Korean Job Discussion Forums

[kraggy]

Hey,

Moved into a place in Haebongchon last week. Found a cockroach in my bathroom last Thurday and another one last night.

Does this mean that there is an army of them hiding somewhere in my apartment or is it possible to have 2 individual sightings in a matter of days?

Any tips?

I can't figure out how they're getting into the bathroom. Can they come up the drain or toilet?

[Airborne9]

In my place I find one or two now and again. Can go months without seeing them and then maybe see 2 or 3 in the space of 2 weeks. I�ve never had a big problem with them, so maybe it is just the one or two that have found their way into your place.

My apartment is usually clean, messy from time to time but not really let it get too dirty. Im not sure if cleanliness is how to get rid of them. Others can give tips on that

[Zyzyfer]

If they're the big ones, you don't have an infestation, those guys don't particularly like hanging out in houses and kind of accidentally wander in. I have a half-basement place and get lots of stray critters that obviously got lost during their little soil adventures. I've also had a couple pop in over the last few days, big bastards. It's probably something about the weather causing them to sneak in.

The smaller ones do prefer being in homes, and seeing them more than very occasionally is a bad sign.

Also, the Haebangchon area is kind of notorious for being on the scuzzy side.

[soomin]

I was always told "if you see them in the light, then that means there are no more places for them to hide." (aka, your house is infested) I worked at a food establishment that was *crawling* with roaches, so, I've had loads of experience with them T.T

You might want to talk to your building manager/ boss. My first apt in Korea was infested with bugs and I learned that it was because the foreigners before me would never let anyone into their house... including the terminators, so, for years and years, my house had grown to become a haven for bugs. I got my boss to request a terminator to come in especially for my house and then I got lots of bug killers and bug "hotels" and bleached everything I could... Definitely get a terminator to come spray and everything (make sure to wash all your dishes and bed spreads and such afterwards) and hopefully it'll have just been a couple and you can be done with it. Good luck!!

[Skippy]

Have not seen any, but I suspect there maybe some. They are cockroaches they are always there, like GOD.

Some places, through do get a whole bunch of traffic. Get those roach motels or clue traps. I liked the glue traps better.

[JustinC]

I had one in my last place, it came out of no where, the only one I'd seen and couldn't understand why it turned up suddenly. Then I realised I'd stayed in a hostel in Seoul the weekend before and must've brought it back with me.

I sprayed all around where it might hide - behind cupboards, under the bed, sofa, in all the little nooks and crannies. The place stunk so I went out for as long as possible. I didn't see it again so it must have run off.

[Lazio]

[OBwannabe]

[Leslie Cheswyck]

Bay leaves.

The odor repels roaches. And it's a pleasant smell for humans. Crush some up and spread it around the cupboard, and here and there.


Boric acid.

Get it in the fine powder form. Spread a thin layer around where the roaches crawl about. They get it on the soles of their feet, lick it off and suffocate from it and die. When the babies hatch and they see a dead roach, they eat it and they die too. You can wipe out the whole colony within a few weeks. Works every time.

[soomin]

[bobbybigfoot]

I had one show up out of the blue. Killed it.

Months later, they started showing up on a daily basis.

Bug lady came, laid down poison, and they disappeared after a couple of weeks.

Three months later, I found another.

Been two weeks, nothing.

[kraggy]

Thanks for the replies folks.

I've seen 2 so far. With a 3 day gap between. On both occasions it was the bathroom. I bleached from top to bottom after the first one but alas...

Where can you get boric acid?

Is it harmful to humans?

Thanks again!

[Leslie Cheswyck]

The boric acid is harmful only if you eat it. So puppies and babies beware.

You can get it at any pharmacy.

Just ask for 붕산.

http://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EB%B6%95%EC%82%B0

Anywhere between w500 and w1,500

[Whistleblower]

This might help. I moved to Romania and they have quite a lot of roaches in the city. It is quite surprising. I would recommend getting some spray to put around the flat. My landlady got me some spray called "Z2000" or something like that, after I complained about seeing cockroaches. I sprayed it round my apartment and six weeks later, I haven't seen any.

The cockroaches I had in my apartment were black and really big. Two days after spraying the anti-roach stuff around my apartment there was one cockroach dead by my front door.

I recommend spraying where you see them trotting about. If you see them in the bathroom, spray the bathroom around the corners, etc.

[yodanole]

I don't have cockroaches in my apartment. If I want cockroaches, I always eat out.