roaches and 'water bugs'

[charmvalerie]

ok, again, is it the heat?? have spotted several of the big 'water bugs' inside my home these last few days. what are they actually called? they are big and very much like roaches but darker.
Also, I saw an actual roach , just one, but we have never ever had them before. could they come from a neighboring house?? i've heard of people getting roaches from neighbors in apartments or duplexes- but will they travel across ground? Is it the heat that is driving them in?
HOW TO GET RID OF THEM?? :(

[khwoz]

I believe that the waterbugs are called Palmetto bugs. I have had good results using Boric Acid to kill them & roaches. The Palmetto bugs live in trees and the hot, dry weather is probably driving them into your house. Roaches can come in on something as simple as a grocery bag (live or as eggs). I doubt that the roach marched across the yard from your neighbor, it most likely was brought in on something. I believe there is more info. on this web site if you will do a search.

[charmvalerie]

thanks KHWOZ. I will try the boric acid in powder form.
They seem to congregate under my house outside. I live in an old 1920's peir and beam structure home that has a crawl space beneath it instead of a foundation. i will get some under there too. 8)

[Kathe Kitchens]

Careful with that boric acid. Once you get too much boron in your soil it won't go away. Save that for inside and make sure your pets don't get into it. Check to make sure the bugs can't get in from the openings you have for your water pipes & washer/dryer conections. They seem to be worse in pier & beam houses, probably for that reason. I've had luck with DE and orange oil & water sprays. If you add some orange oil to your cleaning sprays it will give you some repellant power too. Also, there is some copper mesh that you can put around your pipes, etc. that will deter them. I know it is available (or used to be) at Rohde's but I haven't heard of it anywhere else. For outside, there's also a product called Bioganic that will wipe them and all the other critters out and not harm humans, pets, birds, etc. They have it at most Lowe's stores.

[charmvalerie]

Good advice! Is that BIORGANIC? I will look for that at lowes. What is it exactly? :?: :idea:
i use the orange oil for spider/pest repellant but the water bugs do not repsond to it AT ALL... I also have to repetitively apply it to repel spiders, but when its freshly down, it really works for that. I have not seen one roach after the the one I started this topic with. it must have come in on a grocery bag or something. Growing up in Louisiana though- I know how easily they infest and then you almost cannot ever get rid of them.
was that Rhodes- a store? never heard of it- location please? I am in Cleburne, that's south of Burleson.

[Kathe Kitchens]

No, it's BIOGANIC and its produced by Greenlight. It is made from various plant oils like thyme, clove, wintergreen & others. It affects a nerve transmitter chemical that exists only in the nervous system of insects. I discovered it on the internet years ago and the stores are finally getting it here. You can find it on the organic & natural products shelves at the Lowe's in Burleson, which would be the closest one to you. It's only in a hose-end bottle but that's the one I was recommending for outside anyway. It will work inside and is harmless enough to use in your house but you'd have to figure out how to mix it in a spray bottle on your own. Rohde's is way over in Garland in northeast Dallas. You might want to check their internet site to see if he'll send it to you or try one of the other organic gardening places around Cleburne and see if they have the mesh or can order it for you. Glad to hear the problem isn't too bad and I lived in Baton Rouge for just a short time but long enough to meet the terrible huge roaches there... :shock: , so I can see why you would want to get rid of them yesterday! Good luck!

[charmvalerie]

thanks Kathe! :D great ideas :idea: , and I will try the Bioganic! this weekend if possible 8)

[Mr. Clean]

charmvalerie,

Rohde's site is [url]beorganic.com[/url]. The copper mesh material Kathe Kitchens (good suggestion) mentioned is call Stuf-Fit copper wool. It is wonderful for stuf-fit ing (pun intended :wink: ) in around various critter entrances.

[Dchall_San_Antonio]

They are all roaches. They all may be different species with different common names but they are all roaches. In San Antonio they seem to live in the turf and compost pile. I leave them alone as long as they are outside. I don't have time to chase them down.

One application of boric acid indoors will wipe them out for the next decade or more. I'm going on 12 years now in my house. Bioganic will work if you get some on each individual roach, but that's unlikely. Never use boric acid in the yard. As someone else said, the plants can take only so much boron and then you have basically sterilized your soil permanently.

I've lived on slab and pier and beam all over San Antonio and have had absolutely no trouble with any house or apartment once I got the boric acid down. The best places to put it are behind the stove, behind the refrigerator, window sills, sliding glass door runners, under the sink (in the corners), and under the bathroom sink in the corners. If you ever have an opportunity to put some behind your walls, do that too. I have a crawl space under the house and have never seen a roach there. Could be the rats or cats get them (another story).

You can get large squeeze bottles of dry boric acid at the box stores. One dusting will last you a lifetime in that house. If it gets wet, though, you have to reapply, so if you ever get a water leak under the sink, reapply after the leak is fixed.

[charmvalerie]

wonderful!! :D thanks David and Mr. Clean!!
i did apply the Bioganic this weekend- VERY thoroughly. Also picked up some powder boric acid to apply indoors.
Me thinks me haves it covered for now mates. will let ya know how it works out :!: :wink:

[QuestGirl]

Get some gecko lizards!! Howard recommends these to fight roaches, and they work wonders! My neighborhood used to have roaches, but ever since these geckos have moved in, I maybe only see one roach a year... if that! You can actually buy them at pet stores. They are called "house geckos." Get a few and let them populate... within a year, you should have plenty. :)

[dcluck]

There is one singular thing on this earth that makes my wife scream like a bat out of hell - roaches. I've already seen a handful of them outside and two inside. The wife already has that crazed look in her eye and I've been given the annual ultimatum to get rid of them no matter the cost or means. :?

Anyways, we've had a small population of geckos at our house since we've lived here, but lately I haven't seen much of them. Can't say I've taken the time to positively identify what we have, but I'd be interested in buying some more to help out with what looks to be a bad season for roaches this year. I'll look into getting some this weekend and set them out to patrol the Queen's Castle. Thanks for the tip!!

~Dave (Head Roach Hunter and Defender of the Home)

[QuestGirl]

Good luck Dave!! Hope it works... I sooo identify with your wife, as roaches terrify me as well! The geckos have worked GREAT!! Hope it works out for you two as well!

[dcluck]

It appears that the population of geckos here is doing fine. I've seen a number of little ones the past few nights patrolling the walls and deck area. They better get busy since I've seen a few more roaches in their immediate habitat. Maybe they're bulking up on the gazillion doodle bugs before they go after the roaches. Most of the roaches I've seen are almost twice as large as the little geckos. :)

Here's a photo I took last year of the variety that I have. The wife is now bent on buying more, but I'd like to learn more about them before I introduce new ones to the mix.



~Dave

[Billusa99]

Yup... they are great! You will see them around light sources at night, waiting for the bugs that are attracted.

The other thing you will see is the anole, which is green, and is not a 'gecko' at all. See http://wfscnet.tamu.edu/tcwc/herps/A&M_ANOLIS_CAROLINENSIS_F.jpg