ICON village - Tanjong Pagar. Do you stay there?

[jko84]

Hi guys,

I'm in the midst of locking down an apartment on level 22 at ICON @ 10 Gopeng Street, Tanjong Pagar - in Tower 1. It has great views and is nice and spacious, however...

...I spoke to some friends who lived in the same building but another apartment (3 years & 2 years ago on the 35th floor). They mentioned that they moved out immediately due to a cockroach problem (1 - 3 in each room, kept coming back, would come out of the washing machine when she went to operate it, etc).

For my particular unit, the landlord confirmed there was an epidemic in the whole ICON building in 2005/2006 but since paying for pest control her unit has been unaffected for the 3 tenants after (from 07-13)

Just wondering if people currently live there and have any issues with a cockroach epidemic there? Or conversely, you may live there and have no issue

Cheers!

[x9200]

It took me a good while to understand the cockroach running out of the washing machine.

[jko84]

Sorry - what I meant was that when she went to the washing machine to put her clothes in, a few cockroaches would scurry out.

Wanted to see if people were experiencing the same issues, even up to today (or if people live there and there is no issue)

[the lynx]

I have a friend who lives there. The reason there's a lot of cockroaches in that condo is because of the bin chute unit. It is at the kitchen area close to the laundry room.

Depending on which floor you live, the ones at the lower floors closer to the refuse chamber below will have it worse, especially during cleaning/fogging routine.

Tip: Choose higher floors and keep your house clean to discourage them from entering via the bin chute. And make sure the bin chute is flush to the frame to prevent gaps.

[jko84]

Thanks Lynx, appreciate you taking the time to provide feedback. Is your friend able to keep the bugs to a minimum?

I'll be on the 22nd floor so that's helpful, but my friends were on the 28th and 35th floors (with one of them being directly above mine by 5 levels). granted, that was 2 years ago, but still makes me a bit paranoid.

[x9200]

For last 3 condos we lived in the bin chute was next to kitchen (less than 1m away) and we had no problems with roaches. I would say it's the pest management thing.

[PNGMK]

For last 3 condos we lived in the bin chute was next to kitchen (less than 1m away) and we had no problems with roaches. I would say it's the pest management thing.

Agreed.

Encourage Geckos to move in and spray the bin area with a residual surface spray as well.

Also encourage the MC to request everyone to tightly bag food scraps before throwing them in the chute.

[the lynx]

Thanks Lynx, appreciate you taking the time to provide feedback. Is your friend able to keep the bugs to a minimum?

I'll be on the 22nd floor so that's helpful, but my friends were on the 28th and 35th floors (with one of them being directly above mine by 5 levels). granted, that was 2 years ago, but still makes me a bit paranoid.

As what the other posters have mentioned, sometimes when there are some inconsiderate residents throwing rubbish without bagging it up, the debris will be strewn all along the chute, creating new harbourage sites for cockroaches. Having cockroaches harbouring inside refuse chambers at the bottom is already a big problem (but at least the cleaners are able to scrub and the pest management technicians are able to spray/fog inside); having multiple smaller harbourage sites along the whole line is even worse because no one is able to reach inside to get rid of them, short of getting into private units.

So if there is a piece of, say, banana peel, stuck at one of the joints on the wall of the chute (say at level 30) and it stays there, it will become the starting point of the blockage growing in size as more and more (food) debris gets stuck on its way down. Our friend, the perfect coloniser, Mr Cockroach, stumbles across that wonderful patch for new home with his pregnant wife, Mrs Cockroach and together they build a new family. One generation leads to another, and bam! You will have approximately 10 to 12 generations of cockroaches having established their base on what was a banana peel in one year. Who cares what happens to the colony of cockroaches at Basement 3 refuse chamber?

[ecureilx]

... Our friend, the perfect coloniser, Mr Cockroach, stumbles across that wonderful patch for new home with his pregnant wife, Mrs Cockroach and together they build a new family. One generation leads to another, and bam! You will have approximately 10 to 12 generations of cockroaches having established their base on what was a banana peel in one year. Who cares what happens to the colony of cockroaches at Basement 3 refuse chamber?

You did it again .. !!!

+1 for your creative writing !!!!!!!!!!

[jko84]

Haha thanks guys, appreciate the feedback. So looks like I'll have to ensure MC maintains its policy of making people bag their trash.

The landlord has promised to do what's necessary to ensure it is sealed as best as possible (e.g. installing multi-stops in the drainage pipes and including an exit clause in the tenancy agreement).

Alternatively, I may just seal up my chute and walk down to the ground floor to dispose of refuse.

[taxico]

...Alternatively, I may just seal up my chute and walk down to the ground floor to dispose of refuse.

that's how i do it... my bin chute's never been used since day 1 and i reseal it every year.

[Addadude]

...Alternatively, I may just seal up my chute and walk down to the ground floor to dispose of refuse.

that's how i do it... my bin chute's never been used since day 1 and i reseal it every year.

Ditto.

[x9200]

The bin chute itself is seldom the direct source of roaches at least bigger ones. What is inside is a different matter but from my experience I would rather expect them coming from the common areas like the corridor (below the door), directly through balconies/open windows (if there are some) etc. So I really believe your part of the fight is to keep your place/chute clean but you still will be vastly dependent on the general condo pest management.

In our previous place apparently there was some problem with roaches (albeit not in our unit) and the management did not stop with water flushing the chutes regularly and fuming with some pesticides but also applying insecticide gel at the bin chutes in every single unit.

[SStephen Lee]

[quote="jko84"]Hi guys,

I'm in the midst of locking down an apartment on level 22 at ICON @ 10 Gopeng Street, Tanjong Pagar - in Tower 1. It has great views and is nice and spacious, however...

...I spoke to some friends who lived in the same building but another apartment (3 years & 2 years ago on the 35th floor). They mentioned that they moved out immediately due to a cockroach problem (1 - 3 in each room, kept coming back, would come out of the washing machine when she went to operate it, etc).

For my particular unit, the landlord confirmed there was an epidemic in the whole ICON building in 2005/2006 but since paying for pest control her unit has been unaffected for the 3 tenants after (from 07-13)

Just wondering if people currently live there and have any issues with a cockroach epidemic there? Or conversely, you may live there and have no issue

Cheers![/quote

[ecureilx]

SStephen Lee

Nice plug

I doubt your object of interest is till interested though