Roaches in your home. Pest control.

[admin]

I own a condo in a deplorable community. Tenant is complaining about roaches.
My unit was fully remodeled so I know I don’t have a roach problem. The neighbors are dirty people.
The community sprays the common area and homeowners can pay to have their units sprayed but many don’t. There are stray roaches who come visit. What to do?

Do you think the ultrasonic devices will keep them away. I think they are bogus.

[spdrun]

Borax. (Assuming no pets or kids who lick the floor.)

[FlyerInHi]

I guess it’s a good idea to put Borax behind drywall or inside outlet boxes?

[moneymaker]

Max Force, industrial strength and the problem will go away, even if from neighbors. https://www.domyownpestcontrol.com/maxforce-fc-roach-bait-gel-p-52.html?keyword=&gclid=Cj0KCQiAl8rQBRDrARIsAEW_To-g8JNOBZYUg62rgiUHwtY4W57uDeRU2x9jAbUluZdqaXdV00LSYaIaAqhqEALw_wcB&sub_id=3989

[FlyerInHi]

[quote=moneymaker]Max Force, industrial strength and the problem will go away, even if from neighbors. https://www.domyownpestcontrol.com/maxforce-fc-roach-bait-gel-p-52.html?keyword=&gclid=Cj0KCQiAl8rQBRDrARIsAEW_To-g8JNOBZYUg62rgiUHwtY4W57uDeRU2x9jAbUluZdqaXdV00LSYaIaAqhqEALw_wcB&sub_id=3989
[/quote]

Wow, looks like an awesome product.
I shall buy some for Thanksgiving.

[ucodegen]

[quote=spdrun]Borax. (Assuming no pets or kids who lick the floor.)[/quote]
I have heard of using Boric Acid baits. While I haven’t used them on roaches, I have used them on ants and they were very effective where other things failed. Boric Acid is relatively harmless to humans and animals, however it is toxic to insects and can bio-accumulate in insects. Because roaches are cannibalistic, they will consume their own dead which may have been killed by Boric Acid – which then continues its effect. It is not an instant insecticide, it takes time but tends to wipe out large populations. Some people have even recommended using the sonic devices to drive the roaches away from most rooms and towards a ‘killing room’ that has the Boric Acid bait.

NOTES:

[gzz]

When I have ant problems the ant and roach gel in small tubes is very effective. Sold at home depot and amazon. All dead in 2 days.

Using this sticky gel in corners inside and out seems cleaner than powders and can go on vertical surfaces.

Little bait traps never worked.

[FlyerInHi]

ucodegen, love how you do research and try to understand things. So much better than the average homeowner. I’m interested. but oftentimes I don’t have the time. So I asked a friend who can fix anything and everything. Here’s what he said:

Borax is awesome.
Gel is great. Max Force is just Fipronil .01%.
Combat has a product that is .03% fipronil . They label the higher concentration for large roaches. Seems like the most effective chemical.
Ultrasonic device seems bogus unless it’s really cheap. It works for people who don’t have pest problems.

Pests is one downside of condo living because you have a to rely on neighbors to be clean. In my own condo, I have a packrat neighbor but no roaches so far.

[ucodegen]

I found Boric Acid to be awesome.. I had used normal baits and was seriously disappointed. I heard about using Boric Acid in baits and was curious so I used it on an Ant problem I had. I don’t like having to re-apply poison, and prefer not to use it at all. There is a Boric Acid Gel if you want the easy to apply, no mix etc method. I don’t know much about Fipronil.

I think that the ultrasonic devices sort of work. I think they work kind of like a very loud noise to a human. The human would normally avoid the area unless they know that something they desired is within the noisy area. It not absolute in its behavior, and doesn’t work if the insect has created something like a scent trail.

I understand what you mean by having to rely on neighbors to be clean with respect to roaches (and ants) and condos. It can even apply to free-standing houses w/ hoarders(super pack rats). I have also seen how ants get ‘moved’ by someone hiring an exterminator for their place and all of their ants end up trying to invade nearby houses looking for water (many of the poisons used by professional exterminators seem to make the ants thirsty) and food.

NOTE: I was in a roommate situation going through college and someone brought an old cockroach infested refrigerator into the house. What a nightmare. It would have been nice to know then, what I know now. – FYI: If you have an infested fridge or furniture – toss it. They get into everything.

[gzz]

I did some research on Fipronil, active ingredient in the gel tubes I always get.

It is extremely safe for people, cats, and dogs. the .01% concentration was 100% effective. The amount in a full tube would not harm you if you ate it all.

An $8 tube was enough to squirt a little in every crack and corner inside and out in a 1600sf house and still have 1/3 left over.

[gzz]

Ucodegen, funny you mention an infested fridge.

Twice in the past ten years I discovered hundreds of frozen dead or nearly dead ants in my freezer. Not a single one in the fridge side which was full of meat and sweet fruit. But hundreds of dead ones in the freezer.

Both times I never figured out how they got in, and the problem solved itself in one day. Everything in the freezer was bagged or wrapped in plastic, and they did not even appear to be going for anything in particular. Just hanging out and freezing to death on the bottom half of a side by size freezer.

[ucodegen]

[quote=gzz]Ucodegen, funny you mention an infested fridge.

Twice in the past ten years I discovered hundreds of frozen dead or nearly dead ants in my freezer. Not a single one in the fridge side which was full of meat and sweet fruit. But hundreds of dead ones in the freezer.

Both times I never figured out how they got in, and the problem solved itself in one day. Everything in the freezer was bagged or wrapped in plastic, and they did not even appear to be going for anything in particular. Just hanging out and freezing to death on the bottom half of a side by size freezer.[/quote]
I had the exact same thing. More than once. I looked and saw a trail of black ants heading to the freezer.. looked inside and a significant pile of dead at the bottom (like a pile of black sand). A few were wandering around, but not very far in the freezer, but they seemed to never leave. In our freezer, everything was always bagged or wrapped as well. The only thing I could think of was that the freezer did not close all the way and the cool air had a higher ‘perceived’ moisture to the ants who considered going to that location for a water source. I wonder if none survived the excursion to the freezer to give the cancel scent (as in no food found at end of path) on the trail. That kind of makes it a one way trap. They sense the moisture on approach, reinforce the trail message but never report back once they get there.

Of course there is always that group suicide possibility.

[FlyerInHi]

[quote=gzz]I did some research on Fipronil, active ingredient in the gel tubes I always get.

It is extremely safe for people, cats, and dogs. the .01% concentration was 100% effective. The amount in a full tube would not harm you if you ate it all.

An $8 tube was enough to squirt a little in every crack and corner inside and out in a 1600sf house and still have 1/3 left over.[/quote]

Thanks for the research. Seems to me like $8 tube of gel does as good a job as professional fumigation.

I got my tenant several things and no more roach complaints.
– 3 plug-in ultrasonic devices . I was at Ross and they had a pack of 3 for $10
– borax, $4 if I recall
– combat tabs with Fipronil, $8 for 12 pack at Home Depot. Cheaper than Amazon

I didn’t do it, but I love the idea of the gel in tube and injecting it in cracks and electric boxes, especially in condos.

That reminds me that I went camping at Death Valley and saw the historic 20 mule borax mine. I wonder if it’s good idea to dust borax inside walls as a pest barrier?

[Author]

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