Gross!

did you have to mention the poop?

you're soooo childish

how do you identify the faeces Beeps? Taste? Smell?

I will keep my eye out for them. This has been a very informative thread, Beepster. Well done.

Well I haven't touched on methods to kill and prevent infestations yet but if you ever get roaches, mice or rats in your place you know who to come to. Cheers.

@Beags... I dealt with some HORRID stuff as a young man in my working days. I can handle the ickiness but I really despise unwanted creatures roaming around my stuff. That hatred keeps me vigilant. Gonna have to invest in some spray foam, caulk and plastic food containers. 

They don't stand a chance.

@Daryl... The way to deal with mice and rats is pull everything out of the cabinets and off the walls. Identify their little rodent highways... these will be along walls and you'll see their droppings and to lesser extent their piss trail. You NEED to bleach the hell out of that trail because it is filled with pheromones that tell the other mice where the food is and how to get back to the nest. Find ANY holes or cracks (they can compress their bodies to fit through a crack the thickness of a coin). With big holes or gaps fill them with fine steel wool and then cover the holes with sheet aluminum then use caulking to seal around the aluminum. The steel wool hurts their teeth and gums as they try to chew through it so it deters them from that route. The aluminum is to prevent any really tenacious ones from busting through. To really do this properly it's best to remove all the baseboards and fill in the gaps behind them with steel wool then expanding foam. Then trim off the excess foam and use silicone to glue them back on then use paintable caulk to seal the top and bottom of the baseboards to the floor and wall. Do all of this inside of your cupboards as well. After all that is done purchase sealable containers for all dried goods or any other food kept in your cupboards. Every so often after the initial rodent proofing pull stuff out of the cupboards and inspect for the pee/poop trails again. If you find anything suspicious find out where they are coming from or at least the path they are taking and go through the above list wherever possible. Also get some snap traps (glue traps are cruel, gross and somewhat ineffective and poison will make them die in your walls where they start to stink and other pests can feed on the corpses... even other mice especially if they are now starving because you are denying them food).

Oh and always keep toasters, ovens, microwaves, etc... clean and free from crumbs and spills. Sweep and mop regularly. If you live in a house go around the house and find any entry points and seal those up with exterior sealing products (ask the dudes at the hardware store).

So yeah... it's a lot of work but they are beatable and your homes value will stay intact. They can screw up wiring and gear and bring in fleas and disease so it's worth it... your house will also stay cleaner over the long run and you'll have the satisfaction of knowing you conquered a small part of nature. Cheers.

Thanks Beeps


now if I could find a way to get rid of the monkeys

I once walked into my bathroom to be confronted by a water bug the size of a freaking mouse on my sink. I got that flash of utter horror that feels like you've had an electric shock. Didn't have any spray or anything so I fought a half hour battle with it, armed only with a broom. The thing just kept hiding behind the pipe, I'd kick it to make it come out and then take mad swings at the thing. It would take four or five whacks and look like it was dead, then start moving again. I hate these things with every last fiber of my being. 

water bugs are basically roaches on steroids.

German roaches are small compared to "waterbugs"  but they are resilient and extremely hard to get rid of once they've "infested" a home.

I have been an exterminator all my life. My dad had a pest control business and I have since 1989... so. If you have any questions or need any help I can tell you where to look, what to get, and how to use it. Do not spend ANY money without talking to me first.
If you have German roaches you cannot get rid of them with spray. Fogging will drive them deeper into the walls. Fogging and spraying will look impressive BUT... and this is a large aft... the German roach breeds so fast that you can kill 90% of them and have more than you started with in 30 days.
Some rules.
~NEVER bring used furniture or appliances into your home without first inspecting and treating them.
Actually that is the only real rule except to NEVER try to control German roaches by spraying them. You can get bait or I can get bait for you at about half price and I do not mind doing it.

If you have them in a computer, microwave, coffeemaker, or other small appliance like an office phone (they like the heat and ants will also nest in and under small appliances). Take the microwave or whatever it might be, put it in a black garbage bag and set it in the sun. Obviously this wont work is it is 20 degrees outside but if it is reasonably warm the black bag closed up will generate enough heat to kill everything without harming the electronics.

Now... to see if you still have any roaches. Pull out the kitchen drawers in the area where the most sign is. Set the drawer on the counter, lay on the floor, stick your head in the cabinet and look back up near the front of the cabinet with a flashlight. They tend to go up and toward the front. You can also put a light puff of any flying insect killer behind or under the fridge... very little and be aware it is deadly to birds and reptiles and fish are very sensitive to pesticides.

Don't buy the bait without talking to me. You can also use a gluetrap to monitor for roaches. If you don't have one make a ball of clear tape or a piece of duct tape with a little tad of peanut butter on it. Just put it in the area over night.

Roaches are VERY sensitive to changes in air pressure and will run for the cracks as soon as you start moving around. If you see a few you likely have a lot more UNLESS they are the big roaches (Smokey Brown or American roaches) like you see in Florida etc. German roaches are caramel colored and they do not fly, their wings are shorter than their body. The Wood roach looks almost identical but it flies and the wings are onger than the body. The Oriental roach is more associated with sewers and water meters.

I hope this helps and REALLY... don't call an exterminator. I can get you through this WAY cheaper and you can do it. If you find roaches and you can.. take a picture or two.

Let me know. I promise, I don't mind helping and will help. It is one thing I am really good at.

J

https://www.google.com/search?um=1&hl=en&safe=off&tbo=d&biw=1366&bih=697&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=german+roaches&oq=german+roach&gs_l=img.1.0.0l2j0i24l8.3299.6482.0.8031.12.10.0.2.2.0.61.497.10.10.0...0.0...1c.1.GAy2sYqZEvk

Then put in Smokey Brown roach; American Roach; Oriental roach; pennsylvania wood roach; roach; any other... but those are the main ones that are considered to be pests..d the wood roach will come in but die... they are the only one attracted to light... the rest don't like light.

J

Heh. Thanks, jbow. I wasn't actually an official exterminator but had to bend my job description a few times to fit the bill. Most of what you've suggested is what I try to do so it's good to know a bad azz pro thinks along the same lines.

This wasn't bad and I don't think it's an active infestation. There was only one low cupboard that had any real evidence of what was probably a past infestation. There was one adult corpse and one adult husk and two corners in that cabinet with a small amount of leavings. The super said they had had a very small problem a few years ago but they got some pros in and haven't had any complaints since. The people who occupied this unit before me were SLOBS (I saw the place before they "fixed it up" and it was disgusting) so I'm assuming they just never cleaned up the aftermath.

In a way this is kind of good because now I've got some leverage in getting some stuff replaced around here. I'm also going to seal everything up nice and tight and am currently in the process of disinfecting everything. If I do end up seeing anything (and yes I'll get some monitors... in fact I have some somewhere in all my crap) I will definitely be hitting you up for some advice.

NUKE... THEM... FROM... ORBIT!

It's the only way to be sure.

;-)

Yep he was a handfull alright, he'd escape out of his cage and we'd have to chase him around for hours till we'd catch him. hehehehehe....no more monkeys for me !!