Cockroach Infestation

[ckc_ucl]

I'd be so grateful if someone could help me with this problem, which is driving me crazy!

I have a cockroach infestation in my apartment that has invaded every room. Traps & Raid spray have proven ineffective. My landlady refuses to deal with the situation. I was wondering if anybody here has had a similar problem and knows of an exterminator in Beijing that could deal with it and approximately how much they would charge.

Alternatively, does anyone know where I can buy a pesticide containing Cypermethrin, such as Demon WP. I have tried B&Q, without luck.

Thanks so much for any help you can provide!

[Pengyou]

A difficult problem...What kind of flooring do you have? If you have older vinyl flooring it is possible that the roaches are living under the flooring in areas exposed by cracks. You also have to consider what your neighbor's houses are like. You might very well be successfully killing off the roaches in your home only to have them migrate from your neighbor's apts hours later. Also, you may be killing the mommies and daddies but not dealing with the tens of thousands of eggs they lay that will hatch later. There used to be a ddt compound that was widely available for la cookaracha, but since about 2003 or 2004 (supposedly) the use of ddt has been outlawed for general purposes.

So, first of consider the system - your upstairs, downstairs and next door neighbors. Seal holes in walls, and add weatherstripping. That might help a little. I have never had a really serious problem with roaches (I am sure this is relative) but what I used was cleaning ammonia, and kept applying it repeated every other day for almost 2 weeks. The problem disappeared. You have to be careful using ammonia or you, too, will disappear. Spray the inside of cabinets, the outside of cabinets, along the floor, corners, washing the floor with it, clean counters with it, etc.

Needless to say, you have to clean your house up and seal all of the food you have. Put it in plastic bags or plastic food boxes, i.e. Tupperware, etc. If you want to find nasty chemicals to kill roaches you may want to try some of the small hardware stores in the suburbs or countryside.

[anonymoose]

The other thing you can try is spraying all the floor areas and cupboards with mosquito killer spray. It works on all insects and is quite effective. I've not tried it myself, but it should work unless, as the previous poster said, they are also coming in from outside.

[querido]

When I moved into our new house it had no problem inside, but there was very bad waterbug (large roach) activity in the garage at night. This included crawling through cracks under the sheetrock into the walls of the house, and up into the attic opening. Gross and terrifying. It's terrifying because you fear you won't be able to get rid of them and they'll take over, right?

I used a product that had worked for me before: Combat "Source Kill" (not "Quick Kill"). It's a bait that they eat that doesn't kill them immediately. They go back to the nest, etc., die, and then (get this) they are eaten by the other bugs, passing along the poison. My results after about two weeks, now two years later: total annihilation.

Because my bugs were big, I had to cut open the bottom of the baits with a serrated paring knife to remove the pellet of poison. Being able to see the pellet is also important because *they eat it*; it goes away, and you need to see that so you can replace it immediately (once they know where it is you want to keep them fed with it). It was unbelievable to me how much they ate (somewhere around 8 pellets per day at first). I put multiple baits out all over the garage, wherever I thought their openings were, and I replaced them as often as necessary- at first every day. Over about two weeks the rate of consumption declined and went to zero. That's it.

Even if your bugs are small I would get the big baits for easier handling.

[roddy]

In places I've lived before the management company has at times arranged for an exterminator to come round to those who want it on a certain day, plus they've sprayed the communal areas. If you make a fuss and point out it's an issue with the building rather than your apartment you might get some joy.

[guanfei]

step 1) make demands

step 2) threaten to move

either she fixes it or you move. that should be your philosophy

[dumdumdum]

difficult situation. if threaten to move then the rent deposit dispute popped up again. it'll drag so long by the time landlord agrees to do something the lease is about to expire... the simplest way is you fork out the money and get a pest control company, get the job done. if the problem was from some neighbours stacking up trash instead of your own apartment, maybe you can go over with the pest control people and advise them politely. if not you can go more extreme and lodge a complaint to wadever authority in charge.

When I moved into our new house it had no problem inside, but there was very bad ..

Even if your bugs are small I would get the big baits for easier handling.

should get 2 or 3 brands and change every couple of months. roaches develop immunity pretty fast. giving them different biats screw up their resistance.

[guanfei]

thanks for the reputation points, while you lodge complaints and nothing happens, do enjoy your new neighbors.

[morpheus]

I saw someone mentioned DDT. DDT is one of the most infamous pesticides. It has been banned in the US since 1972. I would not advise using anything containing that, since it already has a bad reputation.

One of my friends recommended some gel called Combat Platinum. It's supposed to be one of those delayed poisons that the roaches bring back to their nest. It comes in a syringe. Just put it along walls where you see roaches, and it should do something. But if the problem really is from your neighbor you may have to consult your landlord or move somewhere else. I don't know if that stuff is good enough to eradicate a constant stream of roaches that migrate from other places.

[Brian US]

I just moved into a new apartment and found myself with cockroaches. I put out all the traps, but I'm more concerned about bugs coming from my neighbors. My mom lived in Chicago during college and was never able to get rid of cockroaches due to them coming from the outside. Looking at the bright side of the situation, I think this will make me a neat freak!

Seems the traps might work, because as we speak there is a dying roach in my kitchen. I'll leave him be for now hoping his friends will eat/drag him off. Does this make me sadistic?...or maybe I have to enjoy it too much.

[Brian US]

I can deal with the mice I had in the States. I HATE COCKROACHES.

[Brian US]

Going back to the OP's question, does anyone know where to get an exterminator? How much do they charge?

I've scrubbed down my entire apartment and put out about 15 traps with different brands. I let the traps work for over a week, but the problem is clearly coming from my neighbors. I just started spraying Raid, which says is good for up to 6 months. I'm getting desperate and even read about people getting geckos to hunt down stragglers.

[roddy]

Oh, get geckos! That would be cool, and will likely deal with mosquitoes too.

I think you need to be looking for a 灭虫 / 灭蟑螂 公司 or 服务。 Might also be worth looking at ways of repelling them, rather than just killing them as they're obviously not originating there. Some ideas here, not sure if they actually work.

Edit. Found you a company. I want follow-up.

[gougou]

Might also be worth looking at ways of repelling them

I suppose you mean the neighbors? Combat the problem at its source!

I used to have two geckos in my hutong abode (haven't seem them in a while though) - never had any problem with cockroaches!

[Brian US]

Just called the exterminating company Roddy suggested. From what I understand a single service is 200 kuai or I can pay 500 kuai for a total package including follow up services. I think that package is for 6 months. I was concerned if I would need to crash at another place while they sprayed, but the guy said not to worry (I'm not going to stay). They said the home visit would last about half an hour.

Appears to be a legit company, so do you think it's a fair price? I'm opting for the 500 kuai package.

Edit: How long do you think I should stay out of my apartment? I've read that sprays normally dry completely in a few hours, so wouldn't one night with the windows open be sufficient?

[Brian US]

So had the exterminator come today. Started injecting some food poison in all the drawer/cupboard joints. He told me not to bother with the dry poison traps I put out, because it's too hard for them to eat. He then sprayed in all the cracks and along every wall. Told me it was safe and I think I can wash my floors up to 20 times with it still being protected.

200 kuai for one time service. 500 kuai for a year service up to four visits. I decided to go for the year service and will update if I see any in the next few weeks.

[Brian US]

Little update that I have yet to see a cockroach since the service was done. Didn't really have many to begin with, so I'm curious as how well it would work with an infestation.

[yagedk]

Hey Brian, saw your post about the exterminator. Do you have a number of the company you used? Thanks a lot in advance.

[Brian US]

I used the company Roddy suggested:

http://www.bjs008.com/fwlc.html

I paid 500 kuai for up to four visits a year, so you can do every three months. I only had them spray that one time six months ago, but there have been NO traces of bugs since. I'll be sure to have them come again in time for summer. They do a great job and a must for anyone in an infested building.