I had moved into my new apartment and all was well. China has roaches. New York has roaches. Most places on earth with lots of people and buildings have roaches. When I saw a roach or two, I wasn't overly concerned. I just used some roach spray to kill them and disposed of their bodies.
I really wanted to have a good clean before we unpacked. Our stuff was just in boxes so we decided to get to work while the apartment was clutter free. After I had killed those two roaches, I found another. Then another, then another. Then I kept finding them in the living room. What was going on? The apartment had been empty for months so I assumed that had something to do with it.
We were cleaning and decided to sweep and mop underneath things like the coffee table, bed, TV stand etc. I still kept seeing roaches.
The sofa was next. I pulled it away from the wall and was repelled. A party of roaches; living and dead, on the floor, on the wall, on the back of the sofa. As well as a selection of food, beer cans and generations of fluff. I sprayed the crap out of that general area with roach killer, swept and mopped. I found a 'roach house' on the floor, under the sofa. It was one of those sticky traps that lures in roaches with the smell of roach delicacies. It was literally a carpet of roaches in there. "No room at the Inn" I thought.
I still found the odd roach that evening.
I saw one on the sofa and it got me thinking. I pulled off the throw covering the sofa and a lot more of our new roommates emerged from their slumber. The more I pulled, the more friends I made. We lifted the sofa up so we could see the base. I sprayed liberally. I slowly unzipped the base and more roaches fell out. I sprayed manically.
Roaches, roaches, roaches. We had a roach palace in our living room.
That night we stayed in a hotel.
After exploring dry cleaning options for our sofa we realised we could just remove the cover and wash it. Despite washing it a couple of times, both in the washing machine and while it was on the sofa's frame, I still didn't sit on the thing for about 2 months afterwards.
Our apartment didn't have a roach problem once we took down the roach palace.
Now, a few things about roaches. In China, the roaches are 'German' cockroaches. They're small and brown. Most of the buildings have them. People also make the erroneous assumption that roaches love filthy places. Roaches are like people in that want a warm place to live, with access to food and water. That's right. Cockroaches drink. If you're apartment is spotlessly clean but you've got a lot of leaking or damp areas, it's possible you'll have visitors looking for a drink. If you're leaving food out, crumbs on the floor, food in the sink or rotting in the bin, then you'll be an even more attractive location for them to visit.
How can I make my apartment less friendly to roaches?
1. Vacuum daily to pick up any crumbs and other debris you might drop on the floor.
2. Mop often to pick up what your vacuuming misses
3. Stop any pipes leaking, don't leave pools water anywhere.
4. Empty your bins often
5. Wash up the dishes after each meal
6. Don't leave lots of 'stuff' on the floor or on countertops. Roaches love to high under things or in tight spaces. They like the feel of being pressed from all sides.
7. Seal up any cracks or holes that are likely entrance points for cockroaches.
What about killing them?
1. You can buy roach spray for when you get uninvited guests.
2. You can buy roach bait or make your own. This is slow acting and allows the roach to eat the bait then return to the nest. Once at home, they'll die from the poison and be eaten by other roaches. They will then die and be eaten. It should lead to a lot of dead roaches.
3. Borax also messes with cockroaches exoskeletons. I noticed in our apartment they'd often use the gap behind skirting boards to travel. I spooned borax behind the skirting board one day in strategic places. We saw a big reduction in roaches after that. Borax is poisonous so definitely isn't pet or child safe. Be careful with it.
I really wanted to have a good clean before we unpacked. Our stuff was just in boxes so we decided to get to work while the apartment was clutter free. After I had killed those two roaches, I found another. Then another, then another. Then I kept finding them in the living room. What was going on? The apartment had been empty for months so I assumed that had something to do with it.
We were cleaning and decided to sweep and mop underneath things like the coffee table, bed, TV stand etc. I still kept seeing roaches.
The sofa was next. I pulled it away from the wall and was repelled. A party of roaches; living and dead, on the floor, on the wall, on the back of the sofa. As well as a selection of food, beer cans and generations of fluff. I sprayed the crap out of that general area with roach killer, swept and mopped. I found a 'roach house' on the floor, under the sofa. It was one of those sticky traps that lures in roaches with the smell of roach delicacies. It was literally a carpet of roaches in there. "No room at the Inn" I thought.
I still found the odd roach that evening.
I saw one on the sofa and it got me thinking. I pulled off the throw covering the sofa and a lot more of our new roommates emerged from their slumber. The more I pulled, the more friends I made. We lifted the sofa up so we could see the base. I sprayed liberally. I slowly unzipped the base and more roaches fell out. I sprayed manically.
Roaches, roaches, roaches. We had a roach palace in our living room.
That night we stayed in a hotel.
After exploring dry cleaning options for our sofa we realised we could just remove the cover and wash it. Despite washing it a couple of times, both in the washing machine and while it was on the sofa's frame, I still didn't sit on the thing for about 2 months afterwards.
Our apartment didn't have a roach problem once we took down the roach palace.
Now, a few things about roaches. In China, the roaches are 'German' cockroaches. They're small and brown. Most of the buildings have them. People also make the erroneous assumption that roaches love filthy places. Roaches are like people in that want a warm place to live, with access to food and water. That's right. Cockroaches drink. If you're apartment is spotlessly clean but you've got a lot of leaking or damp areas, it's possible you'll have visitors looking for a drink. If you're leaving food out, crumbs on the floor, food in the sink or rotting in the bin, then you'll be an even more attractive location for them to visit.
How can I make my apartment less friendly to roaches?
1. Vacuum daily to pick up any crumbs and other debris you might drop on the floor.
2. Mop often to pick up what your vacuuming misses
3. Stop any pipes leaking, don't leave pools water anywhere.
4. Empty your bins often
5. Wash up the dishes after each meal
6. Don't leave lots of 'stuff' on the floor or on countertops. Roaches love to high under things or in tight spaces. They like the feel of being pressed from all sides.
7. Seal up any cracks or holes that are likely entrance points for cockroaches.
What about killing them?
1. You can buy roach spray for when you get uninvited guests.
2. You can buy roach bait or make your own. This is slow acting and allows the roach to eat the bait then return to the nest. Once at home, they'll die from the poison and be eaten by other roaches. They will then die and be eaten. It should lead to a lot of dead roaches.
3. Borax also messes with cockroaches exoskeletons. I noticed in our apartment they'd often use the gap behind skirting boards to travel. I spooned borax behind the skirting board one day in strategic places. We saw a big reduction in roaches after that. Borax is poisonous so definitely isn't pet or child safe. Be careful with it.
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