Killing Apartment Bugs Safely, also, I'm New! Hi!

freecake

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Hi,
I've been watching the Cat Site for some time, basically since my boyfriend and I started looking for our first "together cat" and now we've had her since February and all and I've finally gotten around to actually joining and posting (I'll put a picture of her in my sig!)

So we just moved to NYC and of course we have the bugs to go with it. They aren't horrible or anything but every day we find those little roaches, 2 or 3 of them around the place. It's driving us absolutely crazy and we want them gone, but we don't want the cat to knock off in the process.

Some sites say use Borax, sprinkle it about, or put it in a bottle with a mixture of sugar, cocoa, and salt.... but other sites say if a roach eats it, crawls out, and the cat eats the roach, the cat can get sick. How should I go about this one safely? Thanks in advance.
 

hissy

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I know this because years ago, I had the misfortune of living briefly with a couple who I swear bred cockroaches for a living!


Take an empty beer bottle, or soda bottle (has to be glass) Use PAM cooking spray and spray inside the bottle coating the interior lightly.

Put either a little bit of stale beer inside or a piece of raw potato. Set the bottle off into a dark corner- the roaches go in and they can't get out-

Warning it does NOT kill them, it just captures them. You can use bleach to finish them off
 
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freecake

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Originally Posted by hissy

I
Take an empty beer bottle, or soda bottle (has to be glass) Use PAM cooking spray and spray inside the bottle coating the interior lightly.
....
So the oily PAM keeps them from getting a grip to get out?? Crazy! I'll let you know how it goes
 

hissy

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You want to be sure the PAM is on the inside of the neck of the bottle- the bugs can jump and if the neck isn't coated, they can get out
 

yangdemei

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Another question on this one. What do those of you who live in hot, humid climates with cockroaches bigger than your thumb do? Any what about if they can FLY!!! (I know, it sounds horrible to you northerners, but here in Taiwan, it's subtropical and the cockroaches are endemic and HUGE!)
 

courtney_ou

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if you mix sugar with baking soda and put it in your cabinets, the roaches will eat it and explode
 

stephenq

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Courtney_ou, Seriously....they explode? lol!
Hissy, you're idea sounds great! *scribbles* I have to write this down for all my urban adopters.

Freecake, welcome to NYC!
 
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freecake

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Originally Posted by stephenq

Courtney_ou, Seriously....they explode? lol!
Hissy, you're idea sounds great! *scribbles* I have to write this down for all my urban adopters.

Freecake, welcome to NYC!
Thanks!!
Well the situation changed today - the little bugs seem to be gone, but today i had to kill a HUGE cockroach like someone mentioned above. omg i have never been so disgusted. Then after my boyfriend came home a SECOND one came out! We have been here three weeks and its the first sign of those nasty things.
Now we're looking into exterminators, because this is just ridiculous.
 

stlgrl5

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Originally Posted by freecake

Thanks!!
Well the situation changed today - the little bugs seem to be gone, but today i had to kill a HUGE cockroach like someone mentioned above. omg i have never been so disgusted. Then after my boyfriend came home a SECOND one came out! We have been here three weeks and its the first sign of those nasty things.
Now we're looking into exterminators, because this is just ridiculous.
You should really tell your landlord about it. I mean you are paying rent to live there. The least he/she can do is kill them somehow.
 

cheeseface

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Geeez... I'm so glad I live in the freezing cold of Canada. I don't like sharing a house with bugs.
 

yosemite

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Originally Posted by Hydroaxe

Geeez... I'm so glad I live in the freezing cold of Canada. I don't like sharing a house with bugs.
I second that one! If you are in an apartment building, having exterminators do your apartment only will do nothing. The bugs will leave your apartment and then come back when the coast is clear.

The WHOLE building has to be done all at the same time from what I understand.

Good luck.
 

yangdemei

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Originally Posted by Yosemite

I second that one! If you are in an apartment building, having exterminators do your apartment only will do nothing. The bugs will leave your apartment and then come back when the coast is clear.

The WHOLE building has to be done all at the same time from what I understand.

Good luck.
You're right there. Given Taiwan's dense population (think Manhattan!) the cockroaches just dont go away. There's nothing really that you can do.

And it makes me sad.


But Hydroaxe, we NEVER see snow and don't have to wear boots, ski coats, etc. It's a trade off of sorts!
 

yosemite

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Originally Posted by yangdemei

You're right there. Given Taiwan's dense population (think Manhattan!) the cockroaches just dont go away. There's nothing really that you can do.

And it makes me sad.


But Hydroaxe, we NEVER see snow and don't have to wear boots, ski coats, etc. It's a trade off of sorts!
Ah, but you should see some of the beautiful designer boots, coats, etc. that we can get to brighten up those crisp, beautiful winter days!

After all the heat this summer, I have to say, I'd much rather be cold and have to put on a sweater than swelter in the heat. I suppose if you are used to it your blood gets thinner or you get used to it, but I had a difficult time with the heat this year.
 

kathy14

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Originally Posted by Yosemite

Ah, but you should see some of the beautiful designer boots, coats, etc. that we can get to brighten up those crisp, beautiful winter days!

After all the heat this summer, I have to say, I'd much rather be cold and have to put on a sweater than swelter in the heat. I suppose if you are used to it your blood gets thinner or you get used to it, but I had a difficult time with the heat this year.
I second that... the heat we had in July and early August was unreal! When I was telling some of my non-Canadian friends how hot it was here this summer they couldn't believe it (I'm still trying to get them to understand that I don't live in an igloo and hunt polar bears- duh!)
 

julieh

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Yep, the heat this summer was unreal in Montreal. Not complaining mind you but I am looking forward to a nice crisp fall day so I can put on a big fuzzy sweater ! Kathy14 - I hear you on the igloo and polar bears - I work in aviation and deal with people all over the world and some people have no idea what weather we have up here - they figure we live on the frozen tundra ! 45C with the humidex will melt frozen tundra, let me tell ya !
 

yosemite

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I live fairly near the border to the U.S. and there are actually people who come visiting Canada in the summer with SKIS. Yup!

I'm not dissing my friends south of the border, but you have to admit that when it's 80 degrees outside and you see a car with skis on it coming for a vacation, it's pretty funny.
 
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