Cockroach in the bathtub!?

Question

This morning, I opened my shower curtain to find a nasty visitor... a cockroach! Yuk. It was right near the drain.

I suspect it was in the process of dying, because I was able to scoop it right up with toilet paper and dispose of it. It really made little/no effort to get away like roaches usually do.

When I moved in about 6 weeks ago, I found a few dead roaches under my kitchen sink, so I put down some roach bait, and haven't seen any sign or evidence of roaches since... until today.

I suspect the one today came in through the bathtub drain, because I don't see how else it would have been able to climb up the porcelain tub, and I've seen no evidence of them elsewhere.

Advice please! I am kind of torn between laying out bait traps in the bathroom vs simply plugging up the drain when the shower is not in use.

Answer 1

Plugging the drain when the shower is not in use is a great way of preventing American roaches. First we need to identify the roach:

American roaches are great flyers. They are yellowish-brown and usually more than an inch long. They are attracted to water and breed like crazy in sewer systems. Plugging the drains and controlling water outside your home and leaks inside are great preventative measures.

Oriental roaches like moist conditions as well. Controlling the water and plugging the drains will help, but they usually don't traverse sewer lines. If you have mulch, move it 2' away from your home to help control these critters. Check and replace weatherstripping and door sweeps if they need it.

German roaches should appear in greater numbers. The "shield" behind their head has two dark lines... I call them racing stripes... running the length of the bug. If you have these you're in for a fight... better call a professional.

Other roaches are less common. The key ingredient in a roach control progam is:

1) Keep the food cleaned up.
2) Control moisture.
3) Keep your weatherstripping and door sweeps in good repair.

Good luck to you. Remember, if it gets too bad, call a professional. Pick someone who uses a non-stinky product.

Answer 2

They can climb pretty much anything (the shower curtain, even upside down on the ceiling!) so it didn't necessarily come in thru the drain. It could be a sign of hundreds more in your walls, etc... or it *could* have been a lone one coming in from outside. Sometimes I've had that happen--see one and freak out but see no more, even with no poison out.

If you don't wanna use poison, you can use boric acid. You just sprinkle it around the usual spots. I don't think it's safe for pets or kids, though. Not sure how well it works, and it's kinda messy.

Don't bother plugging the drain, just put out some sort of poison and/or call your landlord.

Answer 3

I wouldn't do anything else. Poisoned roaches are drying out inside, so it went to the bathtub in search of water and obviously didn't get any. They can climb tiles, plastic and shaped porcelain so unless you had a claw bathtub with a flared lip, yes it can climb in, or come from the ceiling above.
Plugging up the drain would only result in things getting into your pipes, so don't do it. Sounds like the poison is working well.

Answer 4

There is no such thing as one cockroach. You just havent seen the rest.
I would plug the drain and put out traps. Tell your landlord.
They can come in on any thing from any where.
Good luck

Answer 5

Just plug it up while your not using it and talk to your landlord!