're only attracted to dark and damp, so considering what you've said about that apartment I'd say there was a water leak somewhere.

 

[BiBunny]

I hate earwigs. They're so gross looking.

They're only attracted to dark and damp, so considering what you've said about that apartment I'd say there was a water leak somewhere.

I know there was a leak in the bathroom because it leaked into the kitchen. I hope the bathtub fell through. Not while anyone was in it, though. I'm not *that* mean.

We had ants that wouldn't quit at the place before that one. It rained a lot that summer, and the ants came in to high ground. *Sigh* I really hope when we move in a couple of weeks, we end up in place with decent pest control, LOL.

 

[graceanne]

I know there was a leak in the bathroom because it leaked into the kitchen. I hope the bathtub fell through. Not while anyone was in it, though. I'm not *that* mean.

We had ants that wouldn't quit at the place before that one. It rained a lot that summer, and the ants came in to high ground. *Sigh* I really hope when we move in a couple of weeks, we end up in place with decent pest control, LOL.

Ug. We had carpenter ants in this one house we lived in. They were so bad that the kids were afraid of the carpet. My landlords sent this idiot out, twice, to take care of it. We told him that they were coming from under the house, and he told us we don't know what we're talking about and sprayed down the rail road ties. After the second time I threw two bug bombs under the house and we never saw them again.