Job Discussion Forums

[JonnyB61]

That's it. I've had enough!
We've tried the commercial c*o*c*kroach traps. They simply don't work. The cockroaches just treat them with contempt. The only success I've had with them is chasing the little tinkers round the kitchen in an atempt to knock them off their feet and then scooping them up into the trap.

Ten minutes ago I went into the kitchen to refresh my drinky glass and came face to face with a c*o*c*k*roach about the size of a family car. I mean this thing could have ripped my leg off and hit me with the soggy end!

If anyone knows how to deal with cockroaches please do post. We need to know!

Why do I keep getting *Beeped* out when I'm talking about a domestic insect pest???????????

[nonsmoker]

[madeira]

Beeps need water, and they don't mind if your house is spotless. Food they can do without for a looong time. Sure, clean stuff up, but it won't help much. They can live on wallpaper paste and your dead skin.

Seal all of your pipes under the sink. You should be able to find putty. Keep your bathroom dry.

Beeps also like electric stuff. Telephones, toasters, computers are all nice places to raise beep families. I hope you have a big freezer, as freezing them is the best way I've heard of to kill the eggs.

Borax and sugar mixed into balls will kill them. Those balls are probably no good for kids or pets, either... hoping that's not an issue.

Oh, and if you live in an apartment building, you should make sure your neighbors are also on the ball. Beeps are mobile and pretty smart. Everyone has to work to get rid of them.

And you must get rid of them. Beeps carry helicobacter pylori, and apparently the ones in Japan carry a stronger version of it. Good luck!

(I think beeps are censored as some mod is scared of them.)

[User N. Ame]

I always found those little "bomb" canisters effective in insect-proofing my entire house, and I only had to fire it off once - around this time of year. You see them at most stores, little stubby yellow cans. Best time to do it is just before you leave your place for an extended period of time. What I used to do was fire one off in my house just before heading out the door for a weekend trip to my favourite onsen ryokan.

I found those cardboard traps (you mention) ineffective.

If you live in a house, you can also set up a poison moat around the outside perimeter of your home with a toxic powder or spray, but I never felt a need to do this.

For the unlucky critters that did manage to sneak in and hang around my house, the best instant kill method is to pour scolding water over it. If you keep one of those hot water makers plugged in for tea (as I did year round), very easy, just grap a shot of hot water and pour it over the bug. Almost instant death, without the toxic residuals.

[sallycat]

i once left a can of gokiburi-killa spray sitting on the floor and all the beeps dissappeared. conclusion: beeps can read katakana.

also, i found that foaming bath cleaner (it was an emergency) kills beeps instantly, and leaves the corpses lemon-scented.

but i never found a way to make the beeps go away completely.

[fluffyhamster]

I suggest leaving so much rubbish on your floor that elephants (let alone beeps) could forage unseen.

You might want to wear earplugs though, so you don't hear their scurrying.

[sallycat]

i considered starting a beep circus when i lived in kyoto. also saddling up one of the larger beeps and riding it to work.

[Apsara]

nonsmoker, when you arrive in Japan you will find that all rules you thought applied to roaches are not true here. The little beeps (actually they're not little, they are huge) can be found in the cleanest kitchen- they can smell food, even if it's not left lying around- and they can fly.

I'm happy to say I haven't seen any beeps in Tokyo yet this summer, although I saw a few in Hong Kong last week the size of small cars.

[fluffyhamster]

When you say big, are we talking 'Bubba Ho-Tep' big? (That wasn't really a roach in that, though, so much as a scarab beetle or somesuch, so this is just for the purposes of comparison).

[Quibby84]

Move to a new leopalace, I havent seen one beep...(am I dont that right? adding beep where the name goes?). Watch me get up from the computer, go the bathroom, and see a nest full of them.....
But as of now, no beeps!

[nonsmoker]

How large can these cockroaches be?

[Eva Pilot]

I'm a pretty slovenly person when it comes to matters domestic, and I can not believe that I've been here a year and never seen one.

[Apsara]

Wait about another month till it's really hot, then at about 9pm go and hang around the area in your street where everyone puts out their gomi, especially if a few people have put it out early. Within a few minutes you will have a sighting.

Alternatively, visit your local gaijin house- it should be one with a population of more than 20. That pretty much guarantees you a severe infestation.

Even where there's no food around I have seen them- like in dance studios.

[Eva Pilot]

[sallycat]

there do seem to be some random beepless areas. my apartment in nagasaki had none. house in kyoto - heaps. i've seen them in classrooms, too.