1)
I hate roaches, and with the weather improving, they seem to be happier and happier to make appearances in my apartment. Problem is, while I once only saw them in my kitchen (thanks to living in the city and having had a really foul man living in my apartment before I moved in), now they seem to have made it into my front room and bathrooom. Argh....

2) To Lis
Are you still in Philly? That happens to be where I live, and I am also from Albuquerque, NM. Always random and fun to find someone around here who knows New Mexico. BTW, I know what you mean about NM roaches... Blech. Fortunately (or not)they don't bother me nearly as much as Philly roaches!

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Originally posted by breana:
I won't even go into wear I found a tick this morning.

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Eeek! Eeek! Eeek!

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Originally posted by FunPun:
Eeek! Eeek! Eeek!

Finding a tick anywhere on my person is one of my worst fears. *shudder-shudder-shudder*

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We've had an exterminator in TWICE. Still, they keep coming back.

Open toed shoes have become a no-no for me. We have roach motels in spots around the way, but they're not doing anything.

We got our own exterminator, and he said they're German cockroaches. His advice was to use boric acid to interrupt their reproductive system, and to use plenty of traps to kill as many as possible, but not to use Raid, etc. They're dying, but they are still not gone.

Jezabel, if you're in a block, all your neighbours should treat for cockroaches too, otherwise they will keep coming back.

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Originally posted by Jinxie:
I have some advice of my own, for digsters plagued with pantry pests--it's paranoid and a little extreme, but it works--keep all rices, flours, grains, sugars etc. in the fridge. It's a trick I learned from my mom, who lives in the Deep South--I have yet to meet the bug that can open a refridgerator [and if they exist, I don't want to know].

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Right there with you, girl. We eat a lot of beans and rice and grains, and we keep it all in the freezer. I have airtight canisters that I keep small amounts in on the counter or in the pantry, but the bulk of it stays in the freezer where little insects can't survive. By the way, sometimes bugs lay eggs in grains in the field where it grows, and sometimes it happens in the grocery store, so there's really not much you can do about it, except freeze everything for a day or two when you get it and forget about the fact that you may be munching on little freeze-dried insect eggs.

And now for my half-anecdote, half-advice: in roach-infested apartments, store your Tupperware closed! Maybe it won't work based on space constraints, but I will always always keep my Tupperware stored intact (as opposed to lids here, containers there) after finding little dead roaches inside one day when I was packing lunch. UGH. As far as I know, that's the worst thing about roaches-- that they spread diseases-- so you definitely don't want them touching your eating surfaces.

Edited to add: A note to the moderators-- Can we rename this thread "Ask Breana" ??

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Originally posted by Sonya:
By the way, sometimes bugs lay eggs in grains in the field where it grows, and sometimes it happens in the grocery store, so there's really not much you can do about it, except freeze everything for a day or two when you get it and forget about the fact that you may be munching on little freeze-dried insect eggs.

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Originally posted by Nieci:
ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

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I was really worried about the rose bush afterwards - but was more concerned with getting rid of the ants.

I have to admit to having not read all of the above thread - desperate for a detailed and comprehensive hand with weevils! We have had a lot of house renovation done this summer and so all our rooms are empty or full of packing boxes (loft included) and we are exhausted and feeling it will never end. The long and short of it is from necessity we have often eaten upstairs and have rarely checked the pantry so I need a few facts having found weevils all over the pantry a week ago.

Ok they were from a box of red rice I think but I am unclear if they are rice weevil or grain. We have not seen them fly, but they seem attracted to the window. They appear brown/black. We have thrown all but cans and jars out but still keep on finding them (the garbage has been removed).

Is it true they can eat books and boxes? How on earth do I get rid of them if this is true as there are boxes everywhere including a jam-packed loft? Should I spray anything? What? Could they be living in the cavity walls? Like I have nothing else to do!!

My little boy had sickness etc the next day -could this be why? He still seems pale and is going to the toilet frequently.

No sign of anything yet; and the apt. was probably empty a month before I moved in so surely would've seen something by now if they were a problem, right??

ETA: There it went again and I couldn't find the thing I was going to use to uh...rid my apartment of it just squealed again and commaned it "die die die die"...it did not listen very well and scurred under my heater....HELP, make it go away, or I'm never getting off this chair and I will just be rolling around my apartment....

http://www.upcrc.com/guides/houseid/hcentipd.htm