Waterbugs they say...

Well, everyone has convinced me I don't have roaches, but waterbugs. Apparently, these are seasonal and aren't really a problem, other than they are ugly. So I sent Grissom away with Rob a few days ago and sprayed the **** out of the kitchen anyway. I will eliminate every little waterbug there is. I hate them. YUCK. Anyway, we had only seen 3 in a month, so I figured they were right they were only waterbugs. I even was sneaking into the kitchen at night and flipping on the lights to see if I saw any, and haven't seen a one. Till this morning again. There is a dead one on the floor. I am comforting myself that it is dead, but I don't want even dead ones in my house!

And the lousy landlord won't spray becuase they aren't roaches! GR.

Grissom just be careful what you use. Your cat is very susceptible to any type of poison that you spray. They inhale it, walk in it, and could get quite sick. I don't know what waterbugs are, but I am personally against using chemicals on bugs unless you have a real infestation.

The can said to keep pets away until it dried, so rob took Grissom for the whole day. And I only sprayed it places he couldn't get too (behind the fridge, on top of the cupboards). I think while we go on vacation, my mom is going to take him, and I am going to get the place fumigated anyways.

Grissom the Waterbugs don't live indoors at all , only the roaches do . So the waterbug is comming in to visit only and mostly just one or two and if they don't find what they are looking for they will leave again . I do get them here all the time here in the south , my cats really enjoy them waterbugs when one or two come to vist . After a very short visit and not more then maybe 20 - 30 minutes they are gone ( sadly have passed away with my cats help ) . Now my cats don't eat them , but will kill them for sure . You really don't need to worry get a infastation (sp) of any kind and there is no need to spray all the time you see them . To much chemicals is not good even for you to breath in and for sure not for your cats .

What do they look like? We have roaches, but I'm pregnant and the roaches are safer than spraying around pregnant women and babies. They're just thoroughly disgusting. Where you are roaches would be seasonal too. Here in San Diego they're year-round and you never get rid of them.

Grissom, do you mean June Bugs? They are a type of beetle, and I get one or two of them in my house every summer. If you're getting water bugs or June Bugs you really don't have to use any type of insect spray at all. You won't get very many, and Grissom will track down the ones that you do get and kill them for you.

Here's a picture of a June Bug...

I found a picture of a water bug too....

The ones we have here look just like roaches, but they're about 2" long.

The best organic way to combat them is to look around for any openings where they might be coming in (under doors, through window frame cracks, etc.) and seal them. If you can't seal them, I'd suggest sprinkling diatomaceous earth around your door & window frames (you can find it at hardware & garden shops). Diatomaceous earth kills the bugs mechanically, damaging their exoskeletons - no chemical pesticides involved. Be careful not to breathe it in, though.

I would be leery of using pesticides to kill them because my cats love to catch & eat them.

http://www.dirtdoctor.com/view_question.php?id=21

Grissom, the waterbugs might be coming in from outside, or from the grocery store. When we lived in PA, we were plagued by them one year, and I noticed that I'd find one or two after I brought home groceries. I started to check cartons, and to keep the brown paper shopping bags out on the porch, because somebody told me they're attracted to the paste used to hold them together. I'd really be careful about spraying, because our furbabies used to hunt them (one dog ate them with gusto).