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Ramen
Joined: 15 Apr 2008
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 Posted: Sat Jun 25, 2011 4:33 am Post subject: |
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i'd just fry couple of 'em and let them watch me eat.  |
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ontheway
Joined: 24 Aug 2005
Location: Somewhere under the rainbow...
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| Posted: Sat Jun 25, 2011 4:36 am Post subject: |
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| koreatimes wrote: |
It's not the teacher's job to fix leaky faucets or deal with cockroaches. We are not homeowners. |
When it comes to pest control, most of the condo units you might be staying in have a monthly pest control service that comes around to spray. Beyond that, it is absolutely the teacher's problem to deal with insects and not the condo owner nor the school. You are a grown up now (or you should be) and you would have to deal with this problem yourself as a renter at home as well. Grow up. You should change your own lightbulbs too.
Plumbing problems will usually be covered under your monthly maintenance fee. You can contact the main office of your condo building managers or ask your school to talk to them to arrange a time to fix the problem. Bigger problems should normally be handled by the owner of the unit. Since most of us are living in privately owned condo units - there are few actual apartments in Korea - you should ask your school to contact the owner for you. Unfortunately, in some instances the school may have entered into a rental agreement that makes the occupant (you) responsible for some maintenance and repair charges beyond what is covered by your maintenance fee. |
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PastorYoon
Joined: 25 Jun 2010
Location: Sea of Japan
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| Posted: Sat Jun 25, 2011 7:47 am Post subject: |
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| Ramen wrote: |
| i'd just fry couple of 'em and let them watch me eat. |
You must be Asian. |
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koreatimes
Joined: 07 Jun 2011
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| Posted: Sat Jun 25, 2011 8:20 am Post subject: |
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| it is absolutely the teacher's problem to deal with insects and not the condo owner nor the school.You are a grown up now (or you should be) and you would have to deal with this problem yourself as a renter at home as well. Grow up. You should change your own lightbulbs too. |
If you are comparing this with changing lightbulbs, you aren't seeing this with the same perspective I am. We can go to a new apartment and test the lights before we move in. We contribute to the life (lack of life) a bulb might have after that.
However, if we come to an apartment and it is infested with cockroaches, we would have the right to leave. It is NOT the teacher's responsibility. This is not like back home where we can move on to another apartment. Back home, do you have to put up 5 million won in security deposit?
If I am the cause of the problem, no problem. I'll deal with it. I'll fix it, I'll pay for it. At my current place I have these used rice cookers. When I moved in, the main one didn't work. I gave it to the school and I expected them to provide me with a working rice cooker, as it was part of the agreement. They agreed and fixed it.
However, it broke again last week. I offered to pay for any repair job because I probably contributed partly this time to it being broken again. They refused and said they would fix it. They couldn't fix it and got me another used one. I am not sure how long this one will last, but the point is the school is taking responsibility for providing me with what we agreed to.
I don't know any teacher that agreed with a school to provide them an apartment with cockroaches.
My father had neighbors who didn't seal their food. He took pictures of the pathway these critters took. It led to the neighbors door. He gave these photos to the landlord, and the tenants were evicted. So, was it his responsibility to kill them or did he do the right thing? Back home, cockroaches are not the responsibility of innocent tenants. The landlord must deal with it.
I lived in 5 places in Korea, and none of them had cockroach problems. In China, I have lived in 5 places also. One of those had cockroach problems (Fushun). The place was terrible (smells from the bathroom), school was horrendous, dirt in the air (hard to breathe), people there were less than civilized so they didn't comprehend the meaning of cleanliness. There are reasons for cockroaches and mice to be running around places. These are pre-existing problems BEFORE a teacher sets foot into the apartment.
The only other cockroach problem I recall was in Kyoto, Japan. I lived there for 3.5 years and I don't recall it being too much of a problem after a few initial kills at the beginning of summer.
So, out of 11 total places, 9 places were free of cockroaches. If you want to take responsibility for places with cockroaches that's your choice, but people should not feel expected to deal with pre-existing problems. Confront your employer when these things happen. The costs can add up to a lot. You shouldn't have to foot the bill for pre-existing problems.
This is not an issue you can compare back home. Your employer back home doesn't normally get you a place to live. You can more easily find another place if problems like this do come up back home.
Last edited by koreatimes on Sat Jun 25, 2011 4:57 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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ontheway
Joined: 24 Aug 2005
Location: Somewhere under the rainbow...
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| Posted: Sat Jun 25, 2011 9:13 am Post subject: |
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If you move in and the cockroaches are already there to greet you, then, yes you should have been provided with a clean unit. If you live there for a while without seeing any cockroaches (anything over a week), and then suddenly you have them, it's your problem and probably you've been the cause.
Most of the time, you won't have bugs if you don't feed them and if you don't bring them in with you. Cockroaches arrive in the packages, food containers, grocery bags, and furniture you bring to your new home. They will crawl onto your clothes and into your bookbag to hitch a ride from your school, restaurants, bars or friends' houses. They travel with you in your bags when you come here and arrive in your care packages from home. They will come into your home from your neighbors if you offer a better menu. You bring them in and you feed them. That's why it's your problem. |
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PastorYoon
Joined: 25 Jun 2010
Location: Sea of Japan
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| Posted: Sat Jun 25, 2011 4:09 pm Post subject: |
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| ontheway wrote: |
| If you live there for a while without seeing any cockroaches (anything over a week), and then suddenly you have them, it's your problem and probably you've been the cause. |
Well one thing about cockroaches is that they are mainly nocturnal and will run away when exposed to light. That's common knowledge. So if you don't see them within the first week, that doesn't necessarily equate to them not being there. |
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thegadfly
Joined: 01 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Sat Jun 25, 2011 9:05 pm Post subject: |
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Personally, I would rather simply get rid of the roaches in a week than mess around with trying to get my school to schedule some company to come in and spray god-knows-what all around my apartment, leaving residue on everything, which would require either I clean the whole place again, or else live in the chemical spray....
As I said -- 800 won box of boric acid, on the walk to school or on the walk home...give your boss the bill if you feel so strongly about it, Koreatimes, but it seems silly to me to NOT just fix it yourself, when it is about as easy as changing three lightbulbs....
Who cares who is responsible if it can be fixed this cheaply and easily...and it CAN be fixed this cheaply and easily.... |
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koreatimes
Joined: 07 Jun 2011
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| Posted: Sat Jun 25, 2011 11:09 pm Post subject: |
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| Koreatimes, but it seems silly to me to NOT just fix it yourself |
That type of mentality allows schools to not say anything wrong about a place and leave the teacher to fix the problems.
It's not just cockroaches. Every single thing you could imagine is not dealt with.
If you want to take on the responsibility of removing cockroaches, that is your choice. Teachers shouldn't feel expected though to fix pre-existing problems. |
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Whistleblower
Joined: 03 Feb 2007
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| Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2011 10:15 am Post subject: |
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| This is why I prefer to sort out my apartment before I start a new job in Korea (if you have the chance). |
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thegadfly
Joined: 01 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2011 1:13 pm Post subject: |
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| koreatimes wrote: |
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| Koreatimes, but it seems silly to me to NOT just fix it yourself |
That type of mentality allows schools to not say anything wrong about a place and leave the teacher to fix the problems.
It's not just cockroaches. Every single thing you could imagine is not dealt with.
If you want to take on the responsibility of removing cockroaches, that is your choice. Teachers shouldn't feel expected though to fix pre-existing problems. |
No...I just prefer not to sit in the dark waiting for a school to change the light bulbs.
Yes, they should fix pre-existing conditions, and if they don't then quit the job, or don't quit the job and wait for them to fix it, or fix it yourself and give them the bill for it. I do the latter, personally, though I wouldn't bother handing in a bill for an 800 won fix...but hey, sweat the small stuff if you want.... |
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koreatimes
Joined: 07 Jun 2011
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| Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2011 6:25 pm Post subject: |
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| No...I just prefer not to sit in the dark waiting for a school to change the light bulbs. |
I never equated broken light bulbs with cockroach problems. You didn't really understand the premise of my statements.
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| Yes, they should fix pre-existing conditions, and if they don't then quit the job, or don't quit the job and wait for them to fix it, or fix it yourself and give them the bill for it. |
Let's break this one down in parts.
"if they don't then quit the job"
You wouldn't have the job if you looked at it from the beginning. So, no, there would be no job to quit, "Either fix pre-existing problems, or I don't start working."
"give them the bill for it"
Then you are basically doing what I am saying. They have to pay for it. Roundabout way of agreeing with me. |
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thegadfly
Joined: 01 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2011 9:16 pm Post subject: |
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| koreatimes wrote: |
| Quote: |
| No...I just prefer not to sit in the dark waiting for a school to change the light bulbs. |
I never equated broken light bulbs with cockroach problems. You didn't really understand the premise of my statements.
| Quote: |
| Yes, they should fix pre-existing conditions, and if they don't then quit the job, or don't quit the job and wait for them to fix it, or fix it yourself and give them the bill for it. |
Let's break this one down in parts.
"if they don't then quit the job"
You wouldn't have the job if you looked at it from the beginning. So, no, there would be no job to quit, "Either fix pre-existing problems, or I don't start working."
"give them the bill for it"
Then you are basically doing what I am saying. They have to pay for it. Roundabout way of agreeing with me. |
I don't agree with you to throw a fit over something that is easily fixable for 800 won. I gave three choices -- fix it, wait for them to fix it, or do nothing. Personally I fix it. You seem to advocate waiting for them to fix it. I don't wait. If a toilet is plugged and a plunger is handy, I clear the clog -- I don't tape a note to the door saying "broken." It isn't my job to take care of someone else's crap, but I have and do because I prefer things to work. I also clear the paper jams in the photocopier, instead of writing "broken" on a piece of paper and taping it to the machine. I also change the ink cartridge in the printer instead of writing "broken" on a piece of paper and taping it to the machine.
You seem to be in the note-writing camp, which is why I am disagreeing with you. |
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young_clinton
Joined: 09 Sep 2009
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| Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2011 9:39 pm Post subject: |
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| emmajuno wrote: |
I couldn't sleep because of it last night. They are disgusting.
Thanks for the advice guys. I'll test out the boric acid tomorrow. Maybe buy a couple of traps as well, just in case. |
Go to your market wherever you live and buy some Raid or Black Flag or whatever they sell that has the picture of a roach on it. The insecticides nowadays contain pyrethrins a plant product. I wouldn't waste my time with the boric acid. Any roach that contacts the insecticide is dead just the same as boric acid. You might buy a bug bomb, but bombs are necessary if you have those little german roaches in your cupboards and around the kitchen area. |
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quackzilla
Joined: 22 Jun 2011
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| Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2011 10:46 pm Post subject: |
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The boric acid is definitely good advice! I think you can mix it with something tasty to attract more to the poison, and I think it takes a few days to kick in so they should all eat it before they start dying. Even if they catch on an realize it's bad, it's too late!
I don't really like chemicals, and if you have dirty neighbors who are helping the cockroaches thrive they can carry the boric acid back to their nest or whatever and kill off the lot of them. |
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young_clinton
Joined: 09 Sep 2009
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| Posted: Mon Jun 27, 2011 1:29 am Post subject: |
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| quackzilla wrote: |
The boric acid is definitely good advice! I think you can mix it with something tasty to attract more to the poison, and I think it takes a few days to kick in so they should all eat it before they start dying. Even if they catch on an realize it's bad, it's too late!
I don't really like chemicals, and if you have dirty neighbors who are helping the cockroaches thrive they can carry the boric acid back to their nest or whatever and kill off the lot of them. |
Cockroaches don't eat the Boric acid. It accumulates on thier cuticle as they walk thru it and breaks it down. Once the cuticle has holes in it, they dehydrate and die. |
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