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Dealing with Palmetto Bugs (roaches)?

Discussion in 'Questions and Answers' started by maynard, Aug 12, 2010.

  1. maynard

    maynard Who, whom?

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    i have been seeing a few of these guys in my apartment. im not sure if they are the "bad" type of roach. the ones i have seen are the light brown color and at least an inch long. they are almost impossible to kill. they are fast as hell.

    its not like there are a bunch of them crawling around. i see maybe one per week or so. the complex grounds people spray weekly outside, though my front door isnt exactly air tight

    my lady makes sure the place is really clean, so i dont think thats the issue.

    what can i do to kill these guys without harming my cats? will traps work? the ones i see are pretty large. i dont even know if they will fit in them lol

    its not an infestation or anything, but i just dont want to see them. any ideas? im sure a lot of floridians have have had to deal with this
     
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  2. opfinistic

    opfinistic Braaaaains!

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    I like to eat them with a good chianti.

    Has it been raining in your area? That stirs em up and send em indoors. Also if you are in an apartment or townhome it a neighbor sprays they will head elsewhere. Kill them by letting some geckos into the house. And the traps are effective too.
     
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  3. maynard

    maynard Who, whom?

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    lol. they are definitely big enough to fry up. christ! these things are bigger than the geckos lol

    yeah, its been raining a lot over the past few days
     
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  4. texanphinatic

    texanphinatic Senior Member

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    Geckos tend to be cat toys, and may not be big enough to take on inch long roaches. Id try some kind of trap personally, maybe an enclosed one so the cats get to the dangerous stuff inside.
     
  5. Paul 13

    Paul 13 Chaotic Neutral & Unstable Genius Staff Member

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    The cats aren't interested in the roaches? Seriously, I've had cats in the past that could catch and eat things like that.
     
  6. Fin D

    Fin D Sigh

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    If you go the trap route, make sure its the kind that makes them stay inside the trap and not one that lets them leave poisoned. Your cats may get a hold them then.
     
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  7. unluckyluciano

    unluckyluciano For My Hero JetsSuck

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    I know a guy who knows a guy who uses safe poisons when he sprays my house for roaches. Might want to call around and see what you can find.
     
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  8. maynard

    maynard Who, whom?

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    one of them has little interest. the other is very interested, but he makes a move and then expects the roach to play with with him lol. pretty pathetic

    then the roaches end up under a couch or something and its over
     
    Paul 13 likes this.
  9. unluckyluciano

    unluckyluciano For My Hero JetsSuck

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    you need those southwest roaches. They don't run from you they run at you. I swear to God I saw one carrying a knife once.
     
    Clipse, NaboCane, Boik14 and 5 others like this.
  10. m ino

    m ino New Member

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    combat makes gel type of stuff that comes in a tube much like and is applied the same way as caulk.i run it along the back of my kitchen/bathroom counters in a little bead(i don't smooth it like caulk though)and i believe it is safe for cats but it should say on the box it comes in. our house in the sticks gets those tree roaches sometimes specially after a few good days of rain and this stuff really works(for me anyway).you can get this at any decent food chain/hardware store
     
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  11. maynard

    maynard Who, whom?

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    i couldnt find the gel stuff. i got raid max bug barrier spray. the thing has a little battery powered auto sprayer pretty neat!

    i went all over the house with it. it also kills on contact. it says safe for pets once it dries.

    got some traps too. not sure if they will work

    got one of the guys last night

    i found 2 tonight in our outside screened-in patio. one came up from the spaces in the wood decking from the unit below us. i think that how they are getting in....from the people downstairs. sucks
     
  12. m ino

    m ino New Member

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    living in southern louisiana when me and my boss build screened in porches we screen the bottom of the deck aswell to keep the mosquitos/insects from coming up under the ground.would imagine it would work for roaches in your situation but the owner of the complex would have to agree and it's a little more work than just spraying for the roaches.whlie it helps greatly with most insects and bugs my grandpaw used to say that theres 2 kinds of mosquito's in louisiana..those small enough to go through screen doors and those big enough to open them.
     
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  13. maynard

    maynard Who, whom?

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    lol. thats awesome

    well i opened up the patio today and found 5 of the buggers upturned and dead

    all i did was spray the perimeter of my sliding door with the raid bug barrier stuff. works great. gonna put a couple of traps out there too.

    my cats were some help though. they spotted and pointed out the one i killed out there last night lol.
     
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  14. NaboCane

    NaboCane Banned

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    To make your house roach-proof, spray your yard and spray around the entire frames of windows and doors. Don't puss out, either - go for malathion or diazinon or some of the more modern formulations. Stay away from anything "natural" or "green," that **** doesn't work.

    Then spray inside with an odorless pesticide. After they're gone apply boric acid (powder) along the insides of all cabinet corners and anywhere else you can. That'll kill any that penetrate the defense perimeter.

    There should be a concerted eradication program for those damn things.
     
  15. MikeHoncho

    MikeHoncho -=| Censored |=-

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    Keep an iguana or two as pets.
     
  16. TheAnswer385

    TheAnswer385 Stay Low Run Free

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    FYI you can get roaches through the electric outlets if there is someone with an unhealthy living space in your complex near-bye.
     
  17. maynard

    maynard Who, whom?

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    i was still seeing a couple of them even after i sprayed the home defense stuff. so i bought the combat gel.

    i laid a bunch of strips all along the house where they may go and places they might be coming in. electrical outlet was a good idea. i put a strip near my washer/dryer hookup because its probably easy to get in that way. come to find out a few units are having similar problems. kind of odd because my complex is a pretty nice place, def. not a dump

    next time i hit target ill probably pick up some borax. i read online that it has to do with dehydrating them, they presumably go back to their nest, die, get eat by other roaches and the cycle continues. hopefully the gel stuff is working like that too

    nabo, did you mix the borax into a paste or leave it as a powder? i have read some people make a paste so it is more appealing. supposed to be very safe for pets too

    anyway, its been about 5 days and i havent seen one. i guess its a pretty common thing. i just never had to deal with it before
     
  18. Da-PhinZ

    Da-PhinZ New Member

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    Mix 50% baking soda w/ 50% powdered sugar an put it around the spots where you have seen them, ie kitchen, and along the walls and corners. This mixture is safe and will kill them as well as there friends. :2guns:
     
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