If you see cockroaches during the day, the infestation is bad (Sample Newsletter Article)

A number of affordable housing providers and pest control firms have told me that they think cockroaches are on the rise. One theory is that we’ve turned our focus (including our budgets) from general pest control to bed bugs. Another is that the industry is still learning how to best use the minimum risk (25b) pesticides (sometimes referred to as “botanical”). There are many more. Whatever the reason, we can’t let cockroaches come back. And if a property has cockroach infestations—get rid of them.

No one in America should live or work in a high-level cockroach infestation. This post will tell you why cockroaches are bad and how to get rid of them.

Why are cockroaches bad?

They trigger asthma. In fact, they are the primary contributor to childhood asthma in inner-city homes.

Next time you see a little red cocktail stirrer/straw, pick it up and try to breathe through it for 15 seconds. That’s what it feels like to have an asthma attack. It's scary for both the child and his or her caretaker. In addition, asthma attacks caused missed school, missed work, and medical expenses. 

These side-effects were enough for the Asthma Regional Council to publish a business case for pest control in effective asthma management. Read it here: http://asthmaregionalcouncil.org/uploads/IPM/IPM_FINAL_2009.pdf

The facts are out there:

• Watch this news report on a HUD-funded study being done by Dr. John Carlson “On Call: Roach Asthma Study” http://www.wdsu.com/r-video/29443651/detail.html
• “Cockroach allergy is a problem among people who live in inner-cities or in the South and are of low socioeconomic status. In one study of inner-city children, 37 percent were allergic to cockroaches, 35 percent to dust mites, and 23 percent to cats. Those who were allergic to cockroaches and were exposed to the insects were hospitalized for asthma 3.3 times more often than other children. This was true even when compared with those who were allergic to dust mites or cats.” From the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America www.aafa.org/display.cfm?id=9&sub=22&cont=312
• “…data confirm that cockroach allergen is the primary contributor to childhood asthma in inner-city home environments,” said [National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences] Director Kenneth Olden, Ph.D. “However, general cleaning practices, proven extermination techniques and consistent maintenance methods can bring these allergen levels under control.” From NIH, www.nih.gov/news/pr/mar2005/niehs-08.htm

How do you get rid of them?

It’s not rocket science, they’re cockroaches!

• Prevent them by sealing up holes in “the building envelope” and teaching people to avoid bringing them home on cardboard and furniture.
• Maintain areas so that roaches have limited access to food, water and hiding places.
• Inspect and monitor EVERY AREA in the building so that new infestations are found quickly.
• Eliminate infestation using proven IPM techniques. Foggers don’t work. Baits are better than sprays. Focus time and resources on infestations until the cockroaches are gone.

If you are paying for pest control, work with your contractor on in-house crew to control pests. Routine spraying won't get the job done.

Want more?

• Read the recent Pest Control Technology article, "Holistic Approach." 
  Preview: “PMPs need to adopt a more holistic approach to multi-family housing using wall void dusting with a non-repellent dust and a highly attractive and effective gel bait. Additionally, without the apartment owner's cooperation to reduce interior harborage using caulking and the elimination of moisture conditions, the PMP will have a difficult time getting control. The unfortunate consequences of this lack of effectiveness will be felt by the tenants of these buildings. As pest management professionals it is our job to do better.” http://www.pctonline.com/pct1111-german-cockroaches-control.aspx
• Visit the StopPests webpage on cockroaches. You’ll find answers to frequently asked questions. http://www.stoppests.org/pest-solutions/cockroaches/
• Read the FL School IPM News articles on Cockroaches:
  History and bait advice: http://schoolipm.ifas.ufl.edu/Florida/FloridaSchoolIPMNewsVolume3number1.pdf
  Tight spaces, clutter, and sanitation: http://schoolipm.ifas.ufl.edu/Florida/Florida%20School%20IPM%20News%20Volume%202%20number16.pdfThe
  The German Cockroach: http://schoolipm.ifas.ufl.edu/Florida%20School%20IPM%20News%20Volume%202%20number7.pdf

--------------------- Sample Newsletter Article ----------------------- 

 Cockroaches—let’s get ‘em
Cockroaches are the #1 contributor to childhood asthma in inner-city home. We provide pest control and maintenance services. You don’t have to live with cockroaches.

Help us help you

• Maintain your home according to the housekeeping standards in your residential lease
• Let the PMP (exterminator) in your home
• Call XXX-XXXX to report leaks and holes around pipes so we can fix them
• Call XXX-XXXX if you see a bug in your home so we can call the PMP 

A note on pesticides: The PMP’s bait works great. No need for sprays. Foggers aren't worth the risk. Have a professional apply all pesticides. Cigarette smoke, strong-smelling cleaners, or pesticide sprays can ruin the bait. And the roaches are less likely to take the bait if they have crumbs or spills to eat. Clean up—and be patient. With many baits, the cockroaches eat the bait and slowly die. But first they go back to their buddies. The friends eat them and get poisoned too.  

Comments

[אטופיק דרמטיטיס תינוקות]

I had some cockroaches in my kids room - it was disgusting, and it realy provoked allergic reactions. kill them all!

[chuck ramey]

hey me an my family live in a trailor park and we hav german roaches we all been battlin with sinus infections an bad headaches could the bugs be the problem?

[Allie]

Have a doctor check out your sinus infections and headaches, but mention the cockroaches to him/her as a possible irritant. German cockroaches have been linked with breathing problems.

It certainly won't hurt to get rid of the cockroaches. I hope the links above helped you make a game plan for how to take control.

~Allie

[Order Volmax]

Yes,cockroaches trigger asthma and breathing problems.

[alea]

My landlord keeps telling me its my responsibility to get rid of them is this true

[Allie]

Hi Alea,
It really depends on your situation (local laws and your lease). Feel free to e-mail us at stoppests@cornell.edu to discuss the specifics of your housing situation. Your local health department or a tenant advocacy group in your area may be able to help answer your questions.
~Allie

[alexandria stone]

my landlord is sueing me for moving out bc of cockroaches. I don't think I should have to pay for a place that's not technically livable. but I don't know my legal rights. and instead of taking me to court he sent them to a debt collector. and is now preventing my credit from letting me buy a house

[Allie]

Hi Alexandria,
Your case depends on a lot of factors including your local laws. I would contact a tenant advocacy group, your local cooperative extension, heath department, or a lawyer. Faith-based organizations are also usually well-networked with those who can help.
Good luck! If you have any questions about pests (like how to move and leave them behind), feel free to contact us at stoppests@cornell.edu.

[Mathew Rodrigues]

The apartment complex I live in has tons of cockroaches scattered all over the building but the manager says we have the bulk of them in out apartment. They've exterminated before and I keep clean but they just keep coming back, all day and all night they craw around everywhere. I even replaced my carpet with vinyl tiles after she told me that carpet attracts them. I see them crawling in though the balcony and front door edges at night.

Is there anything I can do to get rid of them?

[Allie]

Mr. Rodrigues,
I'm sorry to hear of your plight!
The first thing you want to do is identify the kind of cockroach you see crawling around. German, American, and Oriental cockroaches are common across the US. That will help you focus your control efforts.
If they are coming in through gaps around the door at night, get a door sweep on those doors. A sweep that goes all the way to the edges and touches the ground will keep outdoor pests outside. For more information on using door sweeps for pest control, see page 56 of the Pest Prevention by Design Guidelines (http://www.sfenvironment.org/sites/default/files/fliers/files/final_ppbd_guidelines_12-5-12.pdf).
If I can be of any more assistance, please feel free to e-mail stoppests@cornell.edu.
~Allie

[kallie davis]

we have been battling cockroaches now for 2&a half years. the house next door was infested with them bad. they had people that would come out and spray it once a week for several months. problem is the llandlord let it get to out of control before he was forced to do something about it. to make a long story short that house was foreclosed on and the tenants moved out. the roaches then came to our house. and it seems like nothing we try worked to get rid of them. it's almost as if they're amune to everything. we are on a tight budget. we can't afford professionals. our landlord is doing very little to help us with this problem. we've tried sprays, boric acid powder, traps, bate nothing is working. my husband is getting to the point where he wants to move. we've been in this house for 10 years. I love this house I don't want to move. I don't want to live with the roaches either. is there anything you can suggest that we try that we haven't already?

[Ophelia]

Someone brought over a computer to have my husband fix it & low & behold the thing was FULL of German roaches, which was not apparent until nightfall....and they were spilling out in a stream. I have now spent three days staying up all night chasing them down with a vacuum (and emptying it into a sealed bag & then bagging again, also stopping to sprinkle borax & vacuum that up in hopes it will kill/slow them down when I go to empty it & bag it). I have made baits from online suggestions using baking soda, borax, flour, peanut butter, sugar & molasses - in various combinations & put those all over the house. I have sprinkled borax along the baseboards, under the stove & fridge, etc...and of course cleaned like I have OCD. Did I mention I have children as well as a very young infant??? I stay up all night & then nap when my mom comes in the morning so that I can chase them while they are most active & easier to find. I have removed as many items from my home as I can by putting up several large camping tents in my yard (ours & borrowed ones) so that I can open up line of sight. I have baited the tents as well & placed sticky traps. I am considering bombing/fogging the items inside the tents before bringing them back in. We are only 3 days in, but every night i find less & last night I found 3 total...and I scoured for them all night. I know I have to keep up on the bating & such for a long time, but how long before I can chill out & breathe? I've never known anyone to ever have roaches as they are NOT common at all where I live. No one around here seems to know anything about them other than what I can find online. I was slated to have a yard sale this weekend & have cancelled it for fear of infesting others. UGH! I just am not sure when it will be "safe" to have the yard sale. I NEED to get that stuff gone. It was already boxed & ready for the sale. I put that all in it's own tent separate from items I think got exposed. Those boxes were nowhere near the room the bugs started in & those boxes were removed as quickly as I could - maybe 10 hrs after the computer arrived. Now I feel stuck with what to do with them. Any advice is very welcome!!!

[StopPests in Housing Program]

Hi Ophelia, Glad you found us. Sounds like you're doing all the right things. It can be really challenging but catching them early is the really the best way to get rid of cockroaches. Scouting at night is great. They tend to gather in dark places and close to other roaches. They may not have gotten very far from the where the computer is. In addition to your vacuuming and your homemade boric acid traps you can make sure there are no sources of food or water for them. Clean up food or crumbs and fix leaky pipes & faucets. Don't leave out pet food, or water. I'd also suggest a few store bought bait traps placed in dark corners in the room you found them in (out of the way of kids of course), the kitchen and bathrooms. Depending on what chemical is used the traps will kill the cockroaches within a few days or weeks. I'm suggesting the store-bought traps because the insecticides in these will spread from one cockroach to another as they eat the dead ones and their feces. Another good thing to do, if you haven't already, is to get monitors (sticky traps) & put these in dark out of the way areas (under the sink, behind the fridge etc). These monitors will tell you if there are any cockroaches still around and hopefully assure you when they are gone, that they are really gone. If I had to guess how long this would take I'd say 2-4 weeks or until you don't find any more on the monitors. Don't use sprays with baits, sprays will not take care of the ones you don't see and will keep the cockroaches away from the baits. Also, strong scented cleaning products will keep them away from bait stations. Another really important tip is to use caulk to seal up all the cracks and crevices where they could travel into the wall voids and/or another room. There's lots of places for them to hide.
As for "bombing" the items in the tent, I don't think that is necessary. Inspect and place bait traps and monitors with those items too. If there is clothing or bedding among those items, place in the dryer on high heat for 30 minutes or a lower setting for a longer time (50 min). Keep inspecting and see our page with more info on cockroaches at Stop Pests here: http://www.stoppests.org/pest-solutions/cockroaches/
~Susannah

[StopPests in Housing Program]

Kallie, I'm so sorry you have been battling cockroaches for two years. My response to you would be similar to my response to Ophelia. In your situation the problem might be using sprays and baits together won't work. Stop Pests recommends only using bait stations and sticky trap monitors (along with vacuuming, sealing up cracks and crevices and never leaving any food or water out for them). I'm certain you will be able to manage this without moving. Do you have door sweeps under your doors? could they be coming in to your home under the doors? however they are getting in should be taken care of in addition to killing the ones inside. Don't waste money on sprays, you'll only kill the ones you see. See our Stop Pests website for more information on cockroaches: http://www.stoppests.org/pest-solutions/cockroaches/
~Susannah

[Ophelia]

Oh - thank you so much for the response Susannah (lovely name BTW & one we considered strongly for our daughter). I have taken your advice & done as much as I can of it. Besides the regular commercial made traps, I have old dark wood beams in my ceilings & so I have put some of the squirt type beads along there as well as they have been spotted up there too, little buggers. I have caulked all the areas I can get to - especially in the kitchen. There are certainly more areas to seal up in various areas, but I'll get to them. I am still so determined to make sure they are gone, I am sticking with my late night hunts. My mom has agreed to come over in the mornings for 2 weeks post exposure (thanks mom!!!) and every single night I wipe down every surface, make sure all dishes are clean & food is put away in sealed containers & zip lock bags, vacuum the whole house once the kids are in bed (with touch ups all day as well). I also leave lights on wherever I can to keep them from trying to travel away from the original source (including leaving lights on in my basement & putting LOTS of bait & traps there). I have cleaned areas of my house I never imagined cleaning (like the underside of my microwave, the bottoms of doors (with a shoe shining action), anything I can think of where crumbs or sticky fingers might have ever thought of touching. As a result though - the exposure was just shy of 2 weeks ago & as of right now, I am 4 days out in not finding ANY roaches. No shed skins or egg casings or nymphs - nothing caught in my traps, nothing anywhere that I can see. I did find one dead one 3 days ago. I've made my husband pull out the refrigerator every other day & stove to check there even. I just want to make sure they don't have the time or availability to set up camp here. I have read too many horror stories of people stuck battling for ages & I am trying to avoid that. I am still paranoid there are eggs waiting to hatch of nymphs I haven't found. Once I hit 2 weeks, I will go back to sleeping more at night, plan to keep up on regular weekly checks to see if I find any evidence for a good 3 months. My plan for checks will be at least one middle of the night check with flashlights/lights turned on, to see if anything is moving around (that will be easy to do with a small baby around, since I get up anyway), also things like pulling out the fridge, keeping the food in the huge zip locks bags so they have no access, plus keeping up with strict vacuuming, dishes, wiping out sinks & then figure I can go to checking about every 6-8 weeks or so after that & I will never be caught without a few traps in key spots after this experience. I wish I had thought of it before.

Thanks for the new advice on the dryers. I have baited the tents & I only ever found one live one out there despite daily checks there too. I did find a few dead ones (yay). I decided to rent a storage unit for some of our items. I was honest & talked to them about the roaches & they told me to set up a few baits, but not worry over it, since they also treat for them regularly as well as the fact that the units get very hot (she said they hit about 130 for most of the day this time of year when kept shut)& have no water source & no food items (although I know they will eat books, glue, leather, etc - that is usually if other good things are around like water, since those items aren't juicy), so they won't last long there anyway. They were super nice about it & said people do that all the time to help them battle roaches & bed bugs, especially in the super cold winter months here, since that also works very well of course. Who knew?

[kim]

Hey,

about three years ago I borrowed a projector from a family member. What they failed to tell me was that they had a bug problem so when I took the projector from its packaging and sat it down on the table to get the cables we needed we came back to a bunch of bugs all over my table. We squished them promptly and for a long time we didn't see any. 6 mths later we saw them again under the sink. We sprayed the hell outta em and checked the cuboards and such and didn't see anymore so we figured they where gone for good. Haha. Well needless to say I was very very wrong, I woke up one night and went to get me a glass of water and I swear to you they were everywhere!!! Just all over the floor! my fruit basket, everything. Needless to say I freaked out. and had my land lord come in and he had the place sprayed. We saw a steady decrease for a while then when summer hit and they mowed down the vacant lot across the way they came back with a vengeance. I mean they are soo bad that they are out during the day time!! I mean all over my walls in the corners and cub boards, and closets. I don't know what to do. I spray them when I see them in mass, we have bait traps out but they dont seem to help. I want to move out as I have noticed my health is getting worse, but I can't afford too. I have the pest guy coming to spray on Monday again how long do you think it will take before I can get this really horrific infestation under control?? Will the pest control guy be able to get rid of most of them?? All of them?? What kind of results should I hope for??

[Denise]

I've been in my apartment almost 2 months saw roaches in kitchen the day we moved in. Exterminator came and said i only needed 1 treatment which i know we needed more than 1. Have sent 2 more notices and nothing i currently still have my dishes, pots, pans,snacks, spices everything that belongs in a kitchen are in plastic bins. The reason I've had roaches before and they get on everything. I currently have a boric acid mix killed about 15 2 nights ago and killed 10 last night and they were all near the boric acid. My question is what else can i do my cabinets are empty and i know they are coming from my down stair neighbors they have papers everywhere recycled everywhere just a,mess inside and outside their apartment i need help! Can i use clorox to clean my apartment or is that too strong & i have bowls of water with soap and find maybe 2 in atleast a bowl every night for about a week. Please help what else can i do?

[Susannah Reese, StopPests in Housing]

Denise, There are some things you can do in addition to what you are already doing. First I'd get some caulk or sealant and seal up or have maintenance staff seal up any passage, crack or crevice they could use to travel from your neighbor's apartment to yours. Common spots are around the pipes under your sink. Also they could arrive under your door. Do you have door sweeps or a gap under your outside door?
In addition to your vacuuming and your boric acid traps you can make sure there are no sources of food or water for them. Clean up food or crumbs and fix leaky pipes & faucets. Don't leave out pet food, or water (although the soapy water is not a bad idea!). I'd also suggest a few store bought bait traps or gel bait placed in dark corners in the room where you found them (out of the way of kids of course), the kitchen and bathrooms. The traps will kill the cockroaches within a few days or weeks. I'm suggesting the store-bought traps because the insecticides in these will spread from one cockroach to another as they eat the dead ones and their feces. Another good thing to do, if you haven't already, is to get monitors (sticky traps) & put these in dark out of the way areas (under the sink, behind the fridge etc). These monitors will tell you if there are any cockroaches still around and hopefully assure you when they are gone, that they are really gone. If I had to guess how long this would take I'd say 2-4 weeks or until you don't find any more on the monitors. Don't use insecticide sprays or strongly scented cleaners with baits, sprays only take care of the ones you see and will keep the cockroaches away from the baits. Also, strong scented cleaning products will keep them away from bait stations. Good Luck

[Adriab]

So me and my wife have been renting a room at this big house, we live on the third story. We recently started see cockroaches come out of nowhere. The first night we saw four of them through out a couple of hours at night, we freaked and picked everything up and rearranged everything to see if maybe we could find out where they were coming from. Nothing. We go to Walmart and buy Raid plus those pellets. The second night again we are just minding our own business and we see them on the floor over 3 hour time. We both panic so we decide to talk to the landlord and move into the vacant room next to us. Third night, we don't notice anything unusual and sleep soundly. Now tonight we were sleepy by great when I get up to get some water and I see like 4 of them on the carpet walking around... Where are they coming from? Do we have an infestations? It's gotten so bad we are thinking of moving out, and FYI no one else in the house is having these issues and we are the only ones on the third floor. We have a Farley clean room, lately it has been raining, the land lord recently has had contractors installing solar panels on roof, this house is less than six months old, and our old room was directly under the attac entrance on the ceiling, oh and ee don't use the air ducts for air conditionijg or heating. Thanks in advance. Adrian

[Talia]

I hope you still check these comments I need help. I do not have roaches but my boyfriend does...he failed to tell me that before I agreed to stay here for two weeks so granted I have a few bags and they will be coming home with me. Obviously I'll spray the bags outside before I bring them back into my house but I need to know what kind of spray is best? What are the other precautions? I DONT WANT THEM IN MY HOME. (Granted they aren't his problem we know they are coming from his neighbors who REEKS that roach smell but god only knows how bad they are up there with how bad they are here)

[Dennise Belmaker, StopPests in Housing]

Adrian, It sounds like you were dealing with a small infestation, but hopefully not one that would require you to move out (especially since you mentioned no else in the house was dealing with roaches). Have you been able to get rid of your roaches? We sure hope so — let us know!
If that’s not the case, and you’re still struggling, please take a look at our last couple responses (by Susannah Reese, StopPests in Housing). These have various solutions and suggestions that are relevant to your problem. Also, you can always check the StopPests website http://www.stoppests.org and this blog for updated information, new technologies/solutions, and more.

[Dennise Belmaker, StopPests in Housing]

Talia, This reply is probably late in terms of timing, after you've moved back to your place, but I am glad you found us and shared your questions. I would like to caution you (and others) against the use of pesticide sprays on your clothes, or anything that will come in contact with your skin, eyes and mouth for that matter — you would not want any poisonous substances (even residues of) in the clothes you wear, right?
For a situation like you described, I would mainly suggest inspecting and vacuuming well all of your belongings before they're packed. Clothes and other washable items can also be washed and dried on high heat for extra precaution. But remember, never leave a vacuum that has been used for cockroach
control unattended without properly disposing of the bag, because cockroaches will quickly escape! Check out this video for a simple trick to vacuum up pests with a regular vacuum and a pantyhose: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XLe91JTOBw

[eriau daniel]

Eriau Daniel.i want to know some of the pesticide spray use to control cockroach which are not harmful to the body,mostly some have side effects that's why people in rural areas fear always to adopt this techniques and if possible the have to ensure some senstization of communities

[Patricia Malachowski]

Yes I've been living in the home for 11 months and there has been cockroaches since day one. My landlord didn't have any one come out until March of 2016 when arrived man asked us to pack up whole house and deep clean because roaches feed off there own feces. Did all that company came back out for next month and never again. Housis still infested horrible in fridge in my kids and I beds at night while we sleep and smells so bad. Well we our one month actually two weeks to our lease is up and I hit a hard time and I've been paying 1100.00 a month in rent and he is evicting me after I have delt with this nasty infestation and all my stuff and furniture is also infested and needs to be trashed because if not
I will carry them with me. Can I sue him for losing all my furniture?

[Susannah Reese]

Patricia, I'm so sorry to hear of your housing challenges. I can't give you legal advice but I can give you pest control advice. Cleaning up is in fact great advice. If you have a vacuum and can find out where the cockroaches hide during the day, you can knock out quite a few. If theyare coming from neighboring apartments, it's tricky. all the cracks and crevices where they could come in would have to be caulked and sealed. The best cockroach control measures are sticky monitors, baits, and vacuums. Cockroaches do eat eachother's feces and that's how the poison in the baits can kill 30 cockroaches for every ONE cockroach who eats it. As for your furniture, try vacuuming it as much as possible. Use a blow dryer on high to flush them out of their hiding spots. Feel free to email stoppests@cornell.edu if you would like to discuss further.
~Susannah