Pest control in condo

[abbby]

I am getting mixed advice from friends..some say it's better not to have pest control at home as they use harmful chemicals and may be harmful to health. Whilst some say it's better to keep the pest away (ie: ants and cockroaches). As the service is not cheap, what are your views?

[malcontent]

When my parents in the US heard me talk about the cockroaches in our home, they bought me some “roach motels” that I brought back here. Between those and the Perro ant baits, we have been almost pest free for the last couple of years. It’s probably the longest I’ve ever gone without seeing a single ant during any of my 27 years here.

[Max Headroom]

Yeah, roach hotels work. So does having a resident cicak, by the by.

[sundaymorningstaple]

Yeah, roach hotels work. So does having a resident cicak, by the by.

And Cicak's are self renewing and can be somewhat trained. The only problem is that they like to stay behind hanging pictures on the walls and occasionally have the runs which tend to run down the wall beneath the frame. LOL I love the little critters. They also like to lay their eggs in the electrical switch boxes on the walls. I also had one that caused my old Microwave to stop. It crawled across the inline fuse inside and when tail and head exceeded the fuse length, it became a crispy critter. But they are your friends here.

[smoulder]

We had a ton of ants in the house for a while. We would see a trail of ants so we'd spray them with bug spray. Then we tried some kind of ant trap - a little round plastic case which supposedly contains some poison laced bait for the ant.... Supposedly, they carry a bit of it back to the queen and end up poisoning the queen. However it didn't quite work as well as some of our neighbours claimed it would.

What worked in the end was that I was cleaning out a closet filled with bags. There was one particular old laptop bag that hadn't been used for a couple of years. I pulled it out of the closet and my arm was covered in ants.... I realized that the ants had nested in that very bag. My wife quickly got me a garbage bag - we tied it up and threw it down the garbage chute.

And that was the end of the ants. That and ensuring that the house is cleaned up, especially food/crumbs. Sink is never left overnight with dirty dishes. And garbage thrown out every night. The only pests we have occasionally are lizards that wander in occasionally. I use a sticky trap to catch them and get rid of them before they become a big nuisance.

[malcontent]

We had a ton of ants in the house for a while. We would see a trail of ants so we'd spray them with bug spray. Then we tried some kind of ant trap - a little round plastic case which supposedly contains some poison laced bait for the ant.... Supposedly, they carry a bit of it back to the queen and end up poisoning the queen. However it didn't quite work as well as some of our neighbours claimed it would.

What worked in the end was that I was cleaning out a closet filled with bags. There was one particular old laptop bag that hadn't been used for a couple of years. I pulled it out of the closet and my arm was covered in ants.... I realized that the ants had nested in that very bag. My wife quickly got me a garbage bag - we tied it up and threw it down the garbage chute.

And that was the end of the ants. That and ensuring that the house is cleaned up, especially food/crumbs. Sink is never left overnight with dirty dishes. And garbage thrown out every night. The only pests we have occasionally are lizards that wander in occasionally. I use a sticky trap to catch them and get rid of them before they become a big nuisance.

I know exactly what you are talking about with regard to the little round plastic case type of ant baits. The other kind sold here are the clear plastic with the little brown grains. Neither of these has been effective for us. Only the Terro brand really works. And surprisingly too, because when you first put the Terro baits out, the ants don’t immediately take to it, but if you leave it out for several weeks the results speak for themselves. The point you made about not leaving them anything else to eat is important too - starving them of all other options is critical.

[grubermoaz]

There are natural and non-toxic methods for controlling pests, such as using diatomaceous earth, essential oils (like peppermint and tea tree oil), and bait traps.

[Lisafuller]

Yeah, roach hotels work. So does having a resident cicak, by the by.

And Cicak's are self renewing and can be somewhat trained. The only problem is that they like to stay behind hanging pictures on the walls and occasionally have the runs which tend to run down the wall beneath the frame. LOL I love the little critters. They also like to lay their eggs in the electrical switch boxes on the walls. I also had one that caused my old Microwave to stop. It crawled across the inline fuse inside and when tail and head exceeded the fuse length, it became a crispy critter. But they are your friends here.

Wish my daughter felt this way. The girl is terrified of ALL critters, and has zero tolerance for lizards of any kind.

[Lisafuller]

I am getting mixed advice from friends..some say it's better not to have pest control at home as they use harmful chemicals and may be harmful to health. Whilst some say it's better to keep the pest away (ie: ants and cockroaches). As the service is not cheap, what are your views?

The way I see it we're all going to die anyway. Better to be comfortable and stress free in the process. The health impacts of pest control sprays and other implements I believe are negligible. No more dangerous than coke and not exercising.

[Lisafuller]

We had a ton of ants in the house for a while. We would see a trail of ants so we'd spray them with bug spray. Then we tried some kind of ant trap - a little round plastic case which supposedly contains some poison laced bait for the ant.... Supposedly, they carry a bit of it back to the queen and end up poisoning the queen. However it didn't quite work as well as some of our neighbours claimed it would.

What worked in the end was that I was cleaning out a closet filled with bags. There was one particular old laptop bag that hadn't been used for a couple of years. I pulled it out of the closet and my arm was covered in ants.... I realized that the ants had nested in that very bag. My wife quickly got me a garbage bag - we tied it up and threw it down the garbage chute.

And that was the end of the ants. That and ensuring that the house is cleaned up, especially food/crumbs. Sink is never left overnight with dirty dishes. And garbage thrown out every night. The only pests we have occasionally are lizards that wander in occasionally. I use a sticky trap to catch them and get rid of them before they become a big nuisance.

I know exactly what you are talking about with regard to the little round plastic case type of ant baits. The other kind sold here are the clear plastic with the little brown grains. Neither of these has been effective for us. Only the Terro brand really works. And surprisingly too, because when you first put the Terro baits out, the ants don’t immediately take to it, but if you leave it out for several weeks the results speak for themselves. The point you made about not leaving them anything else to eat is important too - starving them of all other options is critical.

What's especially helpful is wiping down surfaces with vinegar to get rid of any trace of food. Sometimes the lingering crumbs and odors are enough to convince the ants that there's something good waiting for them which keeps them around for longer than needed.