Pests in maids room - solutions for cleaning

[Kappy]

Hello
We have moved into a fairly new large condo complex and have a problem with cockroaches that seem to be coming from the maids room and garbage chute. Has anyone had a problem with this and how do you deal with it? Pest control fumigation and clearing everything out of the room?

Just wondering how common this is in the newer buildings and if it is a normal occurrence if you don't have someone occupying the room. Is it fair to say they are also then in the condo?

Is spraying from a professional company safe? Do you have to leave for the day and is the spray harmful to young children and elderly?

Thanks for the help

[Mad Scientist]

Which one do you want to fumigate ? The maid or the coakroaches?

[sundaymorningstaple]

Where is the maids room? A bedroom doesn't normally have any ingress areas where cockroaches would be able to enter the room. Where is the garbage chute? is it in the unit or outside in the common corridor as as lot now days.

Or is the garbage chute in the maids room?

Most of the pest control companies here use environmentally safe chemicals. Normally fogging, gassing or baiting is used (which is better and lasts longer) This company is also ISO certified to 9001:2000 & 14001. http://killem.com.sg/our_services.html .

Gassing is the most effective way but you have to seal up the house and leave for four hours. After four hours, open up the windows and let air for 1 hour. After that, it's perfectly safe for humans of any age. (I've used the gassing canisters for a general clean up of my house (gets rid of cockroaches, bedbugs, silverfish and any other type of insect that may be in the home.) Give the company a call and have them explain the various methods to you and tell them of your concerns so they can explain the difference in the methods and the relative effectiveness of the different solutions.

There are a number of pest control companies in my links page below (third column)

[the lynx]

Hello
We have moved into a fairly new large condo complex and have a problem with cockroaches that seem to be coming from the maids room and garbage chute.

Question: Which floor are you staying and how close is the maid's room to the garbage chute? (as in, is it adjoined to the section where garbage chute is located?)

Has anyone had a problem with this and how do you deal with it? Pest control fumigation and clearing everything out of the room?

Just wondering how common this is in the newer buildings and if it is a normal occurrence if you don't have someone occupying the room. Is it fair to say they are also then in the condo?

As long as there is a direct access from refuse chamber into a unit (like via refuse chute), it will happen regardless whether it is new or old building. And you implied that there is no one occupying the room right? Cockroaches like to hide at places that are concealed and undisturbed so check if you have clutter or cracks/crevices there.

And oh, cleanliness is another thing so if your house is squeeky clean, there is a very minimal chance that your house will attract cockroaches.

Is spraying from a professional company safe? Do you have to leave for the day and is the spray harmful to young children and elderly?

Some fly-by-night pest control guys do not practise proper safety and hygiene in their work. So it would be best if you go for the reputable ones. Depending on how bad the infestation is, and how serious the treatment is going to be, they may advise you to leave the house for a couple of hours.

Harmful or not, it all depends on the contractor's workmanship and also if anyone of you literally rubs yourself on the treated surface. To date, all pesticides here in Singapore are registered after stringent safety and hazard checks so you shouldn't be worried about the pesticide itself.

And if you have anyone with asthma or eczema, discuss that with your contractor for other form of treatments such as baiting or trapping.

Oh yeah, you can start DIY by sealing up your garbage chute. As in, making sure there is no gap for cockroaches to creep through even when it is shut. If there are cracks, get it fixed. If there is a slight gap at the opening when you close, you can add the rubber seal.

Thanks for the help

Welcome

[x9200]

Sounds like a typical case the bin chute next to the bomb shelter AKA the maid's room in SG. This is not because it is the maid's room but by plain vicinity of the chute.

[sundaymorningstaple]

Or it's the utility room off the kitchen that been converted to the maids room (I've seen this done many times here. The have to get a custom sized bed to go in there as a standard single will not fit. The rubbish chute is usually located in that utility room. That is why my first reply was phrased the way it was.

In fact, several years ago, the real estate agents used to market it as a "maid's room" in order to make the condo seem bigger than it really was, e.g., another bedroom.

[Brooklynjenn]

We have this same issue. The room is in the utility area next to the garbage chute. When the management fumigated the roaches run up. We used roach spray around the inside of the chute and it seems to have resolved the problem for three weeks. They have not been spotted anywhere else in our condo. The brand was baygone. Maybe we should adopt a lizard from outside to take care of the problem.

[JR8]

I found Baygon expensive. Look at the quantity of active ingredients on the lable, it is easy to compare.

I think we used Mortein (black can), which has a flip up nozzle the size of a slim ballpoint pen. Way more ingredients% than Baygon and cheaper too. And that nozzle... thing goes off like a directional fire extinguisher, brilliant.

p.s. We thoroughly sprayed our rubbish hatch every 2 weeks or so. It was situated just off the kitchen in the small hall opposite the maid's bathroom, that led back to the maid's bedroom (that we used as a walk-in larder!)

[sundaymorningstaple]

So your maid slept on a futon under the kitchen table did she? Oh, you wouldn't spring for a futon, eh? Couple of weeks worth of the daily birdcage liner was it with a stolen airlines blanket.

[JR8]

So your maid slept on a futon under the kitchen table did she? Oh, you wouldn't spring for a futon, eh? Couple of weeks worth of the daily birdcage liner was it with a stolen airlines blanket.

Jeez, that comment I made about your hair really ticked you off eh?

Good, lol!

[sundaymorningstaple]

[laker]

I had the same experience of cockcroaches in my previous home, bought a gel bait and solved the problem.

{Sanitized by moderator}

[curiousgeorge]

Just wondering how common this is in the newer buildings and if it is a normal occurrence if you don't have someone occupying the room.

Cockroaches are slippery buggers...sorry to tell you this but if you have them in the condo, you've probably also got them in rooms that people occupy too...

[JustSee]

My 2 cents:

Keep the apartment clean.
I have been living in an old building here (40+ years), and had roaches when I moved. After thoroughly cleaning the entire apartment and keeping an eye that the sink is always clean and not cluttered I have not encountered a single roach for half a year or so.

To avoid other bugs and the like, like fleas and bedbugs I suggest using a floor cleaning liquid with "Active materials" in it, as this helped me to get rid of fleas after I adopted my dog - this and a vacuum.

Good luck!

[the lynx]

Wondering how is Kappy doing with the cockroach problem?