Those who are interested in getting rid of cockroaches in an apartment need to be careful. Very careful.
You do not want to set-off a bunch of foggers – aerosol bug bombs – without sounding an alert to your neighbors. In a place where folks live within shouting distance, you could turn a simple task like killing roaches into a gas chamber for everything and everybody even remotely connected to your flat.
Aerosol foggers are great for homes, as long as everyone has gone out for the day. But as an apartment dweller you need to get in touch with the management company, the on-site fix-it person and people that live all around your flat before turning your place into a gas chamber. Even then, think twice. You don’t want to end up getting the chair for simply trying to kill a few bugs.
Staring from reverse, you need to touch base with the neighbors to see if they are having similar issues. They are? Then simply “getting rid of the cockroaches in an apartment” has now become “getting rid of the cockroaches in a bunch of apartments.”
Telling the on-site fix-it person may cause them to snap into action, taking care of the roach problem. Same for the management company. They might have someone on retainer to eradicate the little critters.
What if you own your apartment? You still need to break open a conversation with the nearby folks. Collateral damage in the mission to kill the lowly roach is totally unacceptable.
Calling the Pros
Hiring a professional will definitely give you the best outcome, provided you perform due diligence before signing a contract. Experts have all of the tools and materials that are needed to root-out bugs. A pro knows where to look for the troublemakers – they go deep into places no man has recently gone.
Since you’re going to let someone qualified handle your infestation, there are some things you need to do as soon as you acknowledge the problem exists.
Write down the exact places where you’ve seen the roaches. This can become a cat-and-mouse game. Ever wonder why a cockroach darts out-of-sight so quickly when you flick on the lights? It’s not the brightness. It’s the air flow that you create when you move. Roaches are able to feel air currents and respond as if their butts were on fire. On average, one of these dirty critters can peel-out at 31-inches per second.
Contact a professional pest control outfit that has some credibility. Ask them what is covered when they begin the treatment? You want to get a contract that spells out, exactly, what services will be handled. What about the guarantee? Will you have to shell-out more money if reinfestation happens?
Make sure before any juice gets spilled, the exterminator knows whether you have pets – dogs, cats, dragons, tiny sparkly unicorns. Children should likewise be noted to the professional. That’s why you’re paying for the service. You want safe results without making Fido or Mittens or whatever you call that darned unicorn vomit and die.
Cockroaches show up in the first place because they’re seeking something to eat and drink. With that in mind, the most invaded places will probably be in your bathroom and kitchen. Not to put the blame entirely on you but you do share the blame as to why these insects are hanging around in the first place. Even before the exterminator comes knocking, clean your house, always do the dishes after you’ve soiled them and seal all food in air-tight containers. In other words, clean up your act.
DIY
Think you can handle this on your own? Fine, just make sure you remember the pets and the kids and the neighbors.
Make Your Own
Grab a disposable bowl and combine equal parts of boric acid, sugar and flour. The sugar will draw the roaches. The flour lets everything in the trap stick to the insects and the boric acid will send the monsters straight to hell. Put the traps somewhere the household beasts, including the kids, won’t find it.
Commercial Killers and Traps
Go to the store and buy some of these small plastic or cardboard traps. Remember the old phrase, “once they check-in, they don’t check-out.” Actually, that’s a misnomer. You want the roaches to head back to their nests and share the poison with their buddies.
Spray
Make sure you get a can of the stuff that specifically says “Kills Roaches.” Once home, spritz around where the floor meets the floor boards, cracks and other openings where the small creeps creep-in. Purchase an outdoor spray and hit all accessible entranceways outside your apartment.
Your personal cleanliness is only half of the preventative solution. If your next door neighbor is a slob you may have to take creative steps.
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