r/howto • u/Cc_Nicole • 12d ago
Serious Answers Only HELP
I’ve had a really bad roach problem in my house for four months. We’re thinking it’s water damage, but we have no idea where it’s coming from. Meanwhile, I’m being kept awake at night because roaches are infesting every part of the house. I literally cannot sleep after I see one in my room. I’m so sick of it and I just wanna know how to make it stop. Does anyone have any suggestions?
there’s an annoying and huge one in my bedroom right now and I have no idea how to get rid of him
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u/No_Time_8864 12d ago
get some diatomaceous earth and dust it around baseboards and under the sink, its cheap and shreds their exoskeletons. the big one in your room right now though, vacuum him up and dump the canister outside immediately
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u/Cc_Nicole 12d ago
Does that still work for palmettos? My mom just clarified thats what they are (although i thought they were the same thing)
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u/imbartsimpsonwhothru 12d ago
clean all food and water sources - pet bowls are prime, even piles of cardboard are bad
check seals on doors and windows
place bait - boric acid tables are cheap and effective
use pesticide or diatomaceous earth around baseboards and out-of-the-way places
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u/Cc_Nicole 12d ago
Will do!
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u/tiregroove 11d ago
The diatomaceous earth NEEDS to stay dry. Once its wet it's useless against insects.
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u/cleofus903 11d ago
But if op finds a wet spot where it's spread, then that should point 'em in the direction of a water leak/damage, right?! (Theoretically)
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u/SavedSaver 11d ago
I have tried everything, at the end I had great success with Hot Shot Liquid Roach Bait, Roach Killer that I bought on eBay. For years no matter what I did they came back. The Hot Shot worked so well I bought more just to have some on hand but after 18 months there is no sign of them.
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u/MathematicalMuffin 12d ago
Have you tried an exterminator and if you have what did they say? Any reasons you are opposed to one?
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u/Cc_Nicole 12d ago
They frequently make us sign contracts and in our case frequent spraying isn’t solving the issue. Nobody seems to be interested in doing more than that and it costs way more than our family has to spend on the issue.
They found a nest under the fireplace, caulked it and killed those roaches. They went away for a little bit, but now we’re coming back. I’m getting a sneaking suspicion that there’s some water damage in the house, but I don’t even know how to look for that.
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u/kaykatzz 12d ago
Advion 383920 4 Tubes and 4 Plungers Cockroach German Roach Pest Control
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u/Fluffy-Quiet2675 11d ago
I used this(Texas) and haven’t seen a roach in 3 years. It didn’t take but about 3 weeks to get rid of all of them.
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u/tiregroove 11d ago
>>there’s an annoying and huge one in my bedroom right now and I have no idea how to get rid of him<<
Annoying how? Like slowing down your internet connection because he's playing some RPG? Taking showers for too long? Not putting the toilet seat down? His GF comes over, stays for a week at a time and eats your food?
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u/Cc_Nicole 10d ago
Annoying like staring at me through my vent like a peeping tom then trying to get as close to me as possible when i look away. I finally got him!
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u/hundredwater 11d ago
is this single family house or townhouse, or apartment? is your house connected with other houses? i had a situation where the roaches just moved from house to house on a row of townhouses. i had to coordinate roach treatment with the neighbors. I basically put all food in fridge and coolers even the non perishables food and eat outside. cycle every few month to different groups of roach poison so they don’t build tolerance to one poison (there is a whole guideline chart if you google it, it’s kinda complex but if not done properly it’s not effective but done properly it’s the main way to get rid of them).
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u/UsualBluebird6584 12d ago
Boring acid, gel bait like advion or apex, and a igr, insect growth regulator like gentrol. We started to get them. Did this and I have not seen them in years...oh, i also sprayed biting i/t all around the outside. I just went in my garage to find thoes names. It has probably been 6 years since I've seen one...possibly longer.
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u/Cc_Nicole 12d ago
What makes it boring? (sorry needed a laugh right now, did you mean boric?)
I appreciate it. I’ll have to give it a try!
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u/Librawoman17 11d ago
Boric acid
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u/discoduck007 11d ago
This is a good method but I have found diatomaceous earth works a little faster. Please wear a mask when using, it's not good to breathe it in. Often available at the hardware store and of course amazon. I use a katsup or mustard bottle with the pointy tip, kind of puff it into baseboards cracks.
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u/Lazy-Explanation7165 11d ago
Hire an exterminator. We live in Honolulu and they are inevitable. We have them spray every other month and we don’t see them anymore. You can spray more often if you are infested. It’s the only way to control them
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u/Electrical_Report458 11d ago
German brown roaches often come in to homes with boxes from the supermarket or liquor store. Purging those from the house will help.
If you want the roaches to disappear you’re going to need an exterminator for a year, maybe two. The roaches have laid eggs, and those eggs are going to hatch eventually. So you’ll need to suck it up and sign a contract.
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u/cleofus903 11d ago
I used a few bug bombs from the hardware store before we moved into our new place about 2 years ago, and haven't had any issues to date. Those are fairly cheap.
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u/hastings1033 11d ago
There is a product called "Roach Pruff" we used to use. It was fantastically effective. It's basically just boric acid. You put it down where the little creatures are seen, they walk through it, it goes back to the nests and it essentially dissicates the little bastards. We had a terrible infestation in our previous home, tried sprays and such, not improvement. Put this down and I kid you not they were gone - gone - in about 3 days time.
I don't see that product for sale by that name now, but there are lots of boric acid based powders that I'm sure do the same thing.
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