For 35000NTD/month, is it possible to find a nice modern flat in which I will never see a cockroach (and spider)? There is no way I can live with cockroaches. I have watched the youtube videos, and those spiders (laya and others) scare the living daylight out of me.
So simple question, is it possible to avoid (completely, or as good as) cockroaches in ones flat (for something like 35000-40000NTD a month)? Or am I dreaming?
Apologies up front - I realize this may seem like a silly/wuss question. I have not yet moved to Taipei (will this fall).
Yes, it’s perfectly possible. I don’t think spiders will be a problem unless you live in a shack in the mountains. Cockroaches will come if you leave food lying around, and/or if they’ve an established base there already, but in that price range you should be fairly secure.
The problem in our previous flat was mosquitoes. We’d get three or four a week. We never figured out how they were getting in. We did have a problem with cockroaches in this flat but we realised they were in the space between our ceiling and the flat above and were coming through the fan vents in the bathrooms. We’ve glued netting across the inside of the vents and not seen any since, though you can still hear them skittering around up there . Need to speak to the neighbours and arrange a synchronised smoke-bombing.
But our flat’s cheaper than your price range. Generally, the older the building the higher your chance of some nasties. It’s impossible to guarantee it, but I’d say you’re far less likely to have problems.
Yes, it’s possible. I’ve lived here for 4 years and only just saw the first roach in our flat last week. We’ve taken measures to make sure we don’t see any more. If you live in a newer building, the chances of infestation are lower. When you’re here looking at flats to rent, check around and see if there are roach traps lying about in the kitchen or bathrooms (make sure to check inside cabinets). If you see a bunch, that’s a bad sign.
Never seen a big spider inside (just a couple of teeny-tiny ones). I once had a hand-sized spider on the balcony, and have occasionally seen them in our building’s trash room or on the street, but never inside.
I live near the mountains and sees those spiders all the time, mostly hand sized but not really bigger. One thing that really helps is a cat… they will make sure you don’t see anymore roaches or spiders because cats like to eat anything that moves.
I buy the raoch Raid style can with the pipe thingy attached at RT Mart. I spray under bedroom tables, and every corner in the kitchen. I get one occasionally that could probably carry my hulk off but not often. And the they DIE!
Also borax mixed with sugar water works too. Roaches will eat the sugar water and the borax will make sure that they’ll share the meal with their families before they die.
In my experience, it’s the “modern” developments which get the vermin - too much food around, and not enough natural predators. I live on the edge of a forest and I’ve seen a cockroach, like, maybe twice. In the city, they were bloody everywhere. And yeah, cats will take care of them, but that’s not pretty. We (me and ex-gf) had a 'tarded cat that had a real thing about cockroaches (which apparently taste disgusting). It would crunch them up slowly with a stupid look on its face, like it was eating a gourmet chocolate or something, dropping assorted cockroach body parts on the floor.
You might try to learn to love spiders. We have a pet one in the bathroom. That means we don’t have any flies
[quote=“finley”]In my experience, it’s the “modern” developments which get the vermin - too much food around, and not enough natural predators. I live on the edge of a forest and I’ve seen a cockroach, like, maybe twice. In the city, they were bloody everywhere. And yeah, cats will take care of them, but that’s not pretty. We (me and ex-gf) had a 'tarded cat that had a real thing about cockroaches (which apparently taste disgusting). It would crunch them up slowly with a stupid look on its face, like it was eating a gourmet chocolate or something, dropping assorted cockroach body parts on the floor.
You might try to learn to love spiders. We have a pet one in the bathroom. That means we don’t have any flies [/quote]
Yes, not all cats eat them,. My Anna, who sadly ran away from home a few months back, loved to chase and eat them and would occasionally bring a kicking one in her mouth to me to show what a good girl she is. Now that she is gone I have had a few around as Ping couldn’t be bothered.
No, it’s not. Living in Taipei and wanting to avoid cockroaches is a fantasy, better get use to them and get over it. Buy yourself a good pair of flip flops so you can get a good swat at them or a good electric racket and bbq the crap outta them.
I’m serious, if it’s not in your house, it’ll be on the streets and sometimes fly at you when you least want them to.
Taipei is just a big city with plenty of people and food scraps, so deal with it is my suggestion.
Anything is possible, but not very probable that you’d never see a roach. The problem is the proximity of everything and everyone. You may have a spotless pad, but your neighbors may not, and they do slip in.
I’ve lived in 3 newer high rises for the past 6 years. We clean a LOT. We don’t cook. Any leftover food goes into the fridge immediately and is thrown out the next day. It’s never left on a table. Trash is always thrown out every night. (One of the perks of living in a new place.) We sweep almost every day (mainly due to the dog) and I mop religiously (mainly due to the kid crawling around). At the first place, I saw 1 big one, 1 medium sized one and 1 little one in our 3 years there. At the second one, I saw 2 very large ones in our 2 1/2 years there. At our current place, 0. Averaging less than one a year which is pretty damn good.
Be clean.
Don’t cook. If you must, always clean up afterwards. I’ve heard roaches like oily foods.
NEVER leave food out.
Sweep/Vacuum and mop weekly.
Cover all your drains. Most new places use a roach resistant trap doohicky that has a spring to keep it closed if there’s no water present. We still covered them anyways.
Hunt down and kill any roach you see. You don’t want any pregnant roaches laying eggs. I had to turn my apartment upside down to kill the ones I did see. My wife wouldn’t be able to sleep at night if they didn’t get the slipper.
Spray raid every few weeks along the outside your doors and along the corners of the hall.
Seal off any holes that go behind the sink or cabinets.
Get a cat.
If you don’t have a roach problem, you won’t see any of those big ass spiders.
I’ve found they sneak in in cardboard boxes. Now, if we buy anything, the box never sits in the apartment overnight. At the very least it goes out onto a balcony until we get time to dispose of it.
Anything is possible, but not very probable that you’d never see a roach. The problem is the proximity of everything and everyone. You may have a spotless pad, but your neighbors may not, and they do slip in.
I’ve lived in 3 newer high rises for the past 6 years. We clean a LOT. We don’t cook. Any leftover food goes into the fridge immediately and is thrown out the next day. It’s never left on a table. Trash is always thrown out every night. (One of the perks of living in a new place.) We sweep almost every day (mainly due to the dog) and I mop religiously (mainly due to the kid crawling around). At the first place, I saw 1 big one, 1 medium sized one and 1 little one in our 3 years there. At the second one, I saw 2 very large ones in our 2 1/2 years there. At our current place, 0. Averaging less than one a year which is pretty damn good.
Be clean.
Don’t cook. If you must, always clean up afterwards. I’ve heard roaches like oily foods.
NEVER leave food out.
Sweep/Vacuum and mop weekly.
Cover all your drains. Most new places use a roach resistant trap doohicky that has a spring to keep it closed if there’s no water present. We still covered them anyways.
Hunt down and kill any roach you see. You don’t want any pregnant roaches laying eggs. I had to turn my apartment upside down to kill the ones I did see. My wife wouldn’t be able to sleep at night if they didn’t get the slipper.
Spray raid every few weeks along the outside your doors and along the corners of the hall.
Seal off any holes that go behind the sink or cabinets.
Get a cat.
If you don’t have a roach problem, you won’t see any of those big ass spiders.
Good luck.[/quote]
How do you spray raid if you have new born and a dog in the flat.
I get little centipede things that come out of drains. I know they eat cockroaches.
DDT… isn’t it illegal? And horribly poisonous for humans and pets, and highly damaging to the environment? There’s a reason it was banned worldwide decades ago.
Spiders: they often come into apartments because of roaches. Especially huntsmen.
Keep your apartment clean and free of food particulates.
Wash your dishes every evening.
Put roach baits around the apartment.
I spray the raid on the outside of the doors. Nothing indoors. I’ve got a dog and a kid crawling around too. I’ve read that the raid is pet friendly, but I don’t want to put it to the test.
Thanks everyone for your responses and for sharing your experiences.
The majority of you seem to think that it is not possible to keep the roach ‘incidents’ at
a 1-2/year rate in a modern 35000-40000NTD/month flat. That’s a bit surprising, I find - and not very good news.
It seems that home-cooking is a strict no-go. Again, that kind of sucks for someone who loves to cook and prefers
home-cooked food over eating out.
[quote=“PacificVibe”]Thanks everyone for your responses and for sharing your experiences.
The majority of you seem to think that it is not possible to keep the roach ‘incidents’ at
a 1-2/year rate in a modern 35000-40000NTD/month flat. That’s a bit surprising, I find - and not very good news.
It seems that home-cooking is a strict no-go. Again, that kind of sucks for someone who loves to cook and prefers
home-cooked food over eating out.
Anyway, thanks again.[/quote]
Well, you’ll have to deal with it if you cook… you may need to clean the kitchen regularly and spray the place often.
. Need to speak to the neighbours and arrange a synchronised smoke-bombing.
If you live in a newer building, the chances of infestation are lower. When you’re here looking at flats to rent, check around and see if there are roach traps lying about in the kitchen or bathrooms (make sure to check inside cabinets). If you see a bunch, that’s a bad sign.