alexseanchai | (no subject)

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...suggestions for how to de-crawlybug the kitchen with prejudice, without risking Thea?

ETA 4/21 11:15p:

Things I did today:

* load and run dishwasher
* wash many dish
* sanitize sink
* sanitize counter to right of sink
* scrub gunk off stove burners
* soak stove under-burner drip-catcher things
* wipe off and sanitize stove top and oven front
* empty and sweep out cabinet under sink
* sanitize inside of cabinet under sink
* sweep kitchen floor
* take out trash and recycles
* email apartment complex property manager office to say, hey, can maintenance come caulk up the kitchen (see photos of where needed), 'cause we're trying to deal with a bug problem and those cracks are probably not helping

Things I did not do today but need to:

* empty, sweep out if necessary, and sanitize inside of cabinet next to sink
* empty, sweep out if necessary, and sanitize cabinet between stove and fridge
* empty, sweep out if necessary, and sanitize the three drawers above those two cabinets
* sanitize dishwasher front
* sanitize fridge front
* sanitize kitchen floor

Not the world's clearest photos, sorry. Obtained after sister-roommate said I'd better come to the kitchen have a look, and, when I was slow off the mark, told me she was looking at a fuckton of the little fuckers (I'm paraphrasing). Guess I pissed them off cleaning...

She's saying call an exterminator and, you know, that's probably a good idea. Hopefully, however, it is the apartment complex's responsibility to both call and pay for the exterminator!

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I should probably bail on both my Saturday plans in order to deep-clean the kitchen?

...dunwanna. :(

depends on the type of crawly, I suspect.

For example, cockroaches, there are two tricks -- find where they are nesting, and make sure that there is no water anywhere, ever, for them to drink from. Ants you have to put some kind of powder down (talc?) where their trails are.

Well, they're not ants.

Thanks

updated post with blurry photos etc

I agree with comments below about roaches, and dealing with them.

My most successful solution with roaches has always been to work out what they live in, and deal with that. They like microwave casings and the backs of fridges. So checking those and specifically treating around them first if you are conserving spoons can be a high payoff option, after doing the no water and no food aspects.

Noted, thanks. I doubt the microwave is part of the problem, as it's parked on plastic shelving and the roaches don't have a whole lot of hidey space, but the fridge—possibly.

Not in the microwave is a Good Thing -- I've lost two microwaves to not realising we had a cockroach infestation in time, and having them short out the wiring (both in houses were there was an eternal cockroach problem, one because it was in a suburb that was particularly prone to them)

What kind of crawlybugs?

Diatomaceous earth is mostly bad for bugs (including ants, roaches, and fleas), and reasonably safe for cats and people, but personally I haaaaate the feel of it on my skin.

Seconding the diatomaceous earth, we use it to keep ants out of the ferals' food bowl, put a small sort of a moat around anything we set down with food using a pie tin and the ants stay out of it.

idk possibly a flavor of roach?

Thanks

updated post with blurry photos etc

Bugs like roaches?

Okay. DON'T PANIC.

Step one: Yes, clean the kitchen. In particular, get under/behind the fridge and toaster, and TV and cable box if those are in the kitchen, and by the stove. Anywhere specially warm. Also, the garbage can. Wash everything down to get rid of the bugs' trails. While you're cleaning, make note of any cracks or crevices where critters can hide and travel.

Step two: ALL FOOD goes into secure containers. This means jars. Nothing stays in boxes. Dry cat food can be mixed with a small amount of food grade diatomaceous earth. This is safe for cats to eat, and will even kill parasitic worms! (Wear gloves and a mask whenever handling DE, and do not allow Thea to be in the room while you're doing this.) Her wet food should be put out at mealtimes and put away when she's done. All dishes get washed and wiped dry as soon as you eat, and the counters wiped and dried. Any leaky pipes need to be fixed, immediately. The only water source should be the toilet (closed lid!) and Thea's bowl.

Step three: Clean the rest of your house. It needs to be tidy, with no food anywhere. No piles of papers or laundry either! Again, keep an eye out for hiding spots.

Step four: Go outside, clear all brush and leaves away from the house. There should be several inches between your walls and the next thing. If you have bags of leaves to go out, or gardening equipment leaned against the wall - move it.

Step five: The best pesticide is bait. Go to google, find several different baits considered effective against your particular pest, and purchase them. Pests will stop eating a bait after a while, so you'll want to get several. When you deploy the bait, put it someplace the bugs are interested but your cat cannot easily reach - again, places like behind the fridge, inside drawers, under the stove. If you've seen a hotspot, be sure to bait there.

Step five, continued: Also pick up a serious amount of Gentrol. Gentrol isn't a pesticide, it's a growth inhibitor. It doesn't kill the bugs, but it keeps them from reproducing. This is crucial for the success of any pest control operation. Spray that stuff liberally anywhere you've seen bugs or think they might be attracted to. Thea should not be in the room while you spray, but it's safe once it's dried. That stuff is good for about a month between applications.

Step six: You can put out a layer of DE anywhere you don't want to bother rebaiting frequently - the tops of shelves, under furniture - or on hot spot surfaces like the kitchen counter and table or by baseboards (in which case you'd apply it at night, then wipe it off in the morning). Get a DE applicator - if you sprinkle too thickly they avoid it. The success of your DE can be increased by mixing it on a 1:2 or 1:3 ratio with an attractant such as flour or powdered sugar.

Step seven: Go and caulk up all identified cracks in the walls.

IMPORTANT RULE: NEVER use a spray like Raid where you've baited. Those sprays drive bugs away from the bait and spread your infestation. (Gentrol doesn't do this. They'll stand there as you spray them, and won't scatter even a little.)

Edited 2018-04-21 08:36 (UTC)

Four through seven are not my problem THANK FUCK. (Second floor of apartment complex.)

To the cleaning! (Joy.)

Thank you!

Apartment? Be sure to spray the Gentrol all around ALL baseboards and ALL doorjambs/windowsills, then.

updated post with blurry photos etc

Here via network:

If you cannot readily get your hands on DE or are not allowed by your lease to caulk, I've found a 1:1 mix of baking soda and salt is a good thing to pack in the crack between the baseboard and the floor, any cracks suchlike (between counter and wall, under cabinets), and to spread under things that don't move often, like the microwave (if you have a countertop one). Microabrasive and dessicant, it does basically the same thing as DE, but I wouldn't recommend mixing it in Thea's food.

that sounds very practical thank you!

Honestly, the steps above are the best advice, particularly the don't panic. Also, this is not a moral failing on your part, especially living in an apartment complex. Let your leasing office/management know, they may want to do a pro treatment thing, IDK.

Living in the South, we are continually having to deal with the little blighters, so keeping as clean a kitchen as possible is a big help. Cardboard boxes need to go out regularly - we actually store things like cereal and open pasta boxes in our fridge because they WILL go after cardboard as readily as they do food. They also have a thing for plastic bags, so keep an eye out there if you're still getting bags from shops.

We use the baits Vendetta and Advion in combination and they wiped out what was a pretty bad infestation (this house was previously occupied by a serious hoarder) without putting our cats at risk. Vendetta is on the pricey side for baits, but you put it out once and then not again for 4-6 months, whereas Advion is a once a month bait that's more for maintenance. We apply beads of the baits inside kitchen cupboards, along the back of sinks (kitchen and bathroom), in cracks around the tub, behind appliances (fridge, stove, microwave), in the pantry, and around doors and windows. Your best spots are going to be places Thea can't reach anyway - under counters and in cracks - but keep an eye for that as you're going along.

This is probably going to be something of an ongoing issue for awhile. Unless the whole building is bombed at the same time, they will just move around from unit to unit. You can be doing everything right and still get some invaders if another unit or even a neighboring building has an infestation, so again, don't panic and don't loose heart.

♥

I emailed the property manager's office to say can maintenance come caulk the kitchen, here's photos, 'cause I think that's part of the bug problem. so as soon as whatshisface gets in on Monday, he'll know.

thank you :)

pics are awfully blurry to be sure, but they do look like one of the two most common roach species (we, lucky us, get both down here). And yes, cleaning will get them riled and going all the places.

blugh. okay. thanks.

Yeah, roaches, but not the worst roaches possible. Dunno what you get there, but at least you don't get palmetto bugs (2" long FLYING roaches that they get in Florida) or Mexican hissing cockroaches or something.

You're quite right it's the apartment complex's job to call an exterminator.

—ugh don't let me think about maybe worse. Last night's dinner was 2/3 a roll of veggie Ritz and some veggie cream cheese spread (scooped directly out of the container with the crackers), because the spread container was tightly sealed and I opened the Ritz roll fresh so I knew the roaches hadn't been crawling on my food. That was very important last night. (Why, I'm not sure, because last night is not the first time I spotted the damn things in the silverware drawer.)

augh

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