[925dancer]

So I moved into a house recently and there was and is no evidence of these dirty little blighters.

BUT, was making a cup of tea the other week, opened the cupboard to get a teabag out and there was this little bug, looking suspiciously like a teeny little cockroach:wah Picked it up with a tissue and put it in the bin and checked all the cupboards for any more. All clear.

Sitting on the sofa a couple of days later, throw over my legs, look down, there it is again! After nearly throwing up I once again pick it up in a tissue and put it in the bin.

Still not entirely sure it is actually a cockroach.

Yesterday, noticed on the ceiling in the lounge, there it is again. So now I'm confused because what I know of cockroaches, seeing them on the ceiling is a bit odd. It's on the ceiling so I can't get at it to retrieve it and well, quite frankly, I'd like to stay as far away as possible:wah

Now I'm in bed and have noticed, again on the ceiling, a rather larger version of one of these bugs.

It's grossing me out! I don't like it! I don't know what they are and I dread to think I could have a roach problem! The place is clean. No food scraps, Plastic bin with secure lid in the kitchen.

Please someone tell me there is a perfectly harmless, not so disgudting bug out there that I am mistaking this for because it's really beginning to freak me out.

[JandM]

Oh, what an unpleasant thing to have happened.

I found this. http://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/research/biosystematics/invertebrates/invertid/listpage.asp?Ca_ID=47 They say that, apart from the American and German ones, they're not a problem in the house. I hope your visitor is one of the good guys.

[925dancer]

Hmm, doesn't really look like any of those, or the ones I've seen on property inspections (I really love my job sometimes).

Maybe I'll try and get a picture tomorrow...............

[Georgebulldog]

I'd get yourself a Robocan, that should keep them out, we used to get the odd one, in the kettle which was a nasty surprise & once in the kitchen roll which I was just about to blow my nose on & felt something wriggle :eek:
Not had one since (touch wood) we got our can

[Helsandfamily]

They are grim... I found one this week in my son's bedroom on the wall. Haven't had one for ages. Get a can of "raid " and spray around doors and skirting boards, it stinks a bit ( a couple of hours) but the effects last for up to 6 months, after we sprayed the first time we found a few dead ones where we had sprayed and this seemed to stop the problem. Now we only get a few occasionally.

My understanding of the robo can thing, is that it flushes them out rather than kills them. but the good thing is you know that you can get them then.

We frequently get them in newspapers from the mail box too. I hate them and jump everytime I open the newspaper now. I roll my newspapers with a rolling pin now before reading it. :exit

[Georgebulldog]

Our Robo can kills everything, although we are lucky to not have found a cockroach since we had it just plenty of dead other stuff all over the place, they are great if only they would get rid of the bodies :wah

[dilanium]

I can tell you for sure that the robocan kills flies and ants at the very least.

But if you have a fish tank make sure you get a lid on it because it will kill your fish too.

[Georgebulldog]

I can tell you for sure that the robocan kills flies and ants at the very least.

But if you have a fish tank make sure you get a lid on it because it will kill your fish too.

Didn't know that thanks, will have to let my friend know :nice1

[Kerry and David]

I know how you feel. When we moved in to our lovely modern rental house we had quite a few roaches between the house and garage. We set our Robocan up in the house, cleaned all the windows, frames outside (where we also found some large black beasts of spiders) then applied the Outdoor raid around all doors and frames. Touch wood nothing since.. except a few mice but that's a whole different story :uhoh

[dilanium]

Didn't know that thanks, will have to let my friend know :nice1
No worries. It's safe to use around greyhounds though (who can have serious reactions to certain pesticides (including those in some flea treatments! :eek: ).

[925dancer]

You know, I'm still not convinced it's cockroaches. They have not moved from their spots on their respective ceilings since last night.

Admittedly they could also be two entirely different species of bug too.

I will absolutely be getting Robocan and Raid though, just in case.

[NikT]

You know, I'm still not convinced it's cockroaches. They have not moved from their spots on their respective ceilings since last night.

Admittedly they could also be two entirely different species of bug too.

I will absolutely be getting Robocan and Raid though, just in case.

Can you post a photo of em? (make sure they say "cheese").

Nick.:cheers

[Ngeru]

We frequently get them in newspapers from the mail box too. I hate them and jump everytime I open the newspaper now. I roll my newspapers with a rolling pin now before reading it. :exit

I gingerly fish the papers and letters out of the mailbox and throw them on the ground at great velocity. The neighbours probably think I am a nut job, but I don't care; there's only so many times a girl can open the paper to find roaches in there. Worst still I often grab the mail by stopping in the car at the end of the dive and the thought one of those critters is hitching a ride and living in my car is too much to bear.

[925dancer]

Can you post a photo of em? (make sure they say "cheese").

Nick.:cheers

Luckily (or not so depending on your view) one of these little critters was hanging out on the frame of my French doors while I was letting one of the cats have a wander this morning. now it is about the size of my pinky nail, so pretty small.

Can't get a picture of the one on the ceiling in my bedroom, camera can't focus on it even with zoom and macro and stretching as far as I can while standing on the bed. But it is much bigger, about half an inch and is darker in colour, closer to black I'd say but still too small to get much detail up there on the ceiling.

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj35/925dancer/DSCF1493.jpg

[NikT]

Looks like an immature cockroach, but I might be wrong.:exit

We get a few of em in the bathroom. (damn things use my shampoo!:laugh).
But not had many of em since we got a Robocan.:nice1

Nick.:cheers

[Georgebulldog]

I think they are too, those long things at the front :eek: just like what we had

[Alan]

That's a COCKROACH!!!!!!!

[925dancer]

:wah:wah:wah:

Anyone want to come and get rid of them for me, I am, after all, just a single, unaccompanied, lone female:exit

[M-Squared]

Am I the only one who's feeling itchy?... :exit

[globetrecker]

Definitely a cockroach! During the summer break in University I did pest control sales and learned more than I ever wanted to about cockroaches. Namely: they love to hide around lights, electronics, appliances, etc. It's warm there. A sure sign of them is look at your ceiling and there will likely be little brownish reddish dots and tracks all around where the lights are. We have spots around our lights and on the ceiling in the dining room and kitchen and it is a 1 yr old home! Finding it tough to wash off, though. I don't know if the previous tenants weren't tidy, but there are a lot of markings all over our ceiling. However, we've only seen about 5 of the little devils. I know from experience, unfortunately, that if you see them, there are more within the walls. Yuck. Roach traps, raid, whatever it takes. We want to get rid of them.

[925dancer]

Those spots are also fly poo, sadly I know more about that than I ever wnated to by being a property manager. And yes, if not cleaned shortly after appearing it is almost impossible to get rid of. Been in some houses where it is everywhere, door frames, ceilings, walls, it's gross.

Operation roach death shall commence on Thursday (pay day)

[Sam B]

That's a bush cockroach, they are harmless. They do not infest your house the way bad cockroaches do. They get in by accident. There's no need to go mad with the raid. We get our daughter to remove them and put them in the woodpile. They do not bite or hurt, they are just a bit creepy.

[Alan]

:wah:wah:wah:

Anyone want to come and get rid of them for me, I am, after all, just a single, unaccompanied, lone female:exit

What a cheap trick to pull!!!

Great effort though well done.

[Ngeru]

Those spots are also fly poo, sadly I know more about that than I ever wnated to by being a property manager. And yes, if not cleaned shortly after appearing it is almost impossible to get rid of. Been in some houses where it is everywhere, door frames, ceilings, walls, it's gross.

Operation roach death shall commence on Thursday (pay day)

Yes, fly poo is a big problem. It took me ages to figure out what all the black dots on our ceiling and light fittings were. Gross!!! Again, being here in a newish house it came as somewhat of a shock that it had gotten so bad in a relatively short time.

With the roaches, please don't be tempted to swat them or squash them as this can release their egg sacs and potential for further critters in the future. Exterminate them with spray and dispose of the bodies carefully, down the loo or in the bin. As the eggs can survive long after the parent is dead.

Yucky, icky things!

[Kanga]

I thought it was fly vomit Ngeru? Not sure, gross either way and our windows used to get COVERED in the brown spots from the blow flies- I've never washed windows, sills and door frames as much as I did there! DISGUSTING!

Largely unbothered by cockroaches unless there are heaps as in our flat in Brisbane where you opened the kitchen cupboards and it looked as though everything moved AND they flew :exit

[hosebergine]

I took the junior hosebergines to a farm the other day and was told that cucumber kills cockroaches... can anyone experiment for me? And before anyone starts walloping them with one, they need to eat it!!

[James 1077]

Nothing wrong with a bush cockroach - take it outside and let it live a nice happy life! The thing is probably wondering what the funny tree it is sitting in is!

To be fair I've never had a problem with roaches - growing up in the middle-east we had a fair few and they are pretty cool when you look at them closely! :)