posted on November 18, 2000 07:04:34 PM
If the toys are quite valuable maybe check them more carefully before throwing them away. Hopefully there were just a few roaches hiding in the folds of the stored boxes?
After receiving some very questionable wrappings in our auction packages we now open them first in a back hallway to our shop instead of taking them home. Fortunately I purchase mostly glassware and china that can be easily washed. But I do buy older dolls on occasion so now I am kind of wondering.......
posted on November 18, 2000 07:05:16 PM
How about getting Roach Spray, put the entire content of the box in a large plastic bag, spray inside and close bag tightly, like a "fumigating tent"...? Leave it like that for several days...maybe a week?
A friend and I once went to Louisiana...Man did I freak our at the size of those monsters!...They are so big, they have the right-of-way at traffic signals....
******************** Gosh Shosh!
posted on November 18, 2000 07:35:58 PM
When I lived in Florida years ago, I was astounded to see how they did a major exterminating job on a house. They would put a huge cover, like a tent, over the ENTIRE house and then fumigate so that every inch of the house, inside and out, would get the effect of the pesticide.
I have a neighbor who does a lot of "flea-marketing" and reselling. His yard, porch, and the inside of his house are impassable. I am not exaggerating. The water meter reader won't even go into his basement to read the meter because he says he can't get to the meter for all the junk in the way. There are SO many boxes and bags and old furniture and he picked them up in so many different places.
Well, he was out one day complaining that he had roaches. He blamed it on the people who lived next to him; they were renters, so they must be dirty, in his opinion. I fell over laughing and my two other neighbors who were with me ran home to avoid laughing in front of him. The sad thing is that he really believes he got them from the renters.
posted on November 18, 2000 07:48:39 PM
I have, a couple of times, received items so incredibly dirty, I was hesitant to hold them. One, I actually picked up with a tea towel and put it in a pan of soapy water. I saw how dirty it was the moment the bubble wrap opened...But I was not charged extra for Antique Filth...
******************** Gosh Shosh!
posted on November 18, 2000 10:10:40 PM
hi there. I actually had this happen to me about a year ago, fortunitly it was the oriental type of roach, which tend to have low populations .. there is a wonderful site on roach info do a net search for "cockroach" and one of the sites is from a university... it can help you identify the type of roach you have, which helps you get rid of them. most roaches have a definite cycle of laying eggs, so if you kill them now you have an excellent chance of getting rid of them entirely! I would post the site but that seems to be against the rules..
if you are interested in saving the toys, you best bet would be to freeze for a week at least.. wrap them in a heavy bag, secure tightly, and place in your freezer .. and then don't open the door for a week. extreme cold is very effective against roaches, just not very practical for anything bigger than a bread box!! good luck.. MommaKat
posted on November 18, 2000 11:10:27 PM
mzalez if what happened to you happened to me I would have died right on the spot. How awful for you. I have a great love for all critters & creatures, (fleas, ticks, flies mosquitoes & a few other dangerous ones excepted) but for some reason I have a phobia about roaches. Just even looking at a picture of one gives me the same feeling
a lot of people get looking down from a great height. Makes me feel weak & sick all over. I even made a little garden in a glass jar & kept it on the kitchen window sill with a roach in it for a week to try to get over my phobia. Stupid I know, but the fact that no other creature in the world repulses me made me want to conquer this horror. It didn't work. I still shiver just thinking about them. Oh by the way I had someone take my "pet" far from my house & release him. I didn't have the heart to kill him. I wonder why roaches are so hated when flies & mosquitos are far, far more dangerous. People will even eat something a fly walks on, you see it happen at picnics all the time and compared to roaches flies are filthy. They will walk on the most disgusting stuff & then land on our food and actually throw up on it. Yuk.
posted on November 19, 2000 04:32:14 AM
Roaches! What a bunch of woosies! If you live in FL and have one fruit tree you get to deal with FRUIT RATS!
I have the pleasure of dealing with them right now (it's getting a little nippy at night) and they are looking for a warm place to go. They have tore a hole in the duct work in the garage and are currently residing in my attic! I can hear them scratching and scurrying about.
We have sealed the hole, but if you poison them they will stink. Gotta catch 'em. FUN!
--Brought to you by MHO Productions--
posted on November 19, 2000 05:22:48 AM
You haven't mentioned if this box came from the South. If it was our infamous palmetto bug you might find some little black egg holders. We pretty much get used to them down here but they fly and certainly look the grossest. They are less harmless and easier to kill tho sometimes it takes a day even with bug bombs.
The smaller German roach is practically indestructible. While roach motel type things will attract the smaller German type, the Palmetto bug usually avoids it.
We have an ongoing program, boric acid in all places under sinks and behind and under appliances and a monthly 6 hours out for bug bombs, at least one to a room. If you go the bomb way, I would do it twice about a week apart to catch the newly hatched if there are any.
Good Luck and you really can blame them on coming in on paper bags and boxes. Hope I've never sent any out! When we had the pawn shop people would bring in the grossest microwaves and TV's with them running everywhere so we learned the war game.German types are definitely from uncleanliness in the kitchen areas especially, but the Palmetto could come from her storing her items in a shed or garage.
posted on November 19, 2000 12:00:18 PM
I would definitely move to another house, I really hate roaches, I could never kill a roach because it scars me to death, because I don't know what their reaction could be, specially when they open their wins, AGGGRRR!!! I can kill a rat, but never a roach, it really scares me so bad that when I see one I dream them for at least 5 straigh days, and jump for anything, they really get my nerves.
posted on November 19, 2000 12:28:44 PM
If you are going to "bomb" the place, just don't to what my husband (Mr. Lost One Too Many Brain Cells During the War) did.
We had a problem w/fleas from the cat, so he decided to "bomb" the house one day when we left for work so it would be over by the time we came in from work.
Unbeknownst to me, he opened every cabinet, every drawer, every closet & set off 1 bomb in EACH room (talk about basic overkill) & shut all the doors & windows tight. To this day, I'm amazed the house didn't explode.
Of course, I got home first, opened the garage door & was hit by a cloud of spray. Not a dish, a piece of clothing..nothing missed being coated by this stuff. Our daughter was about 3 at the time & everything in her room was slick w/the stuff.
I had to call him to pick her up & check into a motel while I spent the night washing down every square inch of the house & everything in it.
Needless to say, he's not allowed to even handle bug spray cans these days w/o adult supervision.
posted on November 19, 2000 01:00:08 PM
Combat roach traps are the best. Living in North Florida, roaches are an unfortunate part of life here. Even the cleanest houses have them. Heaven help us if it is a rainy summer, cause then all the little buggers come in doors to get away from the rain. So, CAgrrl get you some combat roach traps and put them under the fridge and stove and if you can put them in the cabinets where your boyfriend can't see them. If that doesn't work and you do not have any pets around you can use boric acid. But, only if no pets. Because it can be lethal to your pets. Use a lid from an old jar and put some boric acid in it and slid it under the fridge and the stove. you can also put some in the corners of the cabinets.
I think the best trap for roaches are those that are used for rats, those with glue, one day by cuasualy a friend gave me 3 of those and put it in my kitchen because I knew I never will use it for rats, but thinking just in case I put then in my kitchen 2 weeks later, the trap worked, but katching spiders, littles roaches, flyers and all kind of insects, and since there once in a while put it near to the garbage can and corners and it works great.
Poton.
The law says, everybody is innocent until it's proved that he/she is guilty. Not me, in this world doesn't apply that, I think EVERYBODY is guilty until you prove it was a lie or untrue. For this reason, I always, ALWAYS believe EVERYTHING people tell me about him/her/that until I prove it isn't a true.
posted on November 19, 2000 04:20:47 PM
<I think we have the German ones here and you only get roaches if you are dirty.>
This is SOOOO NOT TRUEEEE i have lived in quite a few states and when i was in the south there were roaches which would fly into your house. also in some of the apartments i have lived in there were small ones and all three floors each apt was SPOTLESS anyone can have roaches they thrive for a damp area where there is food for them
anytime you apt or house hunt you ALWAYS go at dusk where you have to turn on the lights and then watch the walls and open each cubbard door.
even the German roaches are not just for dirty ppl they are everywhere and are imune to lots of pestisides.
Best thing to do is BOMB the place with the best roach bomb on the market RAID
sorry had to vent when i read that post
also i have been roach free and loving it..trust me i lived in some NICE places and if they are comming they are comming pesky lil critters
posted on November 19, 2000 06:17:07 PM
dreamwever, sorry my post offended you. I understand about the big flying ones in the south. My mom lives in Texas and every once in awhile they come in the house and she is after them right away. Until she moved there I never even knew there were roaches that lived outside. She also told me when she was in New Orleans they freaked her out. She kept hearing this noise and couldn't fall asleep. She turned on the light and they started falling off the ceiling.
Now, that said, I'm in Northern California and we don't have the roaches that are in the Southern States. Here if you see a roach it's always because someone is dirty, leaves food out and just lets them multiply. I'm sorry but that's just the way it is.
posted on November 19, 2000 08:12:38 PM
Years ago I worked in an office which had ordered some new file cabinets. The cabinets came in spotless new boxes, but when we tore open the cartons, roaches of all sizes streamed out of the corregations.
So obviously the blasted things can live on/in cardboard, don't need "filth", and are far too easy to import in a package!
posted on November 20, 2000 06:07:14 PM
Well, it seems everyone has a roach story! It makes me feel lots better to know that! Thanks all of you for sharing.
I got my little roach poison things & put them around different places. I am very happy that I haven't seen any more buggies since those first two. I wonder if I was over-reacting? I HOPE SO! I HOPE the coast is clear now! The box was in the house for only a short time, so....
I unfortunately can't bomb right now. Wouldn't you know it, my boyfriend agreed to dog-sit his mom's ancient disabled dog for 10 days. The dog can barely leave the house to use the potty in back, and I wouldn't know how to effectively evacuate her. We're already worried that she'll die from the excitement of just being out of her routine & staying at our house. If the house turns out to need bombing I will do that after the boyfriend's parents have returned to claim the dog.
deco- the box did indeed come from the South. Mental note to myself- not buying anything else from Florida or Louisiana without a REALLY good reason. Yikes!
I'm making a mental note about that boric acid stuff. Where do you get it?
macandjan- I died laughing at the thought of you all stripped down by the side of the road doing the cockroach stomp. That's hilarious!
eventer- nightmare!!!!!!! LOL! I'm sure it was far from funny at the time, but good story! I got such a giggle out of it!
posted on November 20, 2000 06:31:56 PM
CAgrrl, you can buy boric acid at the drugstore. It does work really well. Just keep it away from children.
Roaches invade homes of the cleanest people here in New Orleans. The exterminator says they look for a water supply, and every home has water.
Sorry to gross some of you out with the horrible roach stories, but those were only a few. There are some more 'war stories' I have that would probably make you even sicker. I get sick just thinking about them, and that's why I didn't type them up. I've lived in both the Bronx and New Orleans, and I was shocked to find there was someplace worse on earth than the Bronx for roaches! And I'm still living here.
Gosh the stories here are both creepy and hilarious!
Don't forget to mark Texas off your list, then. We have them here too. I grew up with the big Palmetto bugs flying in because I lived near Corpus Christi (Texas coast). Moved up the road a stretch to San Antonio, had an apartment in a really bad section of town, horrible management, etc., and dealt with the REAL nasties; the German cockroach. Neighbors would get together and agree on "bombing days" to bomb one stretch of apartments simultaneously in hopes of killing them all at once, otherwise they'd just run to the next apartment and be back within a week or two. Ewww. They are horrible, they are hard to kill, they are nasty, and they BITE!
Doesn't have to be a "dirty person", either. They can live on anything, they'll eat clothing, dog or cat food (experts say if you are fighting a roach problem to remove the dog and cat food and water every night for this reason), they will eat books, paintings, electrical wires, you name it. I still blame roaches for my big computer monitor sudden death situation in 1994!!
Neighbor swore they'd ruined her VCR the same way.
I have a serious and intense roach phobia myself, and I am SO GLAD I don't live there anymore. One of my neighbors, the type who cleaned her house daily from top to bottom without fail, had them so bad that you couldn't even sit on the sofa without sitting on a few and having more crawl over you while you watched TV. Roach baits (as opposed to bombs and such) were the ONLY thing that helped, and they didn't help much, really, with those German cockroaches. I'm getting nauseous and shivery just thinking about it. Yuck.
Oh, just a comment to eventer, actually the directions on the cans will tell you to close up the house, open all the cabinet doors, and place one can in each room (depending on room size). You're supposed to lay newspaper out on the floor around the can, and it's a good idea to cover items that can't be washed afterwards.
Personally I have an equally-intense phobia about chemical residues and toxic stuff around the house so I won't use the bombs anymore (or would not if I ever had a bug problem again, Goddess forbid!!!).
posted on November 20, 2000 09:32:00 PM
To ALL who have posted on this thread....If you have roaches, or see a roach in the house...whatever you do don't step on it to kill it!!!!!
Since I work in Foodservice, I am familiar with roach problems (which we have a professional take care of BTW)...If u step on a roach, there is a 50/50 chance that it is a female...there is ALSo the risk that this female is carrying eggs...IF you step on it to kill it, the eggs may become attached to your shoe, and you will deposit them any where that shoe steps!!!!
Just a little FYI
Keith
I assume full responsibility for my actions, except
the ones that are someone else's fault.
posted on November 20, 2000 11:09:53 PM
That's one of the BEAUTIFUL things about living in the GREAT WHITE NORTH, That Winter Freeze Kills EVERYTHING. Oh I'm not saying we don't get Bugs, but not like those Tropical ones down South.
I got such a giggle out of it!
.