*thinks of first NY apartment and mocks you* *(affectionately)*
(1) Pour bleach down all the drains.
(2) Spray the areas likely to host bugs that it's safe to spray, any place dark and damp -- under the sink (drainpipes only!), near windows, near garbage cans, door sill of apartment.
(3) Get those black bug traps, put them in the likely (dark, damp) areas, and replace them regularly. They really do help.
Right now -- end of summer -- is the worst season for bugs; they'll die off in fall and winter.
Also, you might check with your building's super/management and find out about the exterminator schedule. It's normal for large buildings to have an ongoing insect-control program, and if yours does, they might want to send somebody in immediately to make sure that the problem is contained immediately, rather than wait until the next scheduled sweep. Or if not, they might be able to reassure you that the exterminator will be there anyway next Thursday.
I never had cockroaches in New York when I had cats. But that's an awfully drastic potential solution.
Cats would be an excellent solution to the problem, if only they were allowed. I've wanted to gets cats for years, but my brother's allergic (not as in sniffles and hives, but as in the way we found out he was allergic was when he was rushed to the hospital after having stopped breathing) and all the other places I've lived didn't allow pets.
Thank you! I'd reacted by putting as much stuff into the refrigerator as would fit and then attacking all surfaces with soap and water, but I suspect your advice is a bit more logical.
Yeah, that whole not-eating plan didn't actually last for long. Turns out that even terrible bugs in the kitchen do not supress the need to eat for long!
Yarrgh. Thanks. It kept me off coffee for a good long while, up until I got so tired of the damn things I just poured my morning cup through a sieve to be certain. Caffeine was a must, back then.
There was at least an appropriately surreal exchange to come out of it, though, between myself and my mother.
"We-ll, since cockroaches are related to crustaceans, and shrimp are really just big water-bugs, I think they'd technically be edible."
Hee! Actually, I bet you could find a coffee-and-shrimp meal somewhere. It sounds like one of those weird gourmet foods that seem really gross, until you try a bite and it turns out to be awesome.
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2006-09-01 08:10 pm (UTC)(1) Pour bleach down all the drains.
(2) Spray the areas likely to host bugs that it's safe to spray, any place dark and damp -- under the sink (drainpipes only!), near windows, near garbage cans, door sill of apartment.
(3) Get those black bug traps, put them in the likely (dark, damp) areas, and replace them regularly. They really do help.
Right now -- end of summer -- is the worst season for bugs; they'll die off in fall and winter.
no subject
Date: 2006-09-01 10:17 pm (UTC)I never had cockroaches in New York when I had cats. But that's an awfully drastic potential solution.
no subject
Date: 2006-09-02 10:49 pm (UTC)Cats would be an excellent solution to the problem, if only they were allowed. I've wanted to gets cats for years, but my brother's allergic (not as in sniffles and hives, but as in the way we found out he was allergic was when he was rushed to the hospital after having stopped breathing) and all the other places I've lived didn't allow pets.
no subject
Date: 2006-09-02 10:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-01 08:36 pm (UTC)@~>~~
no subject
Date: 2006-09-02 10:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-02 10:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-01 11:49 pm (UTC)And yeah, all the advice that's gone before is good, we mostly just haven't bothered because we're only here for another three months.
no subject
Date: 2006-09-02 10:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-02 12:58 am (UTC)I have mice, but no roaches, thank goodness.
Good luck...
no subject
Date: 2006-09-02 10:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-02 03:07 am (UTC)WELCOME TO NOO YAWK
no subject
Date: 2006-09-02 10:26 pm (UTC)Here, have a gross-out masquerading as reassurance
Date: 2006-09-02 04:27 am (UTC)It happened. I was lucky I was drinking it black, else it would have been slightly more disastrous. *wince*
Re: Here, have a gross-out masquerading as reassurance
Date: 2006-09-02 10:36 pm (UTC)I feel so bad for you. I think I'd be scarred for life.
Re: Here, have a gross-out masquerading as reassurance
Date: 2006-09-03 10:51 pm (UTC)There was at least an appropriately surreal exchange to come out of it, though, between myself and my mother.
"We-ll, since cockroaches are related to crustaceans, and shrimp are really just big water-bugs, I think they'd technically be edible."
"But who the hell puts shrimp in their coffee?!"
Re: Here, have a gross-out masquerading as reassurance
Date: 2006-09-04 12:49 am (UTC)...as long as it contains no cockroaches.