I’d like to begin this post with the claim that I am not a filthy person. I might be messy, but I like to think that my mess is generally a clean mess. Sure, my housekeeping may have declined during these last few busy months, but … but … I swear I’m not that dirty!
Apparently our house is now a cockroach slum. Actually, it's probably more like a resort. I hate them. After finding one of them living in my beer mug (jerk!) I’ve now encountered many more. We’ve killed five or six grown ones. And of course “we” means I find them, and Hernan kills them. But I’ve killed probably three times that many baby roaches. I think that’s what they are. Little mini-roaches that come out to kick it in my kitchen sink at three in the morning. And yes, I hunt them down in the middle of the night. Every time Hanix wakes me to nurse I then make a little trip to the kitchen to see whether I can kill any of the suckers. I hate them.
I just discovered one (or more) has been living up in my blender. Yeah, in the machine part. The very blender I’ve been using to make sauces and curries. (Sure, they’re not in the part of the blender where the food goes, but still!) I just gave the thing a few good shakes and out cascaded a veritable shit-ton of roach poop.
If you know me you can imagine how unhappy this makes me. I’m distressed.
So I consulted my friend The Internets, and in particular my friend Wikipedia, and they told me quite a bit about the funky yucks. Apparently a happy roach emits pheromones to attract other roaches. Basically, it broadcasts the location of the swank roach resort it just happened upon. And then I guess all its cousins come swarming. Also, no matter how clean I make my house, I’m still up for a battle because apparently they can live for a month without food. And when I say “without food”, bear in mind that they eat paper and the glue off stamps and all kinds of stuff. How am I going to get rid of all the paper in my house?!
I hate them.
This would be easier to handle if I thought they just wandered in once in a while, but to know they’re infesting my kitchen, inviting all their buddies, and laying eggs really raises the yuck factor.
If I so much as see one anywhere near Hanix I’ll go ballistic.
Uhg. So the battle continues.
I hate them.
Also, I may not post as much this coming week because my sis is coming out. Three cheers for that! Yay!
Welcome, sis, to my roach infested abode!
I heard or saw some where that if you put hot sauce in a spray bottle with a little water and spray it where they are you will not see them anymore in that area. Is this true.. i have not tried. I hate those little pests too. If you try it and it works let me know... my email is crystalita83@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteYou could try a different approach, and put your poo everywhere and see how they like it. Beat them at their own game? Take that!
ReplyDeleteOh gaaawwwwwwd I totally understand! They gross me the hell out and I HATE them! They seem to love our silverware drawer and when you open it up anytime after dark there will be one crawling in there - have to wash the washed dishes before use, that's for sure!
ReplyDeleteWe did a total bug-bomb of the house upon moving in and it seemed to last a couple of months, but that's the only thing I've seen that works for us. You have to get the kind with a residue that stays and keeps killing and repeling for like 6 weeks.
You made me laugh with the one living in your blender - I had one living inside my cake mixer! I was blending a cake one day and PLOP he fell into my batter. (GAAAAAGG)
Good luck :)
Is this happening in the rest of the house, or just in your section? I wonder if your other housemates might have something to contribute...
ReplyDeleteYour bravery in stealthily hunting roaches in the middle of the night blows my mind. Roaches are the most disgusting, creepy things I can think of! A full grown one might as well be holding me at gunpoint for how quickly I'll get out of its way.
Oh, and hi :) I finally found your blog! So nice to have a little Ember in my day...
If they're in the rest of the house, you've got an uphill battle... I'm interested to know how the hot sauce works! If it doesn't do the trick, chemicals might need to be involved...
ReplyDeletehope you have/are having fun with Rita :)
So I have found that using bleach on the floor and counters works well. There is also an Ajax sold here in Mexico that is suppose to help but I have found the bleach works better. It kills all the little bitty stuff those gross things eat. Also we recently I have stared putting all food products in Tupperware containers. If its in a bag or box when I buy it as soon as its open all of its contents go in Tupperware. Might be expensive at first but better off down the line. I never had the issue with bugs that I have hear in Mexico, don't worry its not you its Mexico. Also we spray the whole house every corner at least every 3-4 weeks and sometimes more often depending on what we see. Good luck and keep up the good fight. I also see it as a war and some battles I win and some I loose. ;)
ReplyDeletethe only thing we've found that really works here (QRoo - tropics) is diatomaceous earth or borax powder. Totally nontoxic and really really really works. we're the only ones keeping hte bastards at bay. it doesn't kill them immediately, but it will kill the entire nest and keep them away. Dunno if you can get it here though, you might need to have it muled down from the other side.
ReplyDeleteHot sauce, then bleach, then borax powder. I'm on it. I don't know what to do about the one I found living in a shoe box in my closet... Borax powder, I suppose. Thanks for all the tips!
ReplyDeleteHey so I'v heard a lot about the boarx powder but I was worried about it with the baby. But everyone says its nontoxic. I think we are to the point we need to try it. Nothing is working. Ill let you know if we find any and if it works. Also for sure you need to get rid of all shoe boxes or any other type of corrugated box or thing. I say thing because we had these cute little pictures on the wall in my daughters room that were made of corrugated vinal I some some droppings on their dresser the other day and sure enough the picture above it was like a little hotel. They each had their own little corrugated section. I knew cardboard was bad but I thought the vinal was safe. Live and learn I suppose. Oh and I had to laugh in a recent post when you said that about your silverware. Everything we own that's not used constantly is in suitcases.
ReplyDelete