sasaki@harvard.ARPA (Marty Sasaki) (08/17/85)
I've just moved into a nice apartment that suits me in every way with
the exception of the roaches. I would like to get rid of them forever.
I know that this is impossible, and would appreciate any hints on how
to come close to this.
The problem is that I have pets, a cat, and several aquariums with
relatively delicate fish. The last time I dealt with an exterminator I
tried to cover the tanks, turned off the water pumps, etc, and ended
up with every fish in the marine tank and half of the others dying
within a week. The exterminator did not spray in the rooms where I
keep my fish.
A friend of a friend has gekko's (sp?) which actually seem to work,
but I'm sure that my cat would catch them eventually. Bringing an
animal into the apartment that I know is going to be killed seems
inhumane.
Aerosol poisons are out because of the fish and baited poison/traps
are out because of the cat.
Is there any hope for getting rid of the roaches?
--
----------------
Marty Sasaki net: sasaki@harvard.{arpa,uucp}
Havard University Science Center phone: 617-495-1270
One Oxford Street
Cambridge, MA 02138dts@gitpyr.UUCP (Danny Sharpe) (08/20/85)
In article <307@harvard.ARPA> sasaki@harvard.ARPA (Marty Sasaki) writes: >I've just moved into a nice apartment that suits me in every way with >the exception of the roaches. I would like to get rid of them forever. >I know that this is impossible, and would appreciate any hints on how >to come close to this. > Amazingly enough, the house I live in has no roaches even though it's in Atlanta and we aren't too careful about sweeping up our stray crumbs. I asked my landlord why this should be so. His response was that when he first moved in there were no roaches because the house had been uninhabited for six months across a winter so any pests had most likely froze. Immediately upon moving in he bought a large supply of Harris' Famous Roach Tablets and stuffed them into every crack and crevice, of which our house has many. No roaches, beyond the occasional explorer from the yard, have ever appeared in the seven years since (he has renewed the tablets once). He had had good luck with these tablets before, in an apartment that was heavily infested. It took a couple of months, but the roach population eventually died down to a reasonable level if not completely to zero. Harris' Famous Roach Tablets contain, if I recall correctly, boric acid and bait. Of course, ours is an old house and there's lots of holes to put bait where the cats can't get to it (we have three). This may not be true of your place. I have no idea whether this stuff would hurt a cat that ate one of the tablets. In fact, I don't know for sure whether it even works; all I have is my landlord's statement that it is the most likely reason for our apparent lack of roaches. And then there's the question of whether it is available in your area. (-:If all of these obstacles can't be surmounted, I suggest you move out for the winter and then when you move back in don't bring any food (or books or anything else edible) inside ever again.:-) -Danny PS -- Lest anyone be offended, I have no connection with whoever makes or sells the product discussed above. -- CAUTION: WET FLOOR <== Is this a warning or a command? -- Danny Sharpe School of ICS Georgia Insitute of Technology, Atlanta Georgia, 30332 ...!{akgua,allegra,amd,hplabs,ihnp4,seismo,ut-ngp}!gatech!gitpyr!dts -- -- CAUTION: WET FLOOR <== Is this a warning or a command? -- Danny Sharpe School of ICS Georgia Insitute of Technology, Atlanta Georgia, 30332 ...!{akgua,allegra,amd,hplabs,ihnp4,seismo,ut-ngp}!gatech!gitpyr!dts
hollombe@ttidcc.UUCP (The Polymath) (08/20/85)
In article <307@harvard.ARPA> sasaki@harvard.ARPA (Marty Sasaki) writes: >I've just moved into a nice apartment that suits me in every way with >the exception of the roaches. I would like to get rid of them forever. >I know that this is impossible, and would appreciate any hints on how >to come close to this. > >The problem is that I have pets, a cat, and several aquariums with >relatively delicate fish... Go to your local pharmacy and get a bottle of powdered boric acid. Spread the powder any place the roaches are likely to walk through it (under sinks, under appliances, near cracks, along base boards, etc.). Wait a few weeks. The roach problem will slowly fade out to nothing and stay that way as long as the acid is left in place. The stuff won't hurt your cat (it tastes terrible) or your fish (if you keep it out of their tank). It works by damaging the roaches' body surface which causes them to die of dehydration. I'm told that baking soda and household scouring powder will have similar effects, but I've never tried them. Boric acid has always worked for me. -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_ The Polymath (aka: Jerry Hollombe) Citicorp TTI Common Sense is what tells you that a ten 3100 Ocean Park Blvd. pound weight falls ten times as fast as a Santa Monica, CA 90405 one pound weight. (213) 450-9111, ext. 2483 {philabs,randvax,trwrb,vortex}!ttidca!ttidcc!hollombe
jmc@riccb.UUCP (Jeff McQuinn ) (08/20/85)
Nuke the bastards!
Jeff McQuinn just VAXing aroundbarryg@sdcrdcf.UUCP (Lee Gold) (08/21/85)
The way I hear it, boric acid kills roaches because it gets them clean. You see a cockroach (like most of us) is 95% or so water. However, its shell isn't thick enough to keep its moisture from evaporating so it builds up a meta-shell of grease&dirt. The boric acid cleans this off, and the poor cockroach dries up and dies. Cats, etc. won't be affected. Supposedly you can make your own roach killer by combining mashed potatoes (use one of the "instant" brands) and boric acid. --Lee Gold
rjb@akgua.UUCP (R.J. Brown [Bob]) (08/22/85)
It's ironic that Jeff should suggest nuking roaches...
I've heard that if we and the USSR ever mutually assure each
other's destruction then one of the few forms that remain will
be the lowly roach. (I guess we have to discount Nuclear Winter
as I suppose the little suckers will freeze).
Bob Brown {...ihnp4!akgua!rjb}raver@mruxe.UUCP (virzi) (08/26/85)
As for killing roaches I have found that using boric acid (obtainable in any pharmacy) works wonders. I suspect it is cheaper than a product specifically aimed at killing roaches, though I never checked. All you have to do is spread it around under counters and the like and the roach pop. dies down pretty quickly. It is bad for cats - but I never was a cat fan anyway.