Roaches????

[JimM68]

Originally Posted by jzick

My goodness, such a fuss over one bug. I would suggest you never go to Fl, because you will eventually get a Palmetto bug, a roach, ants, or maybe even a snake in your house. Yesterday, in TN, we found a wood roach on the steps to the motorhome. Last week we had a lacewing on the television set, and last month in IN a praying mantis on the windshield, and a mouse probably looking for a warm winter home was trying to nest under the slide out. If you are worried, exterminate or have it done professionally. In our Fl stick and brick we have a bug man there once a month. Typically all we see are an occasional dead bug there, but once in a while one escapes (or maybe is immune) and it is still alive when we see it.

Ya, I'm with you.

seems to be 50/50 "it's just a bug" or "quick blow up a toxic waste bomb!!!"

You saw one, maybe, once.

where there is one there "might" be many.

You can't kill them all.

they don't eat much.

If there is no food, they will leave.

So... until / unless you see more...
cut off their food supply. Do the dishes immediately after eating. never ever leave any unsealed open food around, everything goes in ziplock bags.
Keep the bathroom clean. don't eat in the bedroom. watch out for crumbs.
Kill them when u see them.

they're only bugs.

[datrbone8]

Originally Posted by BFlinn181

Palmetto, Water bug, cockroach names used for the 'big' ones in Florida. I used to have an aquarium full of Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches in my classroom. They were great for meetings with the Principal. I'd put one on my tie as a 'decoration' and the meetings went quickly. Fed them a banana or apple slice every couple of days, very low maintenance pet.

Insects are on this planet, and we reap many benefits from them. We'd be up to our 'arses' in dead animals if insects and bacteria didn't break them down. Check out what kinds of microscopic critters are living in your eyelashes, hair follicles, etc. Makes roaches seem sort of benign.

Thanks for sharing

[BFlinn181]

Originally Posted by datrbone8

Thanks for sharing

You're welcome. I find this OCD reaction to insects and bacteria almost comical. Recent studies say that overuse of antibacterial lotions and soap can cause muscle damage. I have a good friend that is a Entomologist, he and I find insects much more fascinating than boring mammals.

I think all kids should eat dirt when young. I also don't fear vaccinations, crime in Walmart parking lots, aliens, or meteors. Life's too short to worry about such things.

[jzick]

So sorry to offend any Florida residents.

No offense taken. Between the Brazilians, Brits, Venezuleans, Canadians, and Peurto Ricans who bring their money when they visit and don't mind the bugs, Florida is doing fine. Oh, and you can keep the one (or more) bug you took home from there. Florida will probably never miss it if you don't send it back.

Good luck with your extermination and hope you have many good days with your rv.

[LadyFitz...]

Originally Posted by TRAILERKING

...It was darker and about 1-1/2" long...

Shoot, where I live, we would throw those back to their Mamas. The ones we get are big enough to throw a saddle on and ride (once I peel myself off the ceiling after seeing one). I tried stepping on them but it just made them mad. I considered a shotgun but I was afraid they would take it away from me and shoot back. They thrived on regular roach poisons, like boric acid.

All seriousness aside, the best thing I found to use in my home is a roach bait made by an outfit called PIC (regular roach baits, even those that claim to be for Palmetto bugs, have openings too small for the monsters I used to get to get into). I just leave a few laying about but people with pets or small children could leave them (the baits, not the pets or small children) inside a locked cabinet or on the floor under a drawer (trust me, the roachzillas will still get to them). I used to get them at a local grocery chain but they discontinued them. I did find them online a while back and ordered a bunch. I just looked and they have changed up their product line a bit so I'm not sure if the larger size would work on the big roaches or not.

What really took care of the not so little buggers was the way I finally found to deal with ants. I get two kinds of ants: the little black ones and the tiny red ones I call crack ants (because they frantically run around aimlessly in little circles like they were on crack). Once upon a time, a long time ago, I would just throw down a few ant baits but they learned to ignore them. I could drop a bait right onto one of their trails and they would just go around it.

I live in a skirted mobile home and I found I could set off about four spray type bug bombs off under the house inside the skirted area and leave the house for a day until the fumes that seeped inside wore off. That would keep the little buggers out for six to eight weeks. A side bonus is I haven't had a roachzilla inside my house since I started doing that.

One could make a temporary skirt for an RV from blue painters tape and sheet polyethelene to corral the spray from the bug bombs. Very little, if any, of the spray will make it into the RV although the fumes will so don't leave any pets or children inside while doing it. I personally do not like using poison inside my home but a bad infestation may require bombing inside at first, then bombing underneath periodically to keep the beasts out.

[Alan_Hepburn]

When we lived in North Carolina back in the early '70s we were able to purchase floor wax that had some kind of insecticide added - I think it was made by Johnson Wax. It kept ants, spiders, roaches, and other creepy crawlies out of our house effectively - so long as we used it regularly.

[SarahW]

Originally Posted by TRAILERKING

A question is.......Is this common in the Florida area for roach invasions? Has anyone actually had them and had to deal with it? The one thing I did do that I didn't mention was I had sprayed a bit of roach spray by Wilson around some of the perimeter inside. When I talked to a professional exterminator they said they could not do anything until can confirm what rodent it is. So I placed glue traps all over. However the exterminator says the roach(if it is) can detect the spray and they can stay in the walls possibly for a long period of time until the spray disapates or disappears. I don't know what to think. Pretty smart buggers.

OK, a "professional exterminator" should know very well that a roach is NOT a rodent. So I would pass on that particular "expert."

Like most of the other posters have said, a simple roach bomb will take care of the problem. If not, then a shoe or fly swatter will.

[CLIFFTALL]

Originally Posted by SarahW

If not, then a shoe or fly swatter will.

Growing up in the Bronx, we had pointy shoes. They worked well in corners.

[TRAILERKING]

Well the mystery is over......Finally caught one on a glue trap. Sure was creepy and still living and wanting to move around. It ends up being an Australian Roach. It was aroung 1-1/4" ot 1-1/2" long. Hate to have that thing roaming around your ears, nose and mouth at night when sleeping. Now for the million dollar question, is there more? I am going to see what surfaces within a couple days. If there is still activity I think I am going to BOMB it. Spoke with the exterminator this morning and he suggested a bug bomb they handle(can't remember the name) it's not Raid.
I know we are not using that motorhome until it is 100% rectified. I was pulling the carpet out this winter anyway to put a laminate floor. May find a lot of mysterious things.

[TX2Harts]

When we see any sign of bugs, house or TT, I spray Bayer Tempo. By far the best industrial bug killer. Spray lasts for months. Bit pricy but well worth it. Not found everywhere but search for it. I found it at a feed store. I keep a small spray bottle in the cargo hold. When we park, i spray the areas touching the ground.
On a different note, we were told to use Bounce sheets to keep bugs away. I was bombarded by gnats while setting up camp and decided to try the sheets. I placed one in my shirt pocket. After setting up camp I noticed no gnats. Dont know why but it works. Go figure.
My two cents.

[bldrbob]

It wasn't mentioned but after spraying and killing the big ones you wait a few days and retreat in case there were eggs that are hatching.

[grafxman]

Originally Posted by TRAILERKING

What are the brand are the Gas ones? Where to get them?

I use Raid fumigators that emit smoke. You add a small amount of water to a plastic cup that comes with the fumigators, drop the can into the cup and it emits a smoky gas that goes up. I do my house with 2 of them about every 3 to 4 months and use 3 Raid deep penetration mist bombs at the same time. The house had termites when I moved into it 30 years ago. I had one termite treatment and then started bombing it periodically. I haven't had any termites since. Any bug that comes into the house regardless of what it is dies pretty quick.

I made the mistake of parking the MH under a tree behind a Cracker Barrel this summer. The roaches came pouring out of the tree into the MH during the night. When I got to my first stop I got some Raid bug bombs, set them off then left for the day. I haven't seen a bug since then.

I use stuff from here:

Do It Yourself Pest Control Supplies

whenever I need rat poison, traps, etc. I recently ordered this:

Terad3 BLOX , Terad Rodent Bait ,Terad

after seeing a rat around the house one morning. It came the day after I ordered it. They paid the shipping. The bait was eaten and the next day I spotted a dead rat by the bird bath where I have a dripper running 8 hours a day. A few days later I started smelling the dead rats around the outside.

The thing about living in Florida that you'll always have bugs, rodents, snakes, opossums, rabid raccoons, gators, etc. along with beautiful birds, beaches, etc. After a while you just get used to the situation and deal with it.

[HoboPals]

Originally Posted by TRAILERKING

A question is.......Is this common in the Florida area for roach invasions? Has anyone actually had them and had to deal with it? The one thing I did do that I didn't mention was I had sprayed a bit of roach spray by Wilson around some of the perimeter inside. When I talked to a professional exterminator they said they could not do anything until can confirm what rodent it is. So I placed glue traps all over. However the exterminator says the roach(if it is) can detect the spray and they can stay in the walls possibly for a long period of time until the spray disapates or disappears. I don't know what to think. Pretty smart buggers.

I live in Georgia and we were horrified the first time we saw an "American Roach". You can see a picture of one if you google. They are awful looking, but not as prolific, I don't think, as their German counterparts.

We always managed to keep them at bay by mixing the sugar and boric acid and cutting the bottoms out of plastic cups and putting them in cupboards and anywhere we could hide them. Some of the stuff you buy is nothing more than boric acid.

Personally, I'd be hesitant to set off a bomb unless I had a major infestation. If you don't want to go through the trouble of making your own traps, you can buy large roach traps.

There's also something I bought on Amazon called Zap-a-Roach. I keep it in my little trailer in case I see anything. The only thing I ever had was ants--tiny, tiny little ants and I got rid of them with one spray of one of the spray can ant killers--don't remember which kind.

Usually when I'm parked for a long time, I spray ant spray around the tires and on the bottom the power cord if tapped in.

Good luck!