Need to vent...

Concern Diatomaceous Earth Crawling Insect Killer

Click to expand...

This stuff is amazing.

I lived in an old apartment building that developed a very serious roach problem (The new owners decided to save money by not exterminating every year, that was apparently what kept them under control). Once I took something to my sister's new house in the suburbs that had some roaches in it, and she had them for about a year, it was awful. She tried roach motels, and lots of other remedies, and the Diatomaceous Earth stuff was the only thing that worked. They were gone in a week.

When I moved to my present apartment, my biggest fear was bringing some of the awful things with me. This is also an old house, and I was petrified that they would move here too, and set up colonies in the walls. The building is virtually impossible to seal all of the cracks, there are just too many spaces around the floorboards and mouldings. So when I packed to move, I dusted this stuff inside every box and bag, before I packed anything, and then had to wash everything when I got here.

It worked, not a single bug made the trip!

And because I had lived in that awful condition, when I found out that this building had mice, it didn't even bother me.....

Amber I don't know if this will help or make you feel any better either. There is a gel bug killer called Combat. It works, just put it where Grissom can't get to it. I bought some and put it around the next morning I was amazed at how may bugs I had to sweep up

I hate bugs as well as you, but lately my problem isn't the bugs it's mice, lizards and snakes in my bathroom. The Sammycat and Oscar likes to catch them as they crawl under my side door(Ken hasn't put up the new one yet and there is no weather stipping) and then take them into the bathtub to play with them. Needless to say it just about gives me a heartattack when I pull the shower curtain and the lizard dropped on my head, but that is another story.

Thankfully Ken was the one the mouse dropped on when he was getting in the shower and the snake was all his too I could have seen the bulldozer coming into dig me out of the poo had I been the one the snake was in the shower with

Thank God we don't have roaches in our house! They're my greatest fear too! I think I pretty much left home and moved in with my hubby because we had a roach infestation back at my mom's at the time. I can spot a roach a mile away - I can even hear them :S Creepy little things! Still, I don't think they're mean and I wouldn't want to see any animal or creature suffer. I think torturing is bad for you as a human being - not just for the roaches.

Faced with a roach infestation I would just move out - no matter what. To my parents', a friend's place - anywhere! And if you have roaches - your SO is supposed to wake up in the middle of the night and get rid of them - otherwise what are men for? I know I was impressed with my hubby - then boyfriend - because when he came to sleep over, I once woke him up 4 times during one night because I heard/saw a roach. He got up every single time and focused on the bug in zero seconds That's my guy!

I don't know how it is, in PA but, here in AZ the Consumer Protection Dept. of the County Attorney's office handles landlord-tenant issues, free of charge. In the past, I've called them and gotten free advice, over the phone. The health Dept. is a good idea, too. As far as I know, bugs are a health and safety issue. You might check with the building inspector, too. Most jurisdictions have building codes.

Eenelk, don't worry about your kitty eating flies. My cats love them and flies are protein.

I would think there would be some resource on the internet that tells you what rights tenants can expect in Pennsylvania. Here in Florida, the tenant has the right to expect premises free of infestation. In other words, if you have bugs, they have to provide extermination.

I am going to call the landlord here in a bit, how do I tell him? Tactfully?
And persuasively?

This is the PA's board of health thingy:

Owner shall:The owner of a tenement, lodging or boarding house or the authorized agent of the owner, shall keep the entire building in repair including the plumbing, lighting, heating and ventilating systems, and shall also keep the entire building in a cleanly condition, free from an accumulation of dirt, garbage or other refuse matter.

Says nothing of bugs...

Ack! He has an obligation to keep the building clean which includes bugs.

I had a problem with termites not too long ago, so I called the terminix people as my landlord has a contract with them and she thanked me for calling them, they have not come back since (knock on wood, hoping that it isnt brittle)

Anne, I know I am bad what I did to the roaches, but they made me sick when I was renting an apartment when I was in Manila, but I am good now, I killed them right away

Katl8e, I have to attract more flies to come to my house then.

Just got ahold of the landlord. I told him we had a cockroach problem and he said "Cockroaches???" All surprised. Then he told me to get some estimates and call him back tomorrow, he is going to call the rest of the tenants and see if they have had any problems. I feel like a lead boulder has been lifted! No more bugs!!!

That's good news, but please tell them that you're having a problem with waterbugs and not cockroaches, as they aren't the same thing. Insects often build up a tolerance to the chemicals used to annihilate them, so you want to be sure that an exterminator knows exactly what he/she is dealing with. Otherwise the problem may not be solved.

I am so glad to hear that your troubles are soon to be ending!!

Glad to hear!

Keep in contact with the landlord, and when you have major problems, let them know. They will almost always work with you, to address and resolve the issue.

Spotz

Originally Posted by Anne

Faced with a roach infestation I would just move out - no matter what. To my parents', a friend's place - anywhere! And if you have roaches - your SO is supposed to wake up in the middle of the night and get rid of them - otherwise what are men for? I know I was impressed with my hubby - then boyfriend - because when he came to sleep over, I once woke him up 4 times during one night because I heard/saw a roach. He got up every single time and focused on the bug in zero seconds

That's my guy!

Click to expand...

I agree with you Anne! It is your SO's duty to kill the bugs!!! I am absolutely terrified of spiders, luckily in our apartment now we get very few, but in our old one we would get big mean scary looking ones that if you looked at them funny they would growl at you (Ok, maybe I am exagerating but only a tiny bit!) If I see a spider, not matter how small my boyfriend has to kill it. I am too scared to get close enough to kill them. I can think of many times i have gotten up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night and seen a spider, and before I go back to sleep it has to be killed. Otherwise I will be up looking for it, because I am terrified of one getting on me in my sleep. He may grumble a little about having to get uo, but mostly because he is just woken from a deep sleep to me begging him to save me, but he gets up and does it, everytime I ask.

I am glad to read that your landlord is going to have an exterminator come out. Here in my apartment in Florida, our apartment gets sprayed once a month in the summer and then we can call and request them to come out if we have any problems. In the winter they come out every 2 months.

Just found this site with natural insect repellants. Looks brilliant!

http://eartheasy.com/live_natpest_control.htm

Originally Posted by squirtle

I am absolutely terrified of spiders, luckily in our apartment now we get very few, but in our old one we would get big mean scary looking ones that if you looked at them funny they would growl at you

(Ok, maybe I am exagerating but only a tiny bit!) If I see a spider, not matter how small my boyfriend has to kill it. I am too scared to get close enough to kill them. I can think of many times i have gotten up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night and seen a spider, and before I go back to sleep it has to be killed. Otherwise I will be up looking for it, because I am terrified of one getting on me in my sleep. He may grumble a little about having to get uo, but mostly because he is just woken from a deep sleep to me begging him to save me, but he gets up and does it, everytime I ask.

Click to expand...

Dori might be taking care of the spiders in your new apartment. That's one thing about having cats - spiders don't last long! JC is really funny - he does "spider checks", which involves looking in corners, on the walls, and on the ceiling. If he can't reach one, he begs my husband to pick him up and hold him up to the ceiling. I usually take a dust mop and brush the spider down, and then he goes scampering after it. Yum! Actually, I feel guilty about aiding and abetting him.

The landlord called today to update me on the issue with the b-u-g-s. Apparently he is very willing to exterminate, but the people upstairs (Insert obscenity for "people") are not cooperating. They refuse the inspection, and when he knocks they refuse to answer. He said he can't just go ahead becuase they have a dog. I beleive he can mail them a letter and as long as he gives 24 hour notice he is allowed to enter their apartment. I don't think he realizes this though. Honestly, he's a nice guy, but I don't think he quite knows how to do these things. is there a polite way I can tell him this, becuase I really would like the building exterminated. Is it my place to mention the notice then enter right? Should I be patient?

On a brighter note, he said he still planned on exterminating as soon as they cooperated, and he was getting me a ultrasound bug repeller thing from the exterminators to use until he got the place exterminated for real.

Do you or Rob get along with the upstairs neigbor? Maybe you could talk to them?

No, hence the "Insert obscenity for people". In fact, I would like to drag the kid and all his women and their baby's down the steps by their ears and out the door. They scream constantly. They have a dog, however, I have never seen it, and all it does is bark. Grrrr.....