Old, dirty, moist apartments are where you’ll find Mr. Cockroach and his scuttling pals.
If you’re really, REALLY paranoid about seeing a single roach then you are not going to be able to keep plants in your home and will need to maintain a fairly rigorous cleaining schedule. You will never be able to remove all sources of food unless you live in a concrete box, so don’t bother trying. They can eat dust, glue - you name it! Beside, cockroaches can go a long time without food but need a constant supply of water, so the key is to keep everything completely dry. Wipe off sinks when you’re done and don’t leave crumbs lying around.
90% of visitors seem to come via the drains but I found the perfect - and safe - remedy is to buy cheap bottles of shampoo or bubble bath. Try it - they get stuck in the stuff like glue and suffocate within seconds. Pour some down the drain now and again and/or dump a big blob of it at the opening. I got rid of a serious infestation in a very old apartment this way.
I really don’t mind them too much and don’t make much of an effort to keep them out and still see less than one a month, if that. If I do find one it’s always in or around one of my plants. They’re actually quite fascinating little things that make an effort to stay away from humans so I wouldn’t worry too much. They keep themselves very clean and tend to ‘learn’ to come out only during the night when nobody is around.
Also, if you don’t mind lizards/geckos… I encourage lizards to live in my house by feeding them small insects. They seem to congregate around the top of the house where it’s warmer and come out occasionally for food. Personally, I love the little blighters and they scare off the 'roaches so we have a good little deal going on.
HOLY SH*T!!! IS THAT THE SIZE OF THE COCKROACHES? That it. I’m off to cash in my tickets for a trip to India - I ain’t coming to Taiwan anymore. (Please tell me thats two roaches taped together?)
Hey maybe I will stay thats an excellent idea- I like geckos and lizards a lot. Will they eat my giant spiders tho? (i like them too). Nice shampoo tip!!
The spiders and lizards seem to have a grudging but accepting relationship. And don’t forget - if you use the shampoo tip, even if you do get the odd roach he’ll be totally stylin’ and smell pine fresh!
Yes… but, there are fewer and fewer of these big guys around. The smaller type of roach has in the past 15 years or so made itself at home in Taiwan and these smaller guys have pretty much taken over. They are faster and reproduce more efficiently… used to be only the big ones you’d see… now, those big guys are really quite rare.
When we re-tiled our apartment we kept some extra tiles. We put a tile over each of the floor drains, in the kitchen, balcony, etc. This seems to do a good job of keeping them away (our apartment is over 20 years old and we rarely see a cockroach).
Keep a can of raid handy, kills them quick. Also once in a while will spray it across all the door jams.
[quote=“llary”]I once found a surprise in my pants, and not a good one. Scared the jeebus out of me.
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A few months ago i was on my way out. I put my hand in my right pocket to make sure I had my keys. I felt something in the bottom of my pocket and pulled it out.
My girlfriend was right there and I aid to her “What’s this?”
It was an enormous dead roach. It took me about 4-5 seconds and when I realized what it was I threw it away (into my bed). It was dead but i nearly pissed myself.
Yes… but, there are fewer and fewer of these big guys around. The smaller type of roach has in the past 15 years or so made itself at home in Taiwan and these smaller guys have pretty much taken over. They are faster and reproduce more efficiently… used to be only the big ones you’d see… now, those big guys are really quite rare.[/quote]
Balls.
They’re as pentiful as ever over in my neck of the woods.
They probably just got tired of hearing the Dead 24/7 at your place and stopped coming around.
I have heard that if you live sort of near forested areas (like me) you see more of the big bastards.
I agree. But not quite as bad as full face contact…
I am usually respectful of insects, lizards, and other blokes much smaller than us. However, this cardinal rule is pre-empted when any of the bastards touch me face. That means war!
We all have our limits… personally, I find cockroaches quite fascinating and noble creatures but I don’t care how fascinating or noble you are - if you crawl into my bed at 2am uninvited then you’re getting the business end of a slipper.
[quote=“TheGingerMan”]I agree. But not quite as bad as full face contact…
I am usually respectful of insects, lizards, and other blokes much smaller than us. However, this cardinal rule is pre-empted when any of the bastards touch me face. That means war!
Except fot the Spiders. I always forgive them. [/quote]
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