So much to report. So little organization. We moved into our apartment on Saturday with the wonderful help from our friends, Missy and Jeff. It would have taken hours to do without them. Many, ugly hours. I can’t seem to thank them enough, as I know how awful moving can be. Maybe it’s easier if it’s not you? Who knows. We really love our place. It’s very large and the sunlight is nice. We are on the bottom floor. We have a patio which opens into a courtyard. The courtyard is green. There are squirrels out back and you can here the crickets at night. I really do like that. We have cable (minus HBO) coming in free. We need some lamps, there are no overhead lights in the bedroom or the living area, but that’s ok. I’m not a fan of the overhead-lighting look anyway and I enjoy shopping. So, yes, we’re quite pleased with the apartment, as expected (coming from mihow) I do have some problems with it, problems we must fix or things could get ugly. Not only are there crickets at night, there are roaches as well. We’re not sure if it’s because we’re on the first floor (my most doubtful thought), if it’s because our neighbors are gross (also doubtful—we’ve met them) if it’s that the people before us were dirty (more likely as we’ve seen and heard some stories suggesting so). Is it because the place has been vacant? The building isn’t infested, I know this much as I know other folks living there and they don’t have a problem. But something is wrong.
I know people don’t like roaches. I realize this much is a given. But I have a wicked fear of them. I hate them more than mice, rats and Verizon. I moved from a place because of them them. Anyhow, we’ve taken the proper measures, we’ve sprayed and set up traps, we have NO food yet, so we’re not the initial lures. Toby is telling our landlord today, in order to have them bring someone in to spray, I hope that helps a bit. I’m disturbed. I want them to not be there. I can live with a few from time to time, I assume that will happen, but we’ve killed at least 30 and we’ve only been there for two days. (Help me).
Oh, ick.
You need your cats. They will help.
They are not bug eaters. They just watch them. Ugh, perhaps I will need more cats?
Robert has two for loan or permanent!
Mihow:
check out this site.
http://apartments.about.com/cs/repairs/tp/bugriddance.htm
God blessed. I hope and pray they go away and quick. It sounds like a great apartment otherwise!
Thanks, Deb.
Do you think it will be safe to use Boric Acid before the kitties come back? I think I will be getting them back in a few more weeks. Boric acid sounds powerfull.
Look up on the internet for poisons to cat. Boric acid is powerful against insects, but not at all to us.
Well, I’m going to buy some anyway and put it in the kitchen. When they come back, perhaps we’ll just keep them from that room for a bit.
Roaches are the worst.
Here’s what Heloise says:
http://heloise.com/topten.html
You might also want to put some in your drains, like overnight when you’re not using them.
When are the cats coming? That spray stuff might lose its poison/effectiveness by then. It’s pretty powerful, and along baseboards & cracks, it should help alleviate your problem.
isn’t there some kind of law that says you have to get a guy with a can of bugspray come by once a month to spray preventively? I remember something like that from brooklyn, the dude would always wake us up on a saturday morning.
anyways congrats on the place it sounds sweet. after almost a year of living like a student again (ugh) I can totally sense how great you place must be.
and are you sure you hate them roaches more then verizon? I mean, that’s some strong words there pal…
Roach update:
Apparently, I have perhaps exaggerated the roach problem a bit. We have not seen 30, we have seen less. I am not sure how many less but TobyJoe pointed out it wasn’t that many. So perhaps I am over-reacting. Still gunna poison the fuck out of the bastards however.
That will surely stop them from breeding!;)
Wow! Dad will an actual funny pun.
ha ha ha
I actually missed that, thanks rob.
You meant “with” right? :)
When my sister and I were young (6&4, I think) we lived in a building that had mice and roaches. My sister and I slept over at my grandparents more often than we slept at home, because what Arjen says is true…you do have to spray repetitively. Roaches have constant cycles of reproduction, and you have to keep spraying to get to all of them. And you have to keep changing what you spray with because they grow tolerant. Isn’t that disgusting?
Anyway, I was just going to suggest that you work something out with someone about leaving your cats with them for a night or two after the exterminator sprays, otherwise they’ll get sick. My sister and I were ALWAYS sick back then, and my family moved out as soon as my parents realized we were getting sick from all the fumes (even though we slept at my grandparents’ a lot).
Good luck.
Megami, In case you missed it, her cats have been catnapped and are being held somewhere in State College, PA. I hear photos of them in some compromising situations have already surfaced on the web. They are healthy for now, but they miss their mihow. Actually, tonight they begin their training. Several big, mean roaches will be dragged across the floor in front of them. Until they learn to pounce – no food! They’ll be trained assasins before long.
Dad, you so need a cat. I can’t believe you don’t have one.
megami, thank you so much for the information. i will keep that in mind. if they don’t go away in a month, I will move elsewhere. As much as I hate to move, I can’t live surrounded by roaches.
….I’ll bury you cockroaches…. name that movie. ;-)
Scbob, I knew you had the cats (or is it another lucky catsitter?). I just meant that if the cats come back and the problem isn’t solved, they might have to go out again. :)