Korean Job Discussion Forums

[adventureman]

Hi

I will be coming to Korea soon and I was curious what everyone's experiences have been like dealing with these pesky little worthless piece of *beep* creatures that God mistakenly gave exsistance while leaving in Korean housing compared to back home. Now I can deal with many of the usual gripes that come wth apartment living - cramped spaces, rust, mold, mildew, dirt, stench, clogged toilets, etc but when I start seeing these creppy little buggers scurrying around my place that's what really gets my britches in a bundle! They really disgust me. Just how bad IS the bug problem in Korea? Even if I do not live in a big city and do not leave food exposed and keep my house relatively clean (the usual precautions) can I still expect to recieve some 'visitors' at some point through out the year? Also how personally have you dealt with the problem? how effective are Korean pesticides and how easy are they easy to obtain? Has anyone ever gotton to the point with a roach problem that they had to call an exterminator/tell the building owner/move out?

Does anyone remember that crappy 80's horror movie "Creepshow"? Well after hearing some stories about people's experiences with those ugly bastards that's the only image i have implanted in my mind...I mean were talking about some BIG ASS bugs!

~swear filter dodges deleted by waterbaby at 1:33... keep it professional please~

[kimcheeking]

Roaches are prevelant, they are everywhere. 3 nights ago, my wife killed the mother of all cockroaches it was 6 cm long. I wanted to take a picture of the bloody thing but she scooped it up and flushed it down the toilet before I could get a chance. I had visions of mimic.

I have lived in 7 houses in korea and have always had roaches. the Korean products work just fine. If you don't want to trust them, raid & combat are easy to find - carrefour and emart carry them.

[Homer]

Roaches...they are here and really they outnumber us so not much you can do my man.
buy the products they have for that here, they do work.
Keeping your place "clean" has nothing to do with it as my in-laws place is so clean you could lick the floor and it would taste lemon fresh but you still see the odd roach around.

the freaky part: some of the roaches in Korea are airborne!!!
There was one of those big tank like buggers in our bathroom the other day and as I went to sent it to his maker with my shoe the darn thing took off!
It tsayed airborne for a few seconds and the landed a short distance away only to encounter my mother-in-laws wrath...the poor bugger didn't have a chance....

[Derrek]

The best way to avoid roaches is to try to visit you apartment before you work for a school. Or get an apartment of your own. Sure, it's difficult to know for sure, but a roach trap here or there is usually a good indication. I avoided a roach-infested apartment after seeing a school recently, and insisting that I visit the "huge 2 bedroom apartment" they advertised. The apartment was tiny, and there were dead roaches/traps on the floor.

You can spray all you want, and even have an exterminator come, but chances are, they are coming in at some specific location. Find that hole and plug it! Also, after they all die, more will come back in 3 weeks as their eggs hatch. Those have to be killed off too. A good exterminator usually takes care of that problem.

With that said, i use a Korean roach spray in a black and gold can. It is called Morten or something like that, I think. It works great, and is the ONLY bug spray i've every smelled that doesn't smell bad.

[djsmnc]

I must be lucky to not have seen a single roach in my apartment. I've seen the Korean millipede things a few times, which I thought were roaches at the time, because they would run and hide under something if I turned a light on.

I remember seeing a very long thread about this last summer. Back home we have tons of roaches everywhere due to the hot and humid climate. I suggest a can of spray and traps if you are worried. I usually only spray the places that lead outside (i.e. windowsills, shower drains, door cracks) to avoid the release of chemicals in my room. Then set the traps in hard to find places where you think roaches will hide. However, if I do see a roach, I will smother that bastard with half the can of spray anyway...

Anyway, like I said, haven't seen roaches near my apartment, but was really shocked to see an enormous rat trying to find a way into a local Ramyon/Nengmyon establishment one night. Yuck...

[Wombat]

[ulsanchris]

I saw a roach die once it was pretty funny. I was in the kitchen and I saw it on the threshold of my roomates room. It stood on the edge of the threshold, made a big jump and landed on its back legs crossed and didn't move. IT was still there when I finished my lunch so I threw it out.
So far I have only seen one roach in my apartment. I think I will be getting some roach poison soon. Personally I prefer the feeders to the sprays.

[mokpochica]

The Korean roaches are very small and more brownish--however, the American cockroach has made it's way to Korea and it is much bigger. I only saw American cockroaches in Seoul (although I'm sure they are in other cities too). In my homestay in Mokpo I never saw a roach and it was probably a 10 year old apartment (that was kept very clean by my hosts). In my 'office tel' one-room this year I had small roaches when I moved in--the Korean ones. I bought feeder traps and they were gone within a month or so. I didn't see them again while I was here (but of course I left before the very hot summer arrived again).

I lived in North Carolina for a year and the roaches were much bigger and harder to get rid of there than the Korean ones I saw.

[Tancred]

haha...i don't have any roaches...i live by myself on the second floor and i don't have any roaches...hahahahahaha......suckersssss!!!!!

now, if you'll excuse me i'm going to kill mosquitoes for about an hour before i go to bed.

T.

[Homer]

Wombat,

And you know why god never makes any mistakes don't you?
Because he never does anything....
This entity gets all the credit and none of the blame. How does one get that kind of job?

[Wombat]

Homer ~

I've been trying to work it out for years; it's better than tenure!

Wombat

[viva]

I live in a really nice clean apartment yet I still have roaches visit every now and then. I wouldn't say I have a roach problem or anything, but I usually will see one or two of the nasty creatures a month.

I'm pretty lucky to have so few of them as many people see roaches in their apartments everyday. I think it's just one of those inevitable aspects of living in Korea. It has nothing to do with keeping your place clean, they will appear no matter what state your apartment is in. Very FEW people live completely roach free.

I have purchased RAID and other such insect killers in Mom and Pops conveinence stores. I'm quite sure the stuff is available everywhere as there is quite a market for it here.

[strangelove]

in south florida, we had the big palmetto bugs (big, fat roaches) that could fly. naturally, they like to freak one out by flying at you when you are attempting to crush them.

keeping your place clean will help keep them from stopping by for a visit. i don't really like spraying lots of nasty chemicals around my house unless absolutely necessary. another alternative is to let a gecko lizard loose. they are nocturnal and very shy, so you likely will not see it much. when i was in college, we got one at an apartment which had a persistent roach problem, and that guy cleaned house. we would see him once in a great while poking his head out from the oven... he got a bit big feasting on the roaches. some girls moved in after us; i can only imagine the scene if they ever saw him

[adventureman]

Where I am currently living in the Northest United States (out with the cows) our problem is not Roaches but rather ants and annoying biting flies likes knats blackflies deerflies horseflies and mosquitos the size of B-52 bombers...seriously, you can't step outside at dusk for any longer than a few minutes without an attack being lauded upon you...It is like Africa only without the threat of malaria

[Derrek]