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#11
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Reunited with feline family (at LAST!)
"EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque)" wrote in message ... My babies are busily exploring their new home, and we are a family again! I moved to Arizona on October 30th, having boarded the cats for the previous three days to spare them the chaos of the move. We then drove from California to Fountain Hills, spending one night in a motel. The cats were good as gold, scarcely a peep out of them. (I think having them share a carrier, since they are on good terms, was a great idea - they comforted each other.) As planned, I stayed with my brother for a bit over a week, boarding the cats at a nearby vet (He told me his complex does not allow pets - although I suspect it was he who did not want to share his dwelling with felines.) I moved in here (Paradise Lakes Apartments - the address is Phoenix, but I think the area is Paradise Valley) on November 9th, after the movers had to wait out a two hour delay because maintenance had to clean the place "to remove the dead bugs". (I assumed because the exterminator had been, the day before - which was true as far as it went, and they DID remove the DEAD bugs.) However, when I opened the dishwasher to see what kind of appliance I'd be dealing with, it was simply SWARMING with cockroaches, all very much alive! When I complained to the management, they said the exterminator would be back the following, Wednesday (the 9th was Thursday). Consequently I've been camping out, living on frozen dinners because I didn't want to unpack my dishes and cooking utensils until they'd sprayed the cupboards. I bought some roach spray myself, too - sprayed inside the cupboards and have been zapping any I found crawling anywhere (mostly in the kitchen and the bath, although none of the walls are entirely exempt). Considering my bitter complaints, and a very strong letter I hand-delivered to the management office, they got the exterminator out on Monday, and it has had some effect (most of the bugs I see now are either dead or dying). However, he was supposed to come again Wednesday and did not - that is he did the rest of the complex but skipped me, because he'd been here Monday. Now I have to wait until NEXT Wednesday! I can't really blame the management, judging by the varying sizes (from tiny hatchlings to inch-and-a-half-long great-grandfathers) the problem has existed for some time, and the former tenants apparently said nothing (just put a few roach traps in the clothes closets). Apparently they also ignored the fact that the kitchen sink drainpipes were leaking like a sieve - every time I ran water in the sink, I found water on the floor, and you can see where there is long-term water damage on the bottom of the cabinet under the sink. THAT got fixed within two days, but the roaches are still with us. I was supposed to pick the cats up last Saturday, but didn't want them around when the exterminator came, so arranged to board them until today (at $13 per day per cat). Today the office suggested that, since the problem was so bad, they should fog the place on Wednesday! I told them that was simply not an option, since I'd already incurred more expense than planned in boarding the cats to allow them time to deal with the problem this past week. In the past, I had excellent results with ant problems when I used a shelf-paper called "No Bugs M'lady" (which was supposed to deal with roaches, too, and used to be available in any grocery store). I discover that now I must special order it on the internet, it's a lot more expensive than it was, and will take nearly two weeks until delivery. It's worth it, IMO, but in the meantime, what do I do with all the stuff I haven't unpacked? (More to the point, how do I cope, when I've no idea where anything IS?) Well, at least I have my babies with me again, and they seem to be adjusting well, so far. (But we wouldn't refuse a few purrs.) It's really a nice apartment, part of a complex of 1200 units, with swimming pools and exercise rooms, a recreation building, and various community activities. I expect we'll be happy here, but I'll be lucky if I have things in order by Christmas, never mind Thanksgiving! Anyway, thought I should post an update, and let you all know I am now living in Arizona instead of California. Evelyn Sorry about the roaches Evelyn, I know how you feel - we had an ant investation a few years ago. Hope you and the kitties are now settling in. I am sure you will all love your new place, after all, roaches etc. can be disposed of Hope you will post how you get on. Purrs, Bev |
#12
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Reunited with feline family (at LAST!)
I've had real good luck with Roach Pruff (I think that's how it's spelled).
It's not supposed to be toxic, although it can't be good for the kitties in large doses. I simply closed the kitchen and ate out for a week and put it all over the countertops, floors everything. No more roaches. It's 98% boric acid. Boron in high doses can cause kidney damage, but it's pretty low-rosk as poisons go. ============== j-c ====== @ ====== purr . demon . co . uk ============== Jack Campin: 11 Third St, Newtongrange EH22 4PU, Scotland | tel 0131 660 4760 http://www.purr.demon.co.uk/jack/ for CD-ROMs and free | fax 0870 0554 975 stuff: Scottish music, food intolerance, & Mac logic fonts | mob 07800 739 557 |
#13
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Reunited with feline family (at LAST!)
Jack Campin - bogus address wrote:
I've had real good luck with Roach Pruff (I think that's how it's spelled). It's not supposed to be toxic, although it can't be good for the kitties in large doses. I simply closed the kitchen and ate out for a week and put it all over the countertops, floors everything. No more roaches. It's 98% boric acid. Boron in high doses can cause kidney damage, but it's pretty low-rosk as poisons go. Boron is actually a macronutrient, like calcium and phosphorus and the like. Of course, as with anything -- even water -- you can overdose if you try hard enough. To mammals, boric acid is about as toxic as table salt or baking soda, and is used as a topical antiseptic or (very diluted) as an eye wash. Don't go snorting it, but don't worry if you or the cats accidentally sniff some of the airborn powder. Boric acid works fantastically for roaches -- but not instantly. The powder clings to their body hairs and causes fatal chemical burns. It also does nasty things to them when they ingest it (when they groom themselves and each other) and when they inhale it. I imagine finely powdered salt might have a similar effect. But...it won't happen overnight. It'll take a few days, but it'll last practically forever, or until you vacuum it up. If you and your neighbors are reasonably clean, the roaches won't have any incentive to come back. The one or two explorers who might wander into your place out of desperation won't have much luck, either, now that you've got a number of avid insectivores in the place. Make it clear to the cats that they get super-extra bonus points for each roach they dispense with, and you might not ever actually see one again. Cheers, b& -- EAC Memographer BAAWA Knight of Blasphemy ``All but God can prove this sentence true.'' ----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Unrestricted-Secure Usenet News==---- http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups ----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =---- |
#14
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Reunited with feline family (at LAST!)
EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque) wrote:
jmcquown wrote: tension_on_the_wire wrote: jmcquown wrote: I guess they just do things differently in California. Arizona. --tension Sorry, got it backwards but still.... I'd be worrying about living in that place. You think I'm NOT???? I'd have been happy with a mobile home park, but my brother is more upscale (at least he DID pay attention to what I told him was the maximum I felt I could AFFORD - including tax, pet rent, and the other extras.) Didn't mean to imply you weren't concerned, but you did say it's a very nice apartment and then listed the other amenities in the complex. So it sort of sounded like you thought it was great! Mea Culpa. Jill |
#15
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Roaches - WAS: Reunited with feline family (at LAST!)
Ollie via CatKB.com wrote:
I've had real good luck with Roach Pruff (I think that's how it's spelled). It's not supposed to be toxic, although it can't be good for the kitties in large doses. I simply closed the kitchen and ate out for a week and put it all over the countertops, floors everything. No more roaches. Sounds like a good suggestion. But I don't have any way to close off my kitchen. (sigh) This time of year in Tennessee, when the temperatures drop, the BIG roaches outside (akin to Palmetto bugs) tend to find their way inside. In the last two weeks I've spotted 4-5 of them in my kitchen, and I just know there have to be more! I'm absolutely and irrationally terrified of these bugs simply because they are so GROSS! After reheating a small pan of stew I unthinkingly left it uncovered on the stove for a bit. Came back into the kitchen and a roach the size of a small trailer was eating what was left in the pan. EWWWWWW! So what can I do to get rid of any other interlopers? Maybe set some of those Roach Motel things around? Jill |
#16
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Reunited with feline family (at LAST!)
jmcquown wrote: Didn't mean to imply you weren't concerned, but you did say it's a very nice apartment and then listed the other amenities in the complex. So it sort of sounded like you thought it was great! Mea Culpa. Oh, I do - it's just that I'd have been perfectly satisfied with fewer amenities and more cleanliness. (New carpet is lovely, but I suspect they laid it OVER the roaches.) I think the exterminator's efforts are paying off - the live roaches I'm seeing now seem to be small recent hatchlings, not the enormous elderly ones I was encountering last week. (But Monday I make sure the office knows I expect a WEEKLY exterminator visit until they are ALL gone.) There's a boric acid jell they use when one has resident pets, but with such a heavy infestation, I think a few follow-ups are indicated. Jill |
#17
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Roaches - WAS: Reunited with feline family (at LAST!)
jmcquown wrote: Ollie via CatKB.com wrote: I've had real good luck with Roach Pruff (I think that's how it's spelled). It's not supposed to be toxic, although it can't be good for the kitties in large doses. I simply closed the kitchen and ate out for a week and put it all over the countertops, floors everything. No more roaches. Sounds like a good suggestion. But I don't have any way to close off my kitchen. (sigh) This time of year in Tennessee, when the temperatures drop, the BIG roaches outside (akin to Palmetto bugs) tend to find their way inside. In the last two weeks I've spotted 4-5 of them in my kitchen, and I just know there have to be more! I'm absolutely and irrationally terrified of these bugs simply because they are so GROSS! We got those in California a lot in the summer, too. Some people think they're "water bugs", bug actually they are oriental roaches - more seasonal than the standard variety, and generally come in from outside, don't breed in your walls. However, that doesn't make it any less alarming when you come home late, turn on a light, and these ENORMOUS critters scatter in all directions! (They are so big that, if you step on one, you can actually FEEL the lump under the sole of your shoe!) |
#18
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Roaches - WAS: Reunited with feline family (at LAST!)
EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque) wrote:
jmcquown wrote: Ollie via CatKB.com wrote: I've had real good luck with Roach Pruff (I think that's how it's spelled). It's not supposed to be toxic, although it can't be good for the kitties in large doses. I simply closed the kitchen and ate out for a week and put it all over the countertops, floors everything. No more roaches. Sounds like a good suggestion. But I don't have any way to close off my kitchen. (sigh) This time of year in Tennessee, when the temperatures drop, the BIG roaches outside (akin to Palmetto bugs) tend to find their way inside. In the last two weeks I've spotted 4-5 of them in my kitchen, and I just know there have to be more! I'm absolutely and irrationally terrified of these bugs simply because they are so GROSS! We got those in California a lot in the summer, too. Some people think they're "water bugs", bug actually they are oriental roaches - more seasonal than the standard variety, and generally come in from outside, don't breed in your walls. Exactly. These aren't NYC cockroaches, either. They are tree-roaches. Palmetto bugs, in the south. However, that doesn't make it any less alarming when you come home late, turn on a light, and these ENORMOUS critters scatter in all directions! (They are so big that, if you step on one, you can actually FEEL the lump under the sole of your shoe!) Yeah, they are gross! And when one rushes at me because I've turned on the light (they don't run from it, they dash rather quickly in my direction!) I scream! But how can I get rid of them?? It's not an infestation but if they find a nice warm place during the winter there will be more, I don't doubt it. I have montly pest control at my apartment but they can't spray inside because of my bird. They do spray all around the outside. I can't afford to live in a motel for a week with Persia and Peaches and set off a bug bomb, even assuming I could get my landlord to agree to that. It's not that I'm overrun (at least I hope not!) But I did find one floating in Persia's water fountain last month, I suppose it was thirsty and fell in and didn't know how to swim). What am I to do? I'm starting to be afraid to go into my kitchen and you all know how I love to cook. Jill |
#19
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Reunited with feline family (at LAST!)
On Fri, 17 Nov 2006 15:35:03 -0700, Ben Goren
wrote: Jack Campin - bogus address wrote: I've had real good luck with Roach Pruff (I think that's how it's spelled). It's not supposed to be toxic, although it can't be good for the kitties in large doses. I simply closed the kitchen and ate out for a week and put it all over the countertops, floors everything. No more roaches. It's 98% boric acid. Boron in high doses can cause kidney damage, but it's pretty low-rosk as poisons go. Boron is actually a macronutrient, like calcium and phosphorus and the like. Of course, as with anything -- even water -- you can overdose if you try hard enough. To mammals, boric acid is about as toxic as table salt or baking soda, and is used as a topical antiseptic or (very diluted) as an eye wash. Don't go snorting it, but don't worry if you or the cats accidentally sniff some of the airborn powder. Boric acid works fantastically for roaches -- but not instantly. The powder clings to their body hairs and causes fatal chemical burns. It also does nasty things to them when they ingest it (when they groom themselves and each other) and when they inhale it. I imagine finely powdered salt might have a similar effect. But...it won't happen overnight. It'll take a few days, but it'll last practically forever, or until you vacuum it up. If you and your neighbors are reasonably clean, the roaches won't have any incentive to come back. The one or two explorers who might wander into your place out of desperation won't have much luck, either, now that you've got a number of avid insectivores in the place. Make it clear to the cats that they get super-extra bonus points for each roach they dispense with, and you might not ever actually see one again. When I bought my house, almost 15 years ago, I had a roach problem in the kitchen. The house had been unoccupied for several months, and I suspect that the previous owners might have accidentally left some garbage or foodstuffs behind for a while (although there was no sign of such when I moved in). I put out roach bait, and within a few weeks there were no longer any roaches to be found. Since then, I haven't had any problems, except for the occasional lone roach that wanders in through an open door in the summer time. So, you should be able to bring the problem under control. -- John F. Eldredge -- PGP key available from http://pgp.mit.edu "Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better than not to think at all." -- Hypatia of Alexandria |
#20
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Roaches - WAS: Reunited with feline family (at LAST!)
On Fri, 17 Nov 2006 17:35:35 -0600, "jmcquown"
wrote: Ollie via CatKB.com wrote: I've had real good luck with Roach Pruff (I think that's how it's spelled). It's not supposed to be toxic, although it can't be good for the kitties in large doses. I simply closed the kitchen and ate out for a week and put it all over the countertops, floors everything. No more roaches. Sounds like a good suggestion. But I don't have any way to close off my kitchen. (sigh) This time of year in Tennessee, when the temperatures drop, the BIG roaches outside (akin to Palmetto bugs) tend to find their way inside. In the last two weeks I've spotted 4-5 of them in my kitchen, and I just know there have to be more! I'm absolutely and irrationally terrified of these bugs simply because they are so GROSS! After reheating a small pan of stew I unthinkingly left it uncovered on the stove for a bit. Came back into the kitchen and a roach the size of a small trailer was eating what was left in the pan. EWWWWWW! So what can I do to get rid of any other interlopers? Maybe set some of those Roach Motel things around? That should work. I would suggest getting one of the varieties that have sticky patches on the back of the "roach motels", so that they don't become cat toys. -- John F. Eldredge -- PGP key available from http://pgp.mit.edu "Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better than not to think at all." -- Hypatia of Alexandria |
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