Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with extermination

Me Vs. Roaches, FIGHT!

so much modern time — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:57:08 -0800

Should I bomb my kitchen to kill roaches? Before I take that step, what else can I do? So I just had an intensely traumatizing experience with a roach. I was mixing up the ingredients for sauce for my gong bao ji ding (kungpao chicken) and somehow, in one of the ingredients, was a dead roach. It floated up to the top of my sauce. Needless to say, I was completely disgusted. Luckily I hadn't poured it into my wok!!!!

I just moved to a new flat and from what I can tell, the old tenant was a pig. The cupboards are not flush to the floor, so there is a considerable amount of space between the end of the cabinets and the kitchen sink. When I first moved in, there was old food, dead roaches, and an entire sea of roach droppings in that area. It's clear that the kitchen suffered from a major infestation before. This has since been cleaned multiple times with baking soda and vinegar.

It got worse when I started seeing live ones. They were living in the area behind the fridge, so I put roach motels there and sprinkled boric acid as well. As far as I can tell, the kitchen is pretty sealed off, I don't *think* they could be coming from a neighbor but you never know.

I've sprinkled boric acid down everywhere, got the roach motels, and have the Raid at hand to kill any motherfuckers who come out. This despite the fact that I try to be green as possible. No dirty dishes are left out, all water sources a-ok. Yet, it's been about two weeks since I put in the roach motels, and about one week since I sprinkled boric acid down, but I'm still seeing about one a day. They don't even have the grace to act like they are poisoned!

Between the roach in my sauce and the live roach I found running around my pantry (yes, everything is sealed and bagged up), I'm fed up. Live and let live not an option since I had an intensely traumatizing experience living through an even worse roach infestation to the point where I woke up one day to find one ON ME, so I'd love to hear any suggestions that you have before I go all the way and bomb the kitchen. Should I get a gecko? Will they live through a cold Beijing winter?

Help me avoid the Darwin Awards shortlist

Beardman — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 09:36:58 -0800

How can one safely convince a teeming mass of bees to vacate a crack in the exterior wall of a brick building, so that the crack can be filled in? We finally figured out why there are so many bees on our deck lately. It seems that a colony has very recently taken up residence in a couple of cracks/holes in the brick wall near our deck. Obviously the crack needs to be filled in after the bees are flushed out, but that's as blithe as saying that the road needs to be paved after all the landmines have been disarmed. How DO I flush out the bees without getting stung a million times? (I'm not allergic, but still.)

Bonus problem: the cracks are easily accessible without a ladder, but only from a landing on the edge of a second-story drop. So a hit n' run maneuver wouldn't be smart, as the running part could easily turn into a plummeting part.

Yeouch

thanotopsis — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 15:19:57 -0800

I have wasps on the outside of my house, on the southern facing side only, so I'm assuming that they're basking in the last burst of warmth. However, it's getting so bad, that I'm worried about potential overlaps in the wasp/human worlds. Over the weekend, I've gone through 3 cans of "kill on contact" wasp spray -- the kind that you spray at a distance. Typically, I can spray a bunch of the wasps gathering on my house, and most of them will fall to the ground and writhe around and die.

This doesn't seem to have dented the population any, however. They keep showing up, and it doesn't matter that the walls of the house are now coated with this poison.

Is this just a seasonal thing that I have to put up with, like the Asian beetles looking for warmth as Fall sets in? I'm only really worried about the issue when they fly into the house through an open door or a hole in a window screen. With more and more of them collecting on the side of the house, this is becoming more of a concern.

Ew. This is not the type of roach I thought you'd be passing.

numinous — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 14:58:26 -0800

Joe's-Apartment-Filter: Advice and anecdotes on how to best roach-bomb our place? I'm moving and want to obliterate these monsters!

We’re moving! After two years of terrible management, university take-over, neighbors predisposed to frat parties, and a slew of other issues, I have finally reached the end of my lease. Praise be! Very recently, I’ve discovered yet another reason why this move is so opportune: roaches. I’ve had the good fortune to have never before lived in a place with roaches. So, when I tell you that one recently crawled over my foot while I was in the bathroom (shudder), you’ll understand that I'm absolutely horrified. Horrified and disgusted and just EW YUCK WTF GROSS GET THE HELL OUTTA MY HOUSE OMG.

As I’m so totally new to this (horrifying) game, I don’t know where to start when it comes to extermination and prevention. I’ve already bought roach traps, and set them up in various places, and have already reduced the number of roaches encountered to maybe one every two weeks. BUT! I really, really, really, really, reaaaaaaaaaaally don’t want to transport any of these beast during the move and inadvertently introduce them into our shiny new abode.

Based on advice culled from previous AskMe’s (one, two), I’ve decided that roach bombing our apartment is our best bet for complete roach annihilation. I’m inclined to go with the Raid Fogger, as it’s widely available and not too pricey. I have already purchased a big box of Borax, and have sprinkled it in various spots throughout our current apartment. But this is not enough to soothe my mind and quell my fears that they are still lingering just behind the bookcase, or in the couch, or wherever. I want not to live in fear. I want peace of mind. But most of all, I want to kill with extreme prejudice. So here’s the part where you offer all of your anecdotes and sagely advice!

Do these bombs/foggers actually work?

If I use these foggers, do I need to activate one in each room of our apartment?

How toxic is this stuff? Is it dangerous to humans? (e.g. if there is residue left from it, and it gets on my hands and I rub my eye or pick my teeth, is there a potential for harm?)

What stuff should I move before initiating the fogging mechanism? (Flatware? Kitchen utensils? Sealed food? Electronic equipment? Specific textiles?)

Will food left in the fridge be safe for consumption after the fogging?

How long should we wait after activation to return into the apartment? (Raid suggests 3 hours, but that seems rather short. Is it?)

Is there anything that I've overlooked? If so, please feel free to supply me with that advice, too. Thank you (seriously).

Fleas?!

Alligator — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 12:41:50 -0800

I just moved in to my first rental on the 1st, and it is infested with fleas, fleas, fleas everywhere. What is appropriate for me to expect my landlord to do about this? What should I do myself to attack this problem? I had no idea about the fleas until I moved in. I already talked to the landlord, and he flea bombed the place yesterday, but when I walked in again today I still had fleas jumping all over me. This very much disturbs me; I haven't actually slept in my house yet because of them, nor have I moved in most of my belongings. I'm not really sure what I can expect of my landlord, as I've never rented a place on my own before; I would really like these fleas gone, though. What is appropriate to expect of my landlord in this situation? What should I take on myself in order to get rid of these fleas?

ants! ants! ants! kill! kill! kill!

grumblebee — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 07:40:02 -0800

Help me rid my apartment of ants! They're little black sugar ants, and up until a couple of weeks ago, they were everywhere. I made sure food was packed away, bought a bunch of those little ant "hotels", sprinkled cinnamon and boric acid everywhere... nothing helped. (The ants avoid the cinnamon and boric acid. But they just move to another location in my apartment.)

I finally gave up and called in an exterminator. He sprinkled something that looked like pepper in various places, said "leave that stuff there for a week," and left. I had to go out of town for ten days. I just got back, and there are still ants running around on the kitchen counter.

However: that pepper-like stuff did help. I'd say it killed (or scared off) 80% of the ant population. I feel like if the exterminator had just sprinkled some more if it, in a few more places, I'd be antless.

Does anyone know what the "pepper" is? I don't want to call the exterminator back and pay him to sprinkle stuff on the floor that I could sprinkle myself.

Old apartment under insect attack!

utsutsu — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 09:22:13 -0800

Old apartment under insect attack! I am posting this question on behalf of a good friend who is a reader of this site but not yet a member. We'll call her M.

M: "It seems as though we have a black carpet beetle infestation (or at least that's what they look like to me). We've seen a few adults around since spring, which I thought just came with the old-and-in-disrepair apartment package, but today I found larvae while I was cleaning the litter boxes (they were under the bag of litter).

The litter boxes are in a "sun room" close to two unused mattresses and the room has a scrap carpet from my parents' house covering the linoleum. We've also found more under our couches and the jute rug in the living room. The rest of the apartment has old, gappy hardwood floors, so I'm hoping that's all there is.

Aside from frantic vacuuming, I need to know what else I should be doing. Should we just throw away the carpeting? Are the mattresses ok - and if not - how can I clean them? Do I need to use a pesticide? If so, is there something that is natural and/or safe to use around cats?

How can I prevent this from happening again (aside from stepping up the vacuuming)? Needless to say, I'm completely mortified and thoroughly grossed out. "

I will be posting any follow ups from M.

Thanks MeFi.

I've pissed off the local yellowjacket population.

Salmonberry — Sat, 05 Aug 2006 19:32:55 -0800

Exposed a Yellowjacket nest in the backyard. How do I get rid of many pissed off wasps? I was moving a tarp that had been sitting in a corner of the yard. When I flipped it over wasps came flying out. The nest is small, not much bigger than an orange. I'd say about 100 wasps all told. I was able to get inside the house without getting stung.

The nest is now exposed to the elements, which I suppose might help, but what to do now? Most extermination guides say to use dust, but now that the nest is face up, dust will just blow off of it. My main concern is that they'll just try to settle in another part of the tarp.

Obviously I'm not going anywhere near it until the sun goes down, and even then I'm not a fan of wasp stings.

Will the fact that the nest is exposed mean that the colony will leave on it's own, or should I plan more aggressive measures? I can't leave it be, it's now right next to where we sit out on the patio. It's an us or them situation.

Cockroaches in my dishwasher. Ewww!

calistasm — Sun, 23 Jul 2006 19:11:22 -0800

I have cockroaches in my dishwasher. Help me kill the little bastards with extreme prejudice. Due to some little beasties hitching a ride in boxes that were mailed to us, we have a cockroach problem. It seems to be mostly under control now (after two sprayings, a bombing, baits, glue traps, and roach gel), but I cannot for the life of me figure out what to do about the ones in the dishwasher. They seem to be living in the door. There are droppings along the top of the door, and I have seen them crawl into the body of the dishwasher from the air vents. I have considered spraying through the vents with Raid, but it seems unwise, since I actually USE the thing. What suggestions do you have?

Relevant: I live in an apartment building, I don't want to move, I am unsure if replacing the dishwasher is feasible, and in any case I want to see if I can do anything about it first. Thanks.

Help me get rid of earwigs!

foxinthesnow — Tue, 06 Jun 2006 20:33:20 -0800

How can I keep earwigs out of my house? I never want to see them again. I get them every year, and it seems as if no "over-the-counter" bug spray affects them. Please tell me any fail-safe methods you may have to ensure that my house becomes as unappealing to these things as possible.

Sleeping with the enemy

-harlequin- — Tue, 07 Mar 2006 10:33:33 -0800

How do you eliminate fleas in a bed? I'm under the vague impression that flea-killing products have limited to no success against the eggs (is this correct?), which hatch 3 weeks later, so what is Standard Proceedure? Put the matress in a plastic bag for a month with some flea product inside and sleep on the couch? I have no experience with fleas. My reason for thinking there are fleas in the bed is that ever since my girlfriend let her cats sleep on the bed in the midst of a heatwave-induced flea epidemic last summer, I've periodically noticed insect bites in the mornings. Cats were banned from bedroom, but it's been months now and I still get bites. They're not going away on their own.

Any firsthand success stories?

Do flea bombs work for eggs in beds?

The bed has a duvet, any duvet-treatment tips? (I really wouldn't know where the fleas are, just that they're somewhere).

Gget the gnats ggone.

thecjm — Fri, 02 Dec 2005 18:17:07 -0800

Gnats in the kitchen - Help me get rid of these little annoyances ASAP. In the kitchen my roommates and I share, a group of gnats has decided to take up residence in the vicinity of our compost bin. Previously in my life, you see a gnat or two, you clean up, and its overs. These guys, however, are not going away. We've cleaned the kitchen, cleaned up/out the compost bin multiple times, and done things like taken the bannanas off the counter, but the gnats keep coming back. Our current attempted solution: we've opened the kitchen window to the Canadian outdoors and are trying to freeze them to death. They have now moved to the top of the cupboards and have slowed down. But they aren't gone yet!
Does anyone have a quick solution? I'm having a dinner party tomorrow night and would rather be spared the embarrassment of a gnatty kitchen.

There's a mouse in the house...

dead_ — Fri, 23 Sep 2005 08:42:55 -0800

Best way to get rid of a mouse without killing it? I'm a vegetarian--for many reasons, including ethical--and I'm pretty much opposed to killing animals. But boy, is the mouse living in my kitchen a pain. I've isolated his hole, and I am wondering if there are any good ways to get him out of there, and my house, without murder!

Killing Roaches

muckster — Sat, 05 Mar 2005 05:47:50 -0800

What's the most effective, least toxic way to kill the hordes of cockroaches that have infested my kitchen? I don't trust that the usual Raid stuff won't hasten my own death, especially if I have to keep spraying it near my food every night. It never seems to have any lasting effect beyond killing the single roach it's aimed at, anyway. What's the best poison (or method) to keep the bugs at bay and my kitchen healthy?

Spiders!

FunkyHelix — Fri, 03 Sep 2004 16:49:28 -0800

Attack of the Spider Monsters! What seemed like a normal amount of spiders in my apartment has turned into something more horrible. Since they're all very tiny right now, I'm assuming an egg sac opened up somewhere. ick. I have a small child and two cats. What can I use to get rid of the spiders, that won't harm my family? Besides buying a dozen wooden shoes, and hiring a team of clog dancers.

Eek! Mice!

specialk420 — Mon, 26 Jan 2004 08:52:57 -0800

mouse troubles - after trying the old standard: mouse traps, and hired guns: (mouse hunting cats) both of which were effective but didn't finish the job ... im wondering if anyone has any advice for curing a mouse problem once and for all?