Huge roach infestation please help! Is it too late to save the house?

Question

My grandpa lives in a house on the eastside of the city. The house is quite old, and has a huge infestation of roaches. They walk all over, even in broad daylight. There are baby roaches of all sizes, and one half grown roach fell into the hot chocolate we had simmering on the stove! We had to throw it away, of course, but we don't know what to do to help him. He's in his eighties, and he has very little money. This could endanger his health. We found out they have even gone into his fridge.We are all going to buy boric acid and combat roach gel for him, but I think we all know it won't be enough. The houses nearby are probably in the same predicament.

Any suggestions?

Answer 1

If you are seeing roaches during the day thats because all the cracks & crevices are full. This problem is way too big for you to handle on your own and a professional needs to be employed. Also don't look for any one to bomb or spray, because neither will solve the problem long term, due to no or little residual in those formulations of chemicals. A professional should be employed and their solution should include a baiting program and a crack & crevice treatment with a residual dust. The company should return weekly to every 2 weeks, until there has been a drastic improvement. Each service the professionals goal is to wipe out atleast 98% of the population because a single roach egg will contain 30-50 more roaches for your home. Warning that a professional cannot do miracles, and that agrandpa must listen and work with the professional. The key is cleanliness, a single drop of grease is enough of a food source to maintain any infestation. Small fact roaches feed off anything organic, and thats why they are the #1 thing removed from the ear each year at the emergency room. Don't settle for anything less than zero tolerance because roaches carry too many diseases for grandpa to be living with.

Answer 2

Make sure that you clean any surfaces with bleach to sanitize where they have been. Look for damp dark places. That is where they love to be. One thing I have used is BENGAL Roach Spray. It is Very expensive (about $15 per can) but it is VERY worth it. I sprayed my kitchen and used about half a can. The next day there were dead ones EVERYWHERE. After about 3 days i did not see anymore. That was 3 weeks ago. I have only seen 4 or 5 since then and they were dead in the floor. The house can be saved, but it will take a lot of work. Consider bombing the whole house. Unfortunately, you will have to treat the house periodically because, like you said, the houses nearby are probably in the same predicament. Which means as soon as his house is clean the neighbor's bugs will come to visit. Good luck.

Answer 3

They are German roaches, you need to call a professional pest control service. Thees roaches are hard to get rid of because the breed very fast, and become immune to certain poisons. That's why you need a professional, but you will get rid of them. It just takes a long time. You will however see a huge improvement after about two to three weeks of treatment. Oh and DO NOT BOMB, It only makes them run back into the walls and makes it even harder to get rid of.

Answer 4

Boric acid is very effective when used properly for killing cockroaches and most other insects. Boric acid acts as a stomach poison for cockroaches,but it may take several weeks to become effective.

Answer 5

I'd say call exterminators first and handle the food properly second (I'm not referring to your hot chocolate, all I mean that if you have food all over the house it is an invitation for cockroaches and mice)

Answer 6

You need to hire an exterminator or call the Board of Health.

Answer 7

RAID!