Ugh cockroach.
June 11, 2010 6:14 PM Subscribe
Just moved into a new place a couple weeks ago, and I'm wondering: do I have a cockroach problem? And has it been fixed for me?
Perhaps because I'm a midwestern guy, I've never lived in any environment that had cockroaches. I just moved into my new place 2 weeks ago, and I think I might be facing my first cockroach problem.
5 days ago I found a live insect that I'm assuming to be a cockroach, in my living room. It was big, blackish, creepy and fast-moving. I killed it, and the next day I went to my rental company and told them. They said they would bring in a lady to spray my place in a day or two. They also said it might be a "waterbug" which is attracted to the moisture that comes with heatwave periods like this one. I haven't heard from them since, but I'm assuming the lady came while I was at work.
Just now I found another one of these creatures, also in my living room - this time dead.
So:
1) Is this a cockroach? (this is the 2nd, dead bug I found)
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=fneltv&s=6
http://i48.tinypic.com/j5yz9s.jpg
http://i47.tinypic.com/wlyft1.jpg
http://i46.tinypic.com/23movx5.jpg (to get an idea of size)
(You can't really see the antennae in these pictures, but they're there)
2) Does finding 2 cockroaches, 1 live, 1 dead, make it probable that I have a significant infestation? How freaked out should I be, exactly?
3) Has the problem already been remedied by the woman who sprayed my place, and is this the result of that? (Finding this one dead instead of alive)
4) What steps to take from here?
Thanks! I know this probably comes off as crazy, but I'm new to this particular hell. And this happens to be a phobia.
Perhaps because I'm a midwestern guy, I've never lived in any environment that had cockroaches. I just moved into my new place 2 weeks ago, and I think I might be facing my first cockroach problem.
5 days ago I found a live insect that I'm assuming to be a cockroach, in my living room. It was big, blackish, creepy and fast-moving. I killed it, and the next day I went to my rental company and told them. They said they would bring in a lady to spray my place in a day or two. They also said it might be a "waterbug" which is attracted to the moisture that comes with heatwave periods like this one. I haven't heard from them since, but I'm assuming the lady came while I was at work.
Just now I found another one of these creatures, also in my living room - this time dead.
So:
1) Is this a cockroach? (this is the 2nd, dead bug I found)
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=fneltv&s=6
http://i48.tinypic.com/j5yz9s.jpg
http://i47.tinypic.com/wlyft1.jpg
http://i46.tinypic.com/23movx5.jpg (to get an idea of size)
(You can't really see the antennae in these pictures, but they're there)
2) Does finding 2 cockroaches, 1 live, 1 dead, make it probable that I have a significant infestation? How freaked out should I be, exactly?
3) Has the problem already been remedied by the woman who sprayed my place, and is this the result of that? (Finding this one dead instead of alive)
4) What steps to take from here?
Thanks! I know this probably comes off as crazy, but I'm new to this particular hell. And this happens to be a phobia.
In my experience, "waterbug" is a polite term for "cockroach." Call the rental company and ask if the exterminator has come. Better yet, ask for the name of the company that's supposed to come so you can confirm that it actually happened. This lady of unknown provenance could be an admin with a can of Raid.
posted by corey flood at 6:27 PM on June 11, 2010
posted by corey flood at 6:27 PM on June 11, 2010
1. They look like roaches to me, tho the pics are a little blurry.
2. If you've seen 2 in this short period of time, you likely have a problem. Especially if you saw them in the daylight.
3. Time will tell
4. Put down a whole lot of Roach-Pruf powder in all out of the way places: under appliances and drawers, in the back of cabinets, etc. It works wonders.
posted by SLC Mom at 6:29 PM on June 11, 2010
2. If you've seen 2 in this short period of time, you likely have a problem. Especially if you saw them in the daylight.
3. Time will tell
4. Put down a whole lot of Roach-Pruf powder in all out of the way places: under appliances and drawers, in the back of cabinets, etc. It works wonders.
posted by SLC Mom at 6:29 PM on June 11, 2010
Looks like roaches to me.
Honestly, if you just moved in, clean the place really well, and try to keep it as clean as you can. Don't leave food out, wipe up crumbs, empty your sink drain trap, keep your food packaged up really really well, all common sense stuff.
You can buy roach baits to put in the corners if it really tweaks you.
Also, get a cat.
posted by nevercalm at 6:31 PM on June 11, 2010
Honestly, if you just moved in, clean the place really well, and try to keep it as clean as you can. Don't leave food out, wipe up crumbs, empty your sink drain trap, keep your food packaged up really really well, all common sense stuff.
You can buy roach baits to put in the corners if it really tweaks you.
Also, get a cat.
posted by nevercalm at 6:31 PM on June 11, 2010
There's no scale in there, so don't know, but it looks big. Waterbugs are big, and they usually seem to be lost. They lumber around, cockroaches are quick. It's also possible that they are roaches that have already been poisoned, and on a death march. Cockroaches live in the kitchen or bathroom near water and food and heat. Their niche is putrefaction, so they like rotten stuff best. But they'll eat soap if they have to. If you have an infestation, you'll see little ones and big ones. little ones are pin-head sized black dots.
One or two bewildered waterbugs forebodes nothing.
For roaches, those black Raid puck-shaped traps work very well. Put like three packages of 8 each all around the area of concern and you'll nip cockroaches in the bud for months. Unless a neighbor is really infested and they are being chased to your house by the spray-lady over there.
posted by StickyCarpet at 6:33 PM on June 11, 2010
One or two bewildered waterbugs forebodes nothing.
For roaches, those black Raid puck-shaped traps work very well. Put like three packages of 8 each all around the area of concern and you'll nip cockroaches in the bud for months. Unless a neighbor is really infested and they are being chased to your house by the spray-lady over there.
posted by StickyCarpet at 6:33 PM on June 11, 2010
They look different from the roaches I once had; mine were quite a bit bigger, maybe 2 inches long, and had long antenna that swept back over the length of the body. If you google image search 'cockroach', mine looked like those. This was in Vancouver BC by the way.
My building had a chronic problem with these guys. There's no telling how they get in - it can happen anywhere, regardless of how clean the occupants are - and they get into the walls and drains in between the apartments. You might kill the ones in your apartment but others may sneak in from elsewhere in the building. One thing to do is go through all your cupboards and floor frames to look for cracks that might admit a bug, and either seal them up, or make a barbed-wire-style fence with steel wool, plus lay out some sticky traps.
By the way living with cockroaches for me wasn't horrible. I would have a sighting about once a month on average; sometimes several in a week, and sometimes months would pass. The annoying thing is they're big enough that you can sometimes hear them scuttling around when you're trying to sleep, though it didn't help that I was in a studio apartment. Hopefully you won't have that problem. Keep your bedroom sealed up tight. Good luck.
posted by PercussivePaul at 6:40 PM on June 11, 2010
My building had a chronic problem with these guys. There's no telling how they get in - it can happen anywhere, regardless of how clean the occupants are - and they get into the walls and drains in between the apartments. You might kill the ones in your apartment but others may sneak in from elsewhere in the building. One thing to do is go through all your cupboards and floor frames to look for cracks that might admit a bug, and either seal them up, or make a barbed-wire-style fence with steel wool, plus lay out some sticky traps.
By the way living with cockroaches for me wasn't horrible. I would have a sighting about once a month on average; sometimes several in a week, and sometimes months would pass. The annoying thing is they're big enough that you can sometimes hear them scuttling around when you're trying to sleep, though it didn't help that I was in a studio apartment. Hopefully you won't have that problem. Keep your bedroom sealed up tight. Good luck.
posted by PercussivePaul at 6:40 PM on June 11, 2010
A better picture would help a lot. It doesn't look exactly like the kind of apartment roaches we get in Toronto but it could be a wild variety native to your area ( maybe a kind that feeds on soggy wood). Examine the top shelf of your kitchen cupboard closely and you might find legs, wings and little black dots of poop.
If it's a roach, keep your toaster free of crumbs, get rid of houseplants, keep all foodstuffs in sealed containers.
posted by bonobothegreat at 6:52 PM on June 11, 2010
If it's a roach, keep your toaster free of crumbs, get rid of houseplants, keep all foodstuffs in sealed containers.
posted by bonobothegreat at 6:52 PM on June 11, 2010
They are all roaches. There are many different kinds. Big ones that look like the typical roach (American), small ones (German cockroaches), kind of black roundish ones (Oriental). EWWWWW I live Hawaii, we have a large variety of roaches. Roach bait stations, spray, and boric acid powder are your friends. Cats not so much, they don't really like roaches, at least my 8 don't.
Of all German ones are really annoying, they are smallish and there are a lot of them. EWWWW I hate roaches. They will poop and nest all over if you are not careful. (Geckos and lizards help, but they tend to poop all over and you have to live in the tropics to get them to move in.)
posted by fifilaru at 7:03 PM on June 11, 2010
Of all German ones are really annoying, they are smallish and there are a lot of them. EWWWW I hate roaches. They will poop and nest all over if you are not careful. (Geckos and lizards help, but they tend to poop all over and you have to live in the tropics to get them to move in.)
posted by fifilaru at 7:03 PM on June 11, 2010
Yes, sticky traps, as PercussivePaul says. Because, on dying, a roach will drop it's egg-sac that can hatch after the pesticide has dispersed ... that is why spraying once will not necessarily work.
posted by Rube R. Nekker at 7:05 PM on June 11, 2010
posted by Rube R. Nekker at 7:05 PM on June 11, 2010
Response by poster: Sorry for the blurry pictures. I got rid of the thing already so I can't take more.
I called the rental company's evening line (the guy was not thrilled to take my call on a Friday night) and he said they would get to it sometime next week. I'm planning on calling them on Monday to ask them some more questions about it, but I don't want to push them too much. I just checked my lease and it turns out I'm responsible for all pest control. So they're not obligated.
I'm not the cleanest person in the world. This is squicking me out enough that I can feel myself turning into a germophobe riiiight now!
posted by naju at 7:09 PM on June 11, 2010
I called the rental company's evening line (the guy was not thrilled to take my call on a Friday night) and he said they would get to it sometime next week. I'm planning on calling them on Monday to ask them some more questions about it, but I don't want to push them too much. I just checked my lease and it turns out I'm responsible for all pest control. So they're not obligated.
I'm not the cleanest person in the world. This is squicking me out enough that I can feel myself turning into a germophobe riiiight now!
posted by naju at 7:09 PM on June 11, 2010
Waterbugs=roaches. Don't let anybody pretend differently. There are different species. They love soap, so check your shower before you get in....believe me. Also, look behind your fridge, under the sink, or especially anywhere there is cardboard (they love that too).
MaxForce roach gel is great stuff; exterminators use it. Kills em quick and for a long time. Put it on likely entrance points/trails. Google for it. Better than sprays/baits.
posted by emjaybee at 7:33 PM on June 11, 2010
MaxForce roach gel is great stuff; exterminators use it. Kills em quick and for a long time. Put it on likely entrance points/trails. Google for it. Better than sprays/baits.
posted by emjaybee at 7:33 PM on June 11, 2010
It sounds like you moved into an apartment with an existing cockroach problem. I WOULD push them as far as you can, and get out of there. Check your municipal tenant laws. It's possible your lease conflicts with city laws, and that you are able to get out of your lease if you moved into an apartment with an existing problem.
posted by gillianr at 7:36 PM on June 11, 2010
posted by gillianr at 7:36 PM on June 11, 2010
Best answer: Is your apartment in a wooded area or are there at least trees by it? To me, it looks like a wood roach, or it could be an oriental roach (hard to tell from the pictures. Picture of oriental roach here. If it is a wood roach, they tend to wander indoors, but die because humidity isn't high enough. Oriental roaches are a different story, see the info on the link. If they are wood roaches, you don't have a problem.
Perhaps because I'm a midwestern guy, I've never lived in any environment that had cockroaches.
Hate to break it to you, but roaches are everywhere, and you have probably shared space with them before. They crawl all over the campus of the midwestern school I attend. They infest the walls of the entomology department where I do my research. Roaches also live in the sewers, so it is also a good idea to keep your drains covered, especially at night. You don't need to get rid of houseplants, that isn't the problem. You can get a reasonable idea of the problem by setting out sticky traps on your counters and on the floor in all rooms of the house. If you can take a clearer picture, I can probably ID it for you (PM).
posted by bolognius maximus at 8:03 PM on June 11, 2010
Perhaps because I'm a midwestern guy, I've never lived in any environment that had cockroaches.
Hate to break it to you, but roaches are everywhere, and you have probably shared space with them before. They crawl all over the campus of the midwestern school I attend. They infest the walls of the entomology department where I do my research. Roaches also live in the sewers, so it is also a good idea to keep your drains covered, especially at night. You don't need to get rid of houseplants, that isn't the problem. You can get a reasonable idea of the problem by setting out sticky traps on your counters and on the floor in all rooms of the house. If you can take a clearer picture, I can probably ID it for you (PM).
posted by bolognius maximus at 8:03 PM on June 11, 2010
Response by poster: bolognius maximus, you might be onto something with the wood roach. Aside from it looking like the pictures I'm seeing, your link says they're attracted to light, which makes me remember that the live one I found before didn't scatter when I had the light on. It didn't scamper at all actually, and only ran into a crack in the wall when I tried to catch it. Then a few minutes later, it came back out to the light to hang out.
posted by naju at 8:26 PM on June 11, 2010
posted by naju at 8:26 PM on June 11, 2010
Best answer: Sounds like a wood roach, especially if it wasn't very fast (relative to say an American roach, which I think has the ability to teleport sometimes).
posted by bolognius maximus at 8:31 PM on June 11, 2010
posted by bolognius maximus at 8:31 PM on June 11, 2010
Ditto roaches are everywhere. I lived in a basement in the southeast once, in a newly-built home (ie, no pre-existing toaster crumbs), and they were there from Day One.
posted by salvia at 8:33 PM on June 11, 2010
posted by salvia at 8:33 PM on June 11, 2010
Response by poster: Haven't had any problems in the past month, so it looks like these were some stray wood roaches. Thanks all.
posted by naju at 12:14 PM on July 12, 2010
posted by naju at 12:14 PM on July 12, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=fneltv&s=6
http://i48.tinypic.com/j5yz9s.jpg
http://i47.tinypic.com/wlyft1.jpg
http://i46.tinypic.com/23movx5.jpg
posted by naju at 6:16 PM on June 11, 2010