Thanks Suess, Have dug out the euc and will be giving the kitchen and office a good dose tonight. Also found two sticky strips so will put them out too. Also sprinkled more borax behind the oven and fridges...can't see if its still there, so a bit more won't hurt if it is. The Choice thing was good - if I do end up that desperate I end up reaching for a pesticide, I would much rather just do it once, and see it solve the problem. If that article is reliable, it should at least save on any useless experimentation. P.S. that big scuttly roach on the link, just about made me jump out of my skin!
Dan the Man, I like that baldcat is back! I just wanted to welcomd him, personally. I lived in a five floor walk up in Hells Kitchen in NY for a time, and they had roaches, lots of big roaches. With switchblades (okay, they didn't have switchblaeds). The apartment had a powerful roachy fecal smell when I moved in, which took months to get rid of, and because the neighbors were slobs (crackhouse on the second floor, too), the roaches would just come back through the floor, walls, everywhere. Dizguzting! I wouldn't turn the light on to walk to the kitchen cuz I didn't want to see them, but the occasional crunch under foot was a poignant reminder of their presence... Widgeenut, your description, BTW of the roaches in Manila sounds wonderful. I imagine it will be wonderful cocktail party fodder when you are, well, anywhere BUT Manila :lol: . In your reounting, be sure to add fear of rabies, just to give pause in the conversation.... :twisted: A sure conversation ender/starter... C [/i]
RF: "was told DE is used to seal dams... wondered if it could be used in a tank. Is it actually a poison or is it a coagulant that stuffs up the cockies?" Is that right? Or could you be thinking of Bentonite, a special kind of clay that swells up into a sort of gel, and seals leaks in dams and ponds? I've been using DE, and don't see any kind of property like that when it gets wet. It just sits there in a white glob like wet talcum powder. Sue
Gawd Sue - I have no idea what it is! :lol: When I asked the lady at the nursery, she said they used it to seal dams...rolled it into the surface before filling or something..wasn't really listening, as I don't need to seal a dam, and was sidetracked choosing plants. ...Certainly didn't imagine it being white! Just want to know where I can get some, as in where I go to buy it? Do have some good news though...drenched the place in eucalyptus and by jiggedy...THEY TOOK OFF! Some even did the legs in the air trick!!!!Not all of them mind you...still see some lurking, but the place smells like Christmas, or maybe a dentists or something...and it definately has helped. All the borax crevices are now mushy with euc, and I'm thinking I may be on a winner. Also was amazed by what a great wall cleaner it is...and fridge cleaner...and degreaser (behind the stove). Very impressed. Thanks Suess - have already told my mate at the hospital that I want some more!
It is used a lot in swimming pool filtration systems so most hardware, or kmart type dept stores would have it. the diatomaceous earth that is. as Christopher pointed out, diatomaceous earth is fossilised organisms that are so sharp they cut the exoskeletons of insects and so on.
I'm glad the eucalyptus has had some impact, and yes, it is an excellent cleaning aid, too Another trick I have used inthe past is plastic containers with port or another sweet red wine in them. The cockies are attracted to it, and then drown (presumably after they have gotten hammered! :lol: ). It seems to be more effective with the big guys, though, so might not help.
As I understand it there are different types or grades of DE. SOme are actually quite dangerous if breathed in. I don't think you would want these in your house. The one used in pool filters would fit into this category I think???
That's right, Veggie Boy. The "industrial" kinds of DE used for pool filters and has other "stuff" mixed in. I've read where it is toxic to use on pets, so you would need to use food grade DE on them (even if you're just using it on their coats for fleas). OTOH, for cockroaches.... if you have access to cheap pool filter DE, why not? Unless your pet eats the dead ones, which seems unlikely, as my cats would never, EVER touch one of those huge (3"/8cm) flying things we had in Las Vegas. Related funny story: when my Mom was living in Vegas and I was in CA, I mentioned in a letter that my coworkers didn't believe that cockroaches got that big. A few weeks later, she sent me a package of miscellaneous stuff (bargains from her dept store job). One was a smallish white gift box like a chunky bracelet would come in. My coworkers were crowded around when I opened the box (Mom sent it to work for safety), commenting on the stuff. The white box just had "for your coworkers" written on the top. When I opened it, there was a large (dead) roach laying on cotton. I thought only in cartoons did people make a mass move like that! Darn near emptied the room! :lol: Sue
Just bumping this back up the top to let folks know... That Eucalyptus Oil is definately the go!! ...on those german cockroaches anyway. Absolutely Fantastic. Suess you are a genius and I (and my environment) is very very grateful. Thankyou so much, and here's to a roach free and very Merry Christmas.
Well, don't know about genius... :lol: ...but certainly wise in the way of the roach. Glad to hear that the problem is under control.
Copying this from the Permaculture oceania list thingy ; I had a treatment done on a house in Sydney years ( 19 84) ago by no chemical use entimologists who turned pest erradicators. They sealed the house and misted with eucalypt oil to stir up the creatures and then put talc with borax around edges etc. When the critters fell, dropped and ran onto the talc, it clogged their pores and they suficated. It was a 100% kill. I had no cockies for years. Be careful. They wore respirator suits as the Eucalyptus mist is deadly...(oil in lung). I wish I could remember their name. Their symbol was a dove with a twig oin its mouth. Regards J Janet Millington 140 Finley Road Eumundi QLD 4562
I have had quite a few people mention using it in a spray bottle, when I have mentioned how successful it was. I just poured about a teaspoon on a cloth and repeatedly wiped down all surfaces each night. Rinsing and adding another teaspoon as necessary. I emptied cupboards and did them completely (sides, tops and shelves) and went all round pretty much everything with it. Some nights I was more enthusiastic than others, though. The one place I have noticed they have persisted is in the office (not as bad, but a few still visible), where there are lots of books and heaps of paper. It really needs me pulling everything out like I did in the kitchen, I think... but I haven't done that. The smell was pretty strong and I actually liked it. It was very fresh and natural smelling...kinda Aussie I guess. If I'm not atomising it, does that still mean there is a chance of airborne oil/lung probs? I just bought another bottle today.
I would guess that you'd be fine if you weren't spraying it... if it isn't floating around in the air it probably won't get into your lungs.
I found that the only real things that have noticeabel impact on roaches are chemicals (which I dont like), and a trap I devised. They LOVE warm dark places, and food. So why not give them what they want? Make a Roach hotel!! 1. BIG black plastic container with lid from hardware store 2. cut slits along the bottom 3. Put in an electric blanket (keep it lose), some cardboard inbetween, and a food source. 4. In the morning, have the vacuum cleaner on hand, pop the lid on the trap, and evict them (I find they all die being sucked up).
I'll have to start wiping down the kitchen benches with eucalyptus - seems that this stuff works from the testimony here. I've just spotted the first two cockroaches since moving into this house. I bought a HUGE bag (ie fills a metal garbage bin) of diatomite (which is diatomatious earth sold for treating mites etc) from a supplier in Canberra - got it sent. Took a while to track down. Want me to try and track down details? It was a while ago but might be in my email archives somewhere. I bought it when my chooks had mites - sprinkled some on them but then also continuously left some out for the chooks to dustbath in so they wouldn't get a reinfestation. It was all I used to treat the mites and worked well. In the book by Shannon Lush called "Speed Cleaning" - put out by ABC Books, she says to sprinkle salt around the skirting boards, bottom of the fridge, etc in the kitchen each evening, as the cockies die from that, and when they drop their eggs, as they do when they are dying, the eggs land on the salt and any babies die then too. I haven't tried it, but it was what I was planning on trying. Fiona
That's it, I'm giving eucalyptus oil a go. I don't remember us ever having cockroaches as a kid in Melbourne but I see them more and more now. Our winters aren't as cold as they were so I guess there is less chance of them dying off now.
I ididn't read all the replies: strong tea of epazote to clean. The herb grows easily and quick.from seed.
Based on what has been said, I decided to give my kitchen a thorough going over with eucalyptus oil today - since I had some and it seems a low toxic option. I am curious though - I wonder if the eucalyptus oil directly upsets the cockroaches, or whether it is just that it makes all the surfaces so clean they just kinda lose interest.... Hedwig: what is "epazote"? Never heard of it. Cheers
Epazote is the Mexican Tea Plant, Chenopodium ambrosioides. It has strongly aromatic oils in it, but plants from different areas have different levels of it. It's originally from Mexico, but is now used in the U.S., Europe and other places. There is the kitchen variety, which is called Epazote in English, and a related variety called C. anthelminticum (sometimes called Wormseed) that is grown to be used to kill intestinal worms. Sue
I found that these traps work fantastic https://www.ecoshop.com.au/asp/product.a ... r=&PT_ID=1 I have just bought a heap more.