Job Discussion Forums

[Guiza]

I tend to just go for the old hard stamp with a shoe on. But they're tough and quick too so this doesn't have a 100% kill rating.

I would like to have a go with a nail gun loaded with fine, sharp, tungsten ammo.

How do you deal with cockroaches at home?

[mark_in_saigon]

We need to distinguish between favorite and effective, but as you mentioned a nail gun, I think you already have advanced views on this. I am beyond favorite and into the realm of "soul satisfying". Effective is usually boring, smelly, and you do not see it happen. So first, my favorite story on killing roaches. In the south of the U.S., we spend so much time talking about grasshoppers and cockroaches if we called them by their proper names we would not have time to talk about anything else, so to us they are hoppers and roaches. But I digress.

A girl I knew from Oklahoma told about how daddy would put sugar on the kitchen table, cover it with newspaper, and in the middle of the night, they would hear this wham wham wham, it was daddy killing the roaches with a rolling pin. Oklahoma style, very nice technique.

My personal best (this was in a commercial building that had a serous roach problem) was to use a propane torch. When stomping roaches, they move so fast, hard to run up the score and be victorious. With a propane torch, one touch is all it takes, they are truly toast, and one feels true victory. This works well when first turning on the lights by the way, when they are all out playing.

My final contribution to roach killing technology came from my drug crazed Datsun mechanic. I went by his shop one night and there was a monster roach frozen in a position of strained escape, waiting to run, like a Grecian statue perhaps. I asked about him, my guy said he nailed him with headliner glue when he came by, and said he was still alive. I was incredulous, to prove it, my guy pulled out his lighter, put it to the glued roach, the glue and roach lit up like a burning marshmallow, the roach looked like godzilla in his death throes. While I was not sharing whatever the mechanic was on, I felt the the experience deep within, if not psychedelic, it was very intense, esp for the roach.

Oh, just a side note, that same mechanic, he was from Iran, he had a story about his childhood in the old country. He and another boy would catch rats outside his grandfather's barn. They were developing a process for finishing off the rats. They would inject them with Naptha (I think he said, it was some sort of flammable liquid and they set them on fire and watched them run). I think they use gas here, but keep them in the cage til they are pretty well burnt off, so they can dispose of them like leftover food or something. Anyway, one day, a flaming rat made it into the grandfather's barn. As the barn burned, the neighbors asked if they should do anything, there were no water sources close. Grandfather said "let it burn", it was hopeless. He never spoke to his grandson again, by the way.

[Jbhughes]

Funnily enough, I had one of the little ****ers/s (choose your own!) in the classroom last night. He sneaked under the door from somewhere and started roaming around like he owned the place!

I couldn't really quite decide what to do, I tried just to shuffle him out but he came back in. We all agreed that we hated cockroaches (and it was a nice opportunity for them to know the word), but I didn't want to stamp on the thing in front of all the sts and have them think bad of me somehow, or worse miss and follow it around like a benny hill sketch. They really leave a mess when you kill them as well and I didn't want to repulse anyone. In the end we all just ignored it and continued.

Last week we had some kind of bee or wasp in, luckily I was the only one who noticed it and it disappeared off somewhere.

What should I expect next week?!

Oh.. my favourite - under the wheel, but it's usually more luck than skill.

[LettersAthruZ]

I don incredibly thick household cleaning gloves, put a mask on, and then I call in The Elephant!!

Works every time.....takes 'em out for about two months also.....You'll go through about one tall can for each room....but again - it WILL take 'em out and keep 'em out for around two months!

....reeaally would hate to find out what's ACTUALLY IN the stuff.....but, hey - it works and it DOES WORK WELL!

It's called "Jumbo H2O" and it's at basically any supermarket.

Well, hell, JB...at least you and your class were all on the same page in your mutual dislike for the things!

I had one client who had, like, five VISIBLE ones in her office ("visible ones" meaning, for some reason, cockroaches that were NOT afraid to come out when the lights were on!!!!!!!!) and I was startled and jumped back and the client shrugged her shoulders and said - "Why you scare of them? You are much bigger!" and just kept on going as though nothing unusual or disgusting at all was happening......

[skarper]

Locals grow up used to them. I am still creeped out and have a zero tolerance policy to them - living or dead.

I use RAID to kill them and sweep the remains out the door. If it's near the door, I don't always use the spray and just sweep em out, though I'm sure they come back later.

But it must have been a nightmare 10-20 years ago. They are just used to it I guess.

Tolerance of rats is a harder to understand. A lot of people accept that rats will come in at night and run around in their living rooms/kitchens. This is highly dangerous.

Of course, many lack the means to make/keep their houses rat proof, but some who could afford it still don't bother. Again, they are used to it so just think it's normal.

[ExpatLuke]

Ugh, I couldn't ever put up with rats. I would get a cat if I ever even suspected having rats in my house. Cockroaches don't really bother me much. I just squash them with a sandal and sweep them out the door. I sleep with a mosquito net, so there's no fear of them crawling on me in my sleep. But they say if you see 1 roach, there probably many, many more in your house that you never see.

[Guiza]

Yes Jb! Splattered under a bike wheel is rare and is truly satisfying.

I would like to try that blowtorch.

[LettersAthruZ]

I think they actually DO eat them in Thailand....

[travelinhobo]

When I was staying at a guesthouse/hotel in Bien Hoa half a year ago, I came back to find one had gotten under the door and was resting in the bathroom. I can kill the small ones, but not interested in having the remains of the big ones on my shoes, floor, etc. Ran and got the security guard. Figured he had a way to get it out or something. Yeah he did. After I put a stop to him stepping on it, I started to bend down. I walked away not wanting to watch the action. Then I saw him walk from the bathroom to the front door and his hand was holding something! When I ret'd to the bathroom, there was a brown liquid on the floor.

When I told a few locals about this, they seemed not to think anything of it. The owner of the school where I was working said to me once, "Why are you Americans afraid of cockroaches?" I couldn't believe her question! Yes, the Vietnamese seem to think nothing of them.

As far as how to get rid of them... I had a problem with them (much smaller) in Turkey. Tried everything I found on the internet. THought the Tree Tea Oil worked for a week or two, but if it did, it stopped. I suppose if there really were a way, they'd be on the way of many extinct animals.

[mark_in_saigon]

the great things about the propane torch are -

no mess, no guts, just a dead roach

instantaneous result, you touch him with the flame, he is totally dead in his tracks, which leads to -

a very profound satisfaction, much more powerful than jumping around trying to stomp one, and missing 2/3's of them. Some of the newer torches have an auto start, which would be the preferred tool.

You cannot really describe it, you have to experience it. Yeah, it aint for everyone, you could even set a house on fire with this technique. Try it on ants sometime, you will see my point. Imagine trying to crush hundreds or thousands of ants, then bring out the torch and compare the results. Very nice.

[Jbhughes]

What about mosquitoes?

I've recently moved somewhere new that is more susceptible to mosquitoes than my old place and I've been eyeing one of those electric mosquito killers that attracts them with a (possibly UV?) lamp and zaps them when they get too close. I'm really not sure if they are anything other than a glorified nightlight though, has anyone used one (with success)?

When I'm out and about I sometimes light up a Mosfly coil and put it under the table, that seems to reasonably effective and you can keep them under the bike seat. I've also got one of those tennis racquet-shaped zappers and if I know I'm going somewhere with a lot of mosquitoes I take it, they are good in the house, too.

[mark_in_saigon]

All I really know about mosquitoes (and it aint much) -

Dengue fever is still a real event here, and it is mosquito borne.

Mosquito nets seem to be a pretty good idea, esp since so many of these places have openings that are never sealed off.

DDT seems pretty effective at knocking off mosquitoes in houses if used properly, a light spraying of the walls can be just the ticket. DDT got a terrible reputation, and it was certainly overused, but for some of these bug issues, you really need a serious defense. Not that you can go out and buy it here, maybe you can. I do know the debate is ongoing that it should be allowed in high risk areas of the world, and think it is making a comeback. I would be extra careful if having it applied, you see how they operate, they may over boost the concentration just because they don't know any better, so I would be pretty proactively involved if having it applied.

[I'm With Stupid]

[Steinmann]

This is how we did it back home. Just chase 'em right into a corner and have at it.


http://www.libertybootco.com/images/boots/fullsize/1e96adb079144be0897d200b3cc6a071.jpg

[8balldeluxe]

If you turn them over on their back they are helpless. They exhaust themselves waving their legs around . The ants will get them then. It takes a day or so.