Roaches.. :(. What works?

[oceanbreathes]

Following the end of my relationship, I moved into a friend's basement(part of a three story townhouse). Upon moving all of my things in, I discovered he had a roach problem. Now it's my problem..

I recently put homemade boric acid bait upstairs in the kitchen, again, to combat them. Shortly after that, there was a population bloom..in the basement. I'm a person who is happy to share her space with spiders and such but roaches.. I cannot do roaches. They carry diseases, they cause allergic reactions/asthma, and they just.. really creep me out. I haven't lived in a house with roaches in all of my adult life.


I recently ordered diatomaceous earth and I used a bit upstairs but I'm wary of using it down here as my oldest has asthma/other respiratory concerns. I know I was coughing when I applied it upstairs; it just can't be good for him. I have the boric acid, which I mix with flour, oil, & sugar to make bait. What else can I do? Tonight I opened a box of items with sentimental value and it was crawling with roaches. The night before.. One ran across my face in bed. I have enough trouble sleeping and that certainly didn't help. Oh, there's also a spray I use that's made for fleas(they're gone..yay) and contains clove & peppermint oil. I'm careful with using it around the cats, given the oils, and it DOES kill the roaches if you spray it directly on them.


I have a lot of things still in boxes and a bit of clutter. I had wanted to keep a lot of things in boxes as I have no place for them, want them ready for the next move, and simply don't have the energy or time to deal with them. I'm definitely concerned that this could interfere with my efforts to eliminate them. Also, I keep food available for the cats 24/7 as well as water. So much of what I've read has said "eliminate the water sources" but there are four cats, a rabbit, and two gerbils in the home who obviously need water available at all times.


Tonight was just a particularly bad night roach-wise. I'm very grossed out, creeped out, and rattled right now. Any suggestions are appreciated! I'm very careful about what I use around my boys and I'm worried as it is with the boric acid & diatomaceous earth in their home..

 

[moorspede]

I've lived in rental flats in a humid city near a port most of my life, I've always had cockroaches. I tried everything, when you have an infestation you can certainly cut their numbers using baits with boric acid mixed with condensed milk but you can't get rid of all of them. I was always afraid that the cats would somehow get in to the baits.

Finally, I bit the bullet, found a pet friendly exterminator. I don't know where you live but there are a number of things they can use to target your particular problem. If you have German cockroaches (the most common) like I did they don't have to spray, they smear stuff on the inside of your cupboards, in the plumbing etc. I watched him do it so it so I knew where it was going, it was placed where the cats don't go. I've not had to worry about cockroaches for over a year now.  

 

[kittylove14]

I was reading about growth inhibitor for fleas works mixed with pesticide ( you would use the roach one) and sprayed with a sprayer. This is the one I was going to get still on the fence about which pesticide I'd use. http://www.domyownpestcontrol.com/m...?gclid=CIGoz57f788CFUEmhgodUioLag&sub_id=1104

 

[muffy]

 
I've lived in rental flats in a humid city near a port most of my life, I've always had cockroaches. I tried everything, when you have an infestation you can certainly cut their numbers using baits with boric acid mixed with condensed milk but you can't get rid of all of them. I was always afraid that the cats would somehow get in to the baits.

Finally, I bit the bullet, found a pet friendly exterminator. I don't know where you live but there are a number of things they can use to target your particular problem. If you have German cockroaches (the most common) like I did they don't have to spray, they smear stuff on the inside of your cupboards, in the plumbing etc. I watched him do it so it so I knew where it was going, it was placed where the cats don't go. I've not had to worry about cockroaches for over a year now.  

The day before I was to move into my house I picked up something on the deck and roaches went running everywhere.  It scared me to death as I never had to live with roaches.  My brother-n-law put boric acid around all of the plumbing, any holes I had and under the dishwasher and stove and fridge. That was 23 years and I have only seen 2 roaches since then.

 

[oceanbreathes]

Thanks for the suggestions. I think I'll try buying a boric acid paste next. I've been mixing my own bait, spraying DE, and sprinkling baking soda(it's supposed to make their little stomachs explode ). Ive had some pretty bad experiences with them since posting this, including finding out they had infested my oldest cat's plastic staircase & two cat ottomans he always used. I had thought I was winning.. then I saw that. It was pretty awful to deal with. I'm trying to be patient with my methods as I really don't feel safe going the exterminator route. I looked for "pet friendly" ones but this really isn't the best part of the country for that. :/.

I'm curious about the growth inhibitors and might run them by the vet this week.

It's been really gross & upsetting, and I want my little basement home back. I've found them in the tiniest of cracks. It's insane. I really thought I was close to eliminating them but nope...

Thanks for the hope, though. I will try the paste in areas where the cats & bunny can't access..

 

[blueyedgirl5946]

The other thing that works well is keep everything vacuumed well. Then dump the bag outside somewhere or seal it up when putting in the trash can. If you have any trees close to the house or pine straw up close to the house, you might consider spraying those if you don't have animals outside.

 

[watchthestars]

That's frustrating.  I saw this recommended for cockroaches on another forum.  Dinotefuran.  It doesn't have systemic affects on mammals and is sometimes used in cat flea treatments. 


This pesticide toxicity for cats document: http://webinars.veteducation.com.au/wp-content/images/Insecticide-Toxicity-in-Cats-Lecture-Notes.pdf

says: 

"Dinotefuran (Vectra[emoji]174[/emoji]) is a nitroquanidine, neonicotinoid insecticide. It is an insect
synaptic poison. Dinotefuran mimics the action of acetylcholine in the insect, causing
repetitive stimulation (tremors, death). Dinotefuran does not bind to mammalian
acetylcholine receptor sites. Dermal reactions are possible."

 

[MoochNNoodles]

We had them get in our old house once years ago.  I was horrified.  Embarrassed. Grossed out.I think it was someone on here that suggested Harris Tablets (which I think contain Boric Acid) and to put them where the girls couldn't reach.  We put some under the refrigerator and stove and a stand-alone pantry cabinet.  They were congregating under our refrigerator anyway.  They worked very well and never came back!!  

 

[foxxycat]

I was going to suggest DE and maybe put it in a baggie then cut a small hole out of the bag and put the DE in the cracks this way so it doesn't make clouds of dust. Or any type of pastry applier where you can control the dust and leave small trails to get those buggers.