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Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Pest Control Rant

I emailed Steve to tell him that I had seen a cockroach and ask if could we call an exterminator. His reply was equal parts gross and weird.

Dana,

        What I do is put out Combat Roach Baits in all the rooms, especially under the kitchen sink, behind the refrigerator, on the shelves of the kitchen cabinets, in the closets, behind the stove and washing machine and dryer, and so on.  I put out about 2 dozen baits, and replace them every 2 or 3 months.
        Also, I put out Rat Baits in the laundry room, and in the garage.  A few months ago, at night, I saw a rat, lying on its side, twitching in its death throes, in the laundry room.  I had already showered, so I just went to bed, in the hope that since it was dying, it would not be able to attack me in my sleep.  It was kind of creepy, though, the thought of the rat chewing on my face, like the rats attacking Winston Smith, in George Orwell's book, "Nineteen Eighty
Four."  In the morning the rat was dead, and I disposed of its corpse.
        Since you have a cat, you may not want to put out Rat Baits.  I would be  worried that a cat might be tempted to eat such a bait.  And anyway, the cat will presumably go after the rats and mice, and so the rat poison would not be needed.
        My understanding is that even if you kill a roach, if it is carrying eggs, the eggs will still hatch, producing a new generation of them, which is one reason roaches are so hard to get rid of.  But even if you could kill all the roaches in the house, there are many more in the yard, and the surrounding neighborhood, and they would just migrate into the vacant (of other roaches) house.
        In the neighborhood are, from time to time, raccoons, possums, squirrels, rats, mice, gophers, crows, mocking birds, juncos, humming birds, and many other types of birds, wasps, bees, spiders, ants, worms, etc.  It's a real ecosystem.
        So, exterminating the roaches is not a realistic goal.  Controlling them by using roach baits is the best that can be hoped for.  Also, of course, leaving food out will attract roaches in large numbers.  It's best to keep all food in the refrigerator, or in closed containers.  Also, I tie up the plastic kitchen garbage bag, every night, before I go to bed, to discourage the roaches.  I hope this information has been helpful.

Steve