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I can deal with ants. I can deal with spiders. I cannot deal with roaches. (insert vomiting smiley here) We've found a few of the big ones in our living room - strangely we haven't seen any in the kitchen. Mr. Opera put down Boric Acid in the basement, and lined the baseboards with it this weekend, but we had to sweep it up when the kids came back from my ex's. There's no crack beneath the baseboards to push the powder into.
Is there *anything* we can put down that's safer for the dog and kids (and less likely for them to get into)? This is sooo gross and I need them out of my house now.
Space Opera, I don't care what dear Jenny Gardener has to say about this. Cockroaches are the spawn of the devil. They are evil incarnate. They are horror in a hard shell. My parents in Phoenix used Roach Pruf, but I think it is the same "put the powder on their little feet" trick, and you would have to sweep it up when the kids came. Maybe it is less toxic?
I live in the Northeast for a reason. Bugs are small here.(except for the tomato hornworm. Don't gt me started on the tomato hornworm) Sure, tiny ticks and mosquitoes are more deadly than a big, fat, terrifying roach, but at least they are not as visible about it.
[ May 02, 2005, 10:01 PM: Message edited by: Elizabeth ]
Posts: 10890 | Registered: May 2003
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I went to Spain a few years ago, and in Sevilla we had our only roach problem of the entire trip. They were disturbingly present in the hostel we were staying in that night. I'm not normally squeamish, but they bugged the hell out of me. Anyhow, one managed to get into my bag, and as I was digging for a change of clothes it scampered onto my hand. I freaked out like a little sissy and flung it across the room (I probably screamed too, but lets pretend I didn't), then proceeded to destroy it with my sandal. Took a good few whacks too!
Posts: 1855 | Registered: Mar 2003
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You need centipedes. BIG ones, with lots of legs...
Or, look for a poison that the roaches carry with them back to their buddies. You may have to get some poisons. Educate everyone in the family about what you decide to use. I've been blessed by having centipedes in my house, and I've never had cockroaches. But now that the unwelcome guests are with you, you'll have to research extermination methods. I recommend learning as much as you can about your particular species of roach and its life cycle, so you can apply whatever pesticide you choose with greater effectiveness.
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Can you use diatomaceous earth on cockroaches? I know it's relatively safe for use around humans and pets (since the particles are too small to cause damage to larger creatures). You might check into it and see if it's effective at killing roaches.
Posts: 5879 | Registered: Apr 2001
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ugh-I hate house centipedes. They gross me out so bad. I can deal with certain bugs...but house centipedes...they just bug the heck out of me
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Cleaning with a bleach / water solution will help. The residue left from the bleach can cling to the roach and be carried back to the nest (is that what they have - nests?) to kill others. Of course, you would not want to use this around anything that bleach would harm (carpeting, etc.). Try a capful of bleach per quart spray bottle of water, or if it is for surfaces that will not come into contact with food, you could go up to two capfuls per quart of water.
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Do not inhale diatomaceous earth, or place it in areas in which wind/drafts can blow the particles up into the air. It's nasty stuff which can cause longterm damage to your lungs. Admittedly, there are different types of diatomaceous earth: some being MUCH safer to use than the one for which I linked the hazardous materials warning. But nonetheless, one should not treat even the less hazardous forms as if they were totally safe.
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I hate spiders, maggots, flies, centipedes, and everything else that crawls. BUT ROACHES DESERVE TO SWIM IN A POOL OF FIRE IN THEIR OWN PRIVATE HELLPosts: 3389 | Registered: Apr 2004
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