cockroaches

Asian_Geekette · Post by **Asian_Geekette** » Thu, 01 Apr 2010 3:24 pm

Back in the Philippines, I can rely on our family's pet cats to catch the roaches for fun. So we'd just sweep the dead roaches after the cats are done with them.

I guess one more reason to persuade the HDB to consider letting HDB dwellers keep cats as pets.

valleyman · Post by **valleyman** » Sun, 04 Apr 2010 4:19 pm

I had a few roaches in my apartment which would just not go away... I tried everything.. then I tried this Baygon thingy which the cockroaches eat and take back to their nests which apparently destroys their whole colony...

Initially skeptical I am a convert now... Not one cockroach is seen in my apartment now...

missis · Post by **missis** » Sun, 04 Apr 2010 4:49 pm

While I do use Baygon spray occasionally, the immediate effectiveness bothers me a bit - what on earth is in it?? You squirt and the things drop dead straight away! After a few times I'm asking myself, is it safe?

beppi · Post by **beppi** » Sun, 04 Apr 2010 5:24 pm

Safe?!? You're kidding, right?
Try spraying it on your dog - he'll drop dead as well, just as you yourself would!
There's not much stuff strong enough to kill cockroaches, which are among the hardiest living beings on earth. Whatever works on them is sure to also work on other liveforms.
I think it's safer to not use such chemicals near humans - the roaches do less harm to us than the sprays!

Post by **sundaymorningstaple** » Sun, 04 Apr 2010 5:32 pm

beppi wrote: I think it's safer to not use such chemicals near humans - the roaches do less harm to us than the sprays!

Boy is that the truth. Spray bombs almost killed my Mom a couple of years ago. The kind you close up your house and set them off, while leaving the house for around 4 to 6 hours. She followed the directions okay, and came back some 8+ hours later, but something obviously went horribly wrong, and she arrived at the emergency on resusitation has she had stopped breathing.

You can always eat the cockroaches, they are 99% pure protein. They were also one of only two living things found after the bombing of Hiroshima. The other were rats.

Sundaybrunch · Post by **Sundaybrunch** » Sun, 04 Apr 2010 5:36 pm

Scattering pandan leaves around the house definitely works. Change the leaves every mth.

Actually roaches are almost inevitable in most rental apartments - you don't know what the previous tenants did before you moved in. Once they come they will always come back. If they have never come before and you keep the place clean, they will not have any reason to appear.

My home has been cockroach free for years since i moved in, and for my friend who detests these creepy crawlies, at least 20 years.=)

I don't keep baygon or cockroach baits at home because they attract the pests, so if there is nothing in my home to attract them, they may come in because they are lured to the baits or spray. Personal belief - works so far.

Another tip - buy those cockroach traps from the hardware bath stores to put into your drain - it's not food. It has a trapdoor that opens up when there is downward pressure, i.e. allows the water to flow down and closes when there is no water flowing down, hence preventing roaches from crawling up the drains into your house. (cheap, ard $5 each)

3rd tip - Install fly nets - to prevent them from flying into your house. Also stops lizards & other insects from coming in.

I live in a condo apartment which is blessed with fumigation every week. Landed property - i have no idea. HDB - really depends on where you live - which block / floor etc.

missis · Post by **missis** » Sun, 04 Apr 2010 5:40 pm

Wow, SMS that's a scary story

I've never used the bomb things as I've only ever had the odd beastie in our place.
Sundaybrunch - "blessed with fumigation"? You mean the fogging? Those things disturb me the same way the Baygon does! Especially since I've been bitten by a mossie the same day they've been round

beppi · Post by **beppi** » Sun, 04 Apr 2010 5:48 pm

Fumigations can IN THEORY be less harmfull than chemical spraying:
It's basically an oily mist that clogs the tiny air channels insects use to bring oxygen to internal organs, thus suffocating them. Since humans have lungs and a blood circulation for that purpose, we're not affected (unless we directly inhale the mist).
But:
The method works only if the insect is covered by the oil, and once the mist has settled (after minutes), no effect remains. Thus to make it more lasting, the oil is normally mixed with insecticides. In that case all my comments above apply, and I prefer to live (and survive) in a non-fumigated area.

Post by **sundaymorningstaple** » Sun, 04 Apr 2010 5:53 pm

The fogging that is done, is by a pest control company. Apparently the poster's condo has a good management committee who doesn't mind spending the money to keep the pests at bay. I'm sure the garbage chutes are also fogged and oiling is probably done as well. That's why they never see any cockroaches. You can take a brand new HDB unit that's been empty since new but has other units in the vicinity, and you will find cockroaches in the home if the garbage chute has the least little gap. And yeah, screens are a way to keep out the other flying crawling critters, provided you have a rubber floor sweep attached to the bottom of the doors to seal out any crawl space entries.

Most fogging today is done with water based carriers not oil based carriers although some company DO still use the oil based methods as it's cheaper.

beppi · Post by **beppi** » Sun, 04 Apr 2010 5:58 pm

Oh, I forgot that we in SMS have a pest control expert on this forum.
Maybe you can describe if and how the fumigation (oil-based or not) is harmful to humans?

Post by **sundaymorningstaple** » Sun, 04 Apr 2010 6:33 pm

In an ideal world, we wouldn't have to deal with dengue types I through IV or Chikungunya or to a lesser degree but still there, malaria. So, after having watched my BiL almost die with Dengue 4 years ago, I still don't like fogging, but figure the concentrations that are used in the fogging are so minute, that there is less damage done to somebody with that, then there is spending an hour wandering down Orchard Road inhaling the unburnt hydrocarbons from idling cars. Therefore, I'll take my chances.

But yes, there is danger in fogging but really, only for the guys doing the fogging as they are there day in and day out and yes, the pesticides can build up. But again, in 5 years of being in this industry and with over 150 guys in the field every day, we've never had a case of a too high buildup in the blood yet. Our guys have to have Blood Tests done every 6 months in order to keep their licenses with NEA. And we've got some with over 10 years of service. I guarantee you, they inhale more on a daily basis that you do in your lifetime of occasionally being caught in a fog.

GoGreen · Post by **GoGreen** » Mon, 19 Apr 2010 10:11 pm

I think the best so far is to always close the gutters.
Have a very clean, brightly-lit kitchen too. I'm a cockroach-phobic, but then I don't resort to chemicals and all too, so I have to keep my place clean.

So far I have only seen 1 in my kitchen in months. So it works.

There's once a cockroach in my bedroom. It was roosting on my bed! Oh boy! I had to Kill-On-Sight before it ran away and make me sleepless throughout the night

Btw, who says there's no cockroaches in outer space? Look at Alien and District 9.. haha.. We need Terminator!

Post by **nakatago** » Mon, 19 Apr 2010 11:45 pm

GoGreen wrote: Btw, who says there's no cockroaches in outer space? Look at Alien and District 9...

those were fookin' prawns!

EDIT: Could someone nuke GoGreen? I looked at his profile and his website is that bloody water company he was "recommending" in the "is water system necessary" thread.

GoGreen · Post by **GoGreen** » Tue, 20 Apr 2010 2:33 am

nakatago wrote:
GoGreen wrote: Btw, who says there's no cockroaches in outer space? Look at Alien and District 9...
those were fookin' prawns!

EDIT: Could someone nuke GoGreen? I looked at his profile and his website is that bloody water company he was "recommending" in the "is water system necessary" thread.

I apologize if I had offended you Nakatago, is there something wrong with me voicing out my opinion in that particular thread? I was answering the question isn't it? Is water system necessary? Hell yes to me. Hey I am not even advertising things at the thread. I did not "hey you listen to me. Must buy, come and take a look at my stuffs", it was just my opinion that I think the water system is great since I am the one who have to boil water everyday. I am a consumer myself.

I did my adverts in Classifieds, not in the forum here. I know the ethics and the rules. I did not even advertise on my signature, should you want to defend you point to a higher level.

By the way, those were prawn-LIKE creatures. Come on I'm just referencing exoskeletons that both cockroaches, district 9, prawns all have. Chillax man, don't have to be so harsh on your words. Again, if I offended you. I am sorry.

Post by **nakatago** » Tue, 20 Apr 2010 8:35 am

GoGreen wrote:By the way, those were prawn-LIKE creatures. Come on I'm just referencing exoskeletons that both cockroaches, district 9, prawns all have. Chillax man, don't have to be so harsh on your words. Again, if I offended you. I am sorry.

If you've seen the movie, Wikus and just about everybody else keep calling them "fookin' prawns!" Yes, exclamation point included.

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cockroaches

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