I live in Florida and saw a roach "Palmetto bug" on my kitchen floor for the first time and am ready to blow the place up. It was huge. Consider I have a Maltese dog too and don't want to harm her in the process of waging WW3 on these bugs. Could it have been just a stray? Or is there more? Like I said lived in the house for 5 years and this is the first one I have ever seen. Help!
2007-05-31 01:55:28 · 18 answers · asked by Anonymous in Home & Garden ➔ Other - Home & Garden
First let me say that your quite funny. Palmetto bugs are not "Roaches" like if your house is filthy "Roaches". Palmetto bugs live outside in the trees and shrubs around your house for the most part, but have been known to set up house in Trailers though. Occasionally you will see one come out of the bath tub drain. Really freaks me out when they do that.
You probably did some work around the yard and messed with their nest (I know, gross isn't it). They don't come around too often, but be aware that if you cut down a tree in your yard, they will come looking for you!!!
2007-05-31 02:14:53 · answer #1 · answered by crazy2all 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think that you are quite lucky that this is the first one that you've seen. Every home gets a bug in it occasionally - they fly or crawl in through an open door. I generally scoop them up and throw them back outside (away from the door). Those Palmetto bugs are monstrously huge so I understand that you were alarmed by it. It was probably just a stray but you should be vigilant for the next few weeks for any other unwanted visitors. You can buy roach "motels" at the grocery store that you could place under your kitchen sink in the cabinet and maybe in a couple of other places that the dog can't get to like behind the fridge, behind/under the stove and in your bathroom cabinets. If you do end up with some sort of infestation then it's time to call a pest control person.
2007-05-31 09:08:41 · answer #2 · answered by Susan G 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You are in the south honey. I'm shocked you've never seen one before. Other than keeping a spotless house and spraying on a regular basis, there's really nothing you can do. But I wish you luck.
By the way - my male cat will kill and eat any palmetto bug he finds in the house. Fortunatly it's not often that they are in the house. Want a kitten? I have 3 that a stray dropped off in my flower bed.
2007-05-31 08:59:42 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Considering you have a pet, and most of the roach-killer treatments are pretty toxic, I have one method that I used in my apartment that is safe for pets and children and is the ONLY method that worked for me!! They are tough little blighters!! I tried everything, traps, sprays, electrical devices, and nothing touched them except this!
It may have been a stray that just wondered in, in which case, you can buy roach spray and just kill it, but you may have a nest or he might decide to take up residence, in which case you need to wage full out war on that sucker!!!
Firstly, as much as possible, block up exits/entry points in your house with wire wool.....where pipes enter the kitchen under the sink, gaps in doors etc., try and cut off their routes as much as possible.
Then, use some "Boric Acid" - you can buy this in powder form at your local pharmacy, it should only be a few dollars. It is used to treat fungal infections so ask for the pure form, without scent etc. It is safe for humans and animals. What happens is that the roaches eat this stuff, they quite like it, but it starts to dehydrate them, they return to their nest and they eventually die of dehydration in about a week, then, as roaches are cannibalistic, the other roaches in the nest eat the corpse and then also start to dehydrate.
As roaches can live without food for a long long time, the only way to kill them is to cut off their water supply, which is pretty impossible in the average domestic house, so dehydrating them with this powder is the way to go!!
Dust the powder with a paintbrush into all the floor skirting boards, all the corner of worksurfaces and anywhere the roaches may walk. I bombarded the edges of the floor with it but apparently you don't need too much (I got a bit carried away!). But as you have a pet, you don't want him eating too much of it so perhaps keep it to a minimum.
Keep a spray handy to blast any roaches in the meantime but in about 2 weeks any nest you have should have been killed off....
Hopefully he was a one-off and no more will wander in, but if they do, you know what to do! :-)
2007-05-31 09:03:24 · answer #4 · answered by HC123 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you have roaches the best way to kill them and make sure they are not breading is to apply a pesticide that causes them to be impotent.
I know this sounds wild but it works great. I come from California and it is a problem. I used this stuff and never saw another roach again unless it was packing its bags.
Sorry I don't know the name of the product but Home Depot or some store like that will.
2007-05-31 09:04:37 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I live in Dubai and we first moved into our apartment I saw some roaches then I had a pest control guy come in who put a gel like stuff everywhere in the house. He only used it in very small quantity, even in the kitchen cabinets. now I have not seen a roach in 3 years.
2007-05-31 09:03:09 · answer #6 · answered by Ali K 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You have two choices. One is to accept the fact that you live in Florida. Sometimes a palmetto bug will get into your house. Poor thing. It's a fact of life. Live with it.
OR... call pest control and have them come in to spray every month. It won't keep 100% of the bugs out, but it will limit them severely... and cost you an arm and a leg.
Choice is yours! Good luck!
2007-05-31 08:58:38 · answer #7 · answered by Mr. Taco 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
First add roach powder in all the cracks. so that not one can escape next bomb the place with a raid bomber (make sure you close all door and follow the directions on the back of the bottle correctly. do this every 4 weeks until you never see any
2007-05-31 08:59:49 · answer #8 · answered by Dancer101 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Move out of Florida up north. Those things are very rare around here (in NY) and when you do see them, it's usually related to filth.
Otherwise, I think you're stuck. You live in big-bug country!
2007-05-31 09:01:12 · answer #9 · answered by Kavasa 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They say for every one you see, there are 500 waiting in the cracks of your walls... I would get a hotel or crash at someones house for a few days and gas bomb your house. when you get back, all bugs will be dead and the fumes should be gone.
2007-05-31 08:59:34 · answer #10 · answered by Miss Fray 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋