Hey, unc...

Inkara1

Inkara1

Well-Known Member
When you posted that long thing at JJR's about how to combat roaches, you mentioned something about some sort of cake you can make in the oven and then put inside stereos, computers, etc. What goes into them and how do I make/bake them?

The reason why I ask is because my brother-in-law moved in with Brandi and me because he's going through a divorce... but the place he moved from had one of the worst roach infestations in modern history, and ever since he moved in I've been seeing and killing roaches all over the place. He said he cleaned out his computer, VCR and DVD player... but he apparently didn't do well enough, and/or I don't think he took apart the monitor to clean it out.
 
Get some boric acid and powdered sugar (50/50)and get it wet enough to make a semi paste out of. Spread it out on saran wrap or foil to dry. Break it into little blocks and drop them wherever... hopefully out of the way of household pets. Thats the best way for long term casual control.

If you have a more gruesome infestation of several components, stuff them into an empty closet and toss in a bug bomb. Tape the door edge down and shove a towel into the baseboard crack. Retrieve and clean up your gear in two days.

If you have just a single item that is suspect you can just spray the innards of a trashbag with standard aresol bug kill or sprinkle in some boric acid and tie it off for a week or so.

If its as bad as you say it is, he needs to just spray liberal amounts of raw boric acid powder into baseboards, under cabinets, around water and food sources, kitchen counters. Check behind pictures and calendars. Look under the silverware tray. Pull the drawers and look under them and into the cabinet cavity. If there is a wall set oven, look for the access panel to see back into the cavity. If he imported a large infestation, they have moved well betond the original nest. They will probably have moved into the cavities of all kitchen appliances through the little vent holes in the bottom... microwaves especial. Look for the little pill shaped egg sacks, usually accompanied with a urine patch and feces. Thats a main gathering point/nest ... nuke it. Boric acid is the best ... but takes 3 weeks for its effects to become noticable. Be cautious around the stuff as it will give you some brutal headaches if you inhale it or cross contaminate your food.

If he has tons of boxed up stuff that he brought with him.. get it the heck outside and onto a grassy knoll away from the apartment. Open it all up and shake out the clothes ... inspect everything! ...then repack it carefully. You will find a few that way. Disassemble the electronics as well... or at least just the cover so you can see the guts of it to look for the egg pouches and nests. Rip off your seat cushions out of the couch and vaccum up the nook and cranny snacky tidbits. You might have to lightly dust the couch as well with the boric acid... under the belly and cushoins... staying away from skin contact areas as much as possible. I've seen colonies in the guts of couches.. on the bellies of tables... behind the fridge... everywhere.
 
I, too, have done the boric acid trick. Works extremely well. Your best bet, though, is to dump all the boxes away from the apartment like unc said. Depending on how long he's been with you, the nests may not have migrated just yet. Another place to look is in the throne room under the sink. Anyplace moist will put a roach in 'hog heaven'.
 
Yes... think water sources and food sources... best in combo. The kitchen is ground zero for most bugaboos. The bathroom less so because of the general lack of food ... that is unless you leave half empty soda cans laying about or cheetos bags in the trashbin.

Another good tactic is to make sure that whatever trash recepticle that you have is a good three inches from any wall... otherwise they just walk right over and in. Once you force them to hoof it the long way from the bottom of the can you put a cocaine-ish line of boric acid death around the base of the can to insure that all visitors get a nice healthy dose of poison.

If you really want to be a nasty bastard about it... bait them. First thing.. clean up the house fairly well. Vaccum twice. Remove all sources of food. Make 'em nice and hungry. Make a large marble sized ball of bread, jelly, sugar and bacon fat and place it right on the middle of the counter. Make two rings of death powder around it. Keep the ball moist ... should be good for 3 days at a time before you need to make a new one. The wee hours visiting committe will get a large dose of hot flaming death right quick. If youre feeling extra cruel, make 4-5 of the balls and set em up in the cabinets as I just described.

It would also do you well to inform your neighbors that you've had an infestation and that it might migrate unto them... 'cause they will just eventually migrate back unto you once the coast is clear. Best to get them to step up the attck along side you.
 
The thing is, I've been seeing roaches in the living room; they seem to like it around my computer desk. This part of the apartment is about as far as you can get from his room while still being in the apartment.
 
If theyre coming out in broad daylight with no regard for a human presence, you have a full infestation. Turn out those drawers, make those bombs, fog his equipment. Theres no time to lose. 2 roaches become 45 in a month.
 
unclehobart said:
that is unless you leave half empty soda cans laying about or cheetos bags in the trashbin.
Click to expand...

As a Cheetos Lover (and being unable to eat them at the moment), I am offended by this accusation that Cheetos, the great cheese-flavored snack that it is, is roach bait.

I believe I speak for all the Cheetos lovers of the world.

:headbang:


:D
 
You in an apartment, right? Since it is away from his stuff. Could be your neighbor bombed and they need a new home.
 
He brought his computer over; I think they migrated in that. The roaches I'm seeing now are the exact same type of roach that were in his apartment.

Now, his old apartment has the meanest infestation this side of the Mason-Dixon line. Is it possible that the roaches from there are used to there being a huge infestation, and evolved into roaches that aren't so afraid of daylight and humans? Also, is two weeks enough time to go from no infestation to a complete one?

I also haven't seen any roaches in the last two days or so. It seems like if I had a full infestation, I'd still be seeing them.

Last question: I have the 50% powdered sugar 50% boric acid paste drying right now. (Is a liquidy paste OK? Or does it have to be not-very-wet-still-mostly-powdery?) What size cakes should I break it into?
 
Liquidy? How liquidy? You need to have it between cake batter and cookie dough if you're going with the 'cakes'. When I killed off my last batch of roaches (about 6 years ago), I just used the powder around the baseboards in the kitchen, making sure I got behind the stove and under the refrigerator. Then I got a can of Air Plane insect decontamination spray ( 3-phenoxybenzyl d-cis and trans*, 2,2-dimethyl-3 {2-methylpropenyl} cyclopropanecarboxylate) :)
 
It is quite possible that you have an infestation because he may have imported a whole nest colony with various egg sacks ready to hatch. What you saw were probably scouts out looking for food or forerunners of a grand migration. Seeing any roaches is cause for concern and should be acted upon.

I would make my bricks slightly larger than a marble and less than say a slice section from a golf ball.

Do what Gato says ... look for a stiff dough base consistency in your mix ..just enough to make it hold together and yet easy to dry out.
 
One more thing...if you don't have any pets in the house, you can just mix the powdered sugar and boric acid, leave it dry, and dust the baseboards et al. If what unc says is true, and I'm inclined to believe him, also spray the baseboards of your brother-in-laws room. Get behind and underneath the dresser, and make sure you get under the bed. Then, wash all of his clothes...and I do mean all. Use a laundromat, not your personal washer/dryer, or apartment washer/dryer.
 
Urggh! If there is one thing that freaks me out it's roaches! I'm so glad I live in England, they're not generally a problem in modern homes over here, although older buildings such as the hospitals I trained in do tend to have problems around the kitchens. We used to have a real problem with them in chelmsford. It's not nice finding a roach in a supposedly sterile dressing pack in the treatment room sited above the kitchen I can tell you!

We also had a problem with them in Gibralter... I always used to reach my hand around the door jamb to put the light on before entering the kitchen otherwise you ended up crunching across the floor.... it was horrible! :(
 
unclehobart said:
Don't worry Na ... after all... our cheetos are wrong. So its not as if theyre going after real ones. ;)
Click to expand...

ahhh ... good point ... you're very right ... and I am no longer offened ;)
 
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