posted on November 18, 2000 03:49:41 PM
I just bought a huge box of dolls & toys on ebay. The box was in my house for maybe 4-5 hours before I got around to opening it. When I finally opened it I went through it & then began cleaning up the toys, and as I was cleaning I noticed that some of the dolls had dead roaches matted in their hair. As you can imagine, I moved that box out of the house as fast as I could!!!!!!! YIKES!!!!
Well, it is now 2 days later, and I found a live roach this morning and another one just now and I am FREAKING OUT!!!!!!!!!!!! I killed both of those but what if there were more? what do I do? and more to the point how do I do it FAST???!!!!! I want to nip this in the bud before my boyfriend (who lives with me) finds out that anthing is wrong. He is already very down on the whole ebay thing and has been subtly trying to discourage any more buying. Although I am sure I won't be buying anything else until way after this memory has faded, I sure don't want to hear from him for the rest of my life how Ebay gave us roaches. WHAT DO I DO??? (I know, first say a prayer of thanks that I was the one who found the roaches, not him! Believe me I did!)
posted on November 18, 2000 03:56:40 PM
CAgrrl....AGH!....My sincere sympathies to ya!....I can handle every kind of bug, cept roaches & one other too gross to even mention...BUT...If I were in your position, I'd be on the phone to a professional exterminator asap!....Perhaps another AWer will have some suggestions on "home cures", but I wouldn't for one second mess around with anything but a professional, not when dealin' with roaches....YUK!!!...
My MIL had here house infected by bringin' home/storin' supermarket brown bags...She did manage to get rid of them with professional help!...
posted on November 18, 2000 04:04:41 PM
If you have only found a few they probably haven't had time to nest and lay eggs so plan a date with the boyfriend (as you have to be out of the house for 4-6 hours) buy some house exterminator sprays - get him in the car, run back in hit the button on them and when you get home you are set.
PS - If you truly do not want the boyfriend to know - make sure when you come home you are the first in and snatch up the sprays and throw them out before he sees
posted on November 18, 2000 04:04:45 PM
CAgrrl, if it happened to me (which it better NEVER!!), I'd probably go around and pre-emptively spray everywhere roaches are known to hang out to kill 'em off before they take up residence. Not much else can be done, that I can think of anyway!
However, if worst comes to worst, who's to say WHERE the nasty things came from, that is, as far as your boyfriend goes? Does it have to be your ebay stuff, or might there be something else that was brought into the house recently that could have been the "culprit," from his standpoint? Get my drift?
Sorry for your predicament. I've never had roaches, but I did unknowingly introduce fleas into our multi-creatured household several years ago by adopting a stray kitten. It was no fun getting rid of them. (Bless my DHs heart, he didn't have a clue -- and I most certainly didn't offer the information!)
posted on November 18, 2000 04:05:15 PM
I have seen an ad on TV where there is a product called a roach motel where roaches check in and don't check out. Maybe your hardware store sells them?
This brings back memories of the stinky cheese dish that I got on eBay this past summer and I had to throw it away. YUK! Your story is worse.
posted on November 18, 2000 04:07:46 PM
EWwwwwwwwwwww!!!!!! That is so gross!!! I feel so sorry for you! If I were you I wouldn't even worry about the boyfriend finding out - first things first - get the problem taken care of IMMEDIATELY!!
Sorry I don't have any remedies, never had a problem like that before - but I DO hope you will notify the seller and leave appropriate feedback to the seller who sent them to you! (And maybe you should send them the bill from the exterminator, too!)
(Ewwwwwwwww again....)
I hope you get it taken care of quickly! Best of luck.....
posted on November 18, 2000 04:09:28 PM
Yikes! I just re-read your first sentence -- these are dolls you bought ON ebay???? Good grief -- now I've heard it all.
posted on November 18, 2000 04:23:13 PM
OK you guys- as soon as I'm done posting I'm on my way to the store to pick up those roach motels. My boyfriend is asleep, I hope he stays that way for awhile. I doubt he'd think twice about those since we have an occasional ant problem as well- I'll get the kind that zaps both if I can find it! Good thinking, huh?
Executive girl- it's too late for the feedback because I already left a positive. And since the roaches MIGHT not have come from that box I don't know whether I should even say anything to the seller. To me dead roaches in the dolls' hair is pretty conclusive evidence, but I DID get 3 other boxes this week from other sellers as well...and I DID buy groceries this week also although I'd never heard of a problem with getting roaches from the grocery store, not even when I did live in the south.
posted on November 18, 2000 04:26:35 PM
fountainhouse- that same thing happened to me (years ago) with fleas. We had a dog, and then we brought home 2 stray kittens. the fleas were nearly impossible to get rid of- as soon as we'd dip the three of them, the cats would wander around and pick up more fleas, and then the dog would get re-infested...ugghh.
posted on November 18, 2000 04:56:33 PM
CAgrrl...having lived in NYC for most of my life, I am well acquainted with roaches...unfortunately! City apartment buildings are loaded and it is difficult to get rid of. My best advice to you is to get a professional right away. Do not play around with do it yourself methods...one good reason why is because roaches adapt themselves to home remedies and actually even like the stuff and multiply.
With a professional, you will get the job done right...every nook and cranny and he probably will not have to make a return visit because you are getting help right away, before the devils can do much damage.
Oh, and you can schedule the appointment for early in the day, when DBF is away, then light some nice romantic candles, and cook a delicious aromatic dinner to cover any residual aroma from the chemicals.
Good Luck!
----------------------------------
Opinions Are Like The Nose On Your Face; Everyone's Got One!
posted on November 18, 2000 05:00:47 PM
Well, I can certainly tell most of you have never lived anywhere near Miami!!!
First month we lived there we heard crunching late one night, looked up at our stone fireplace (yup, in Miami!) ledge and saw a gecko (little lizard) happily munching on a palmetto bug (giant flying cockroach)!!Truth. Needless to say,
it is just one of the reasons I disliked living in Miami.
We had the palmettos coming in once in awhile to find something to eat I guess. I have read they prefer to live outside. But we would also get the nasty german ones, probably from grocery bags. I found that Combat Roach Bait traps work really well. After I found them we had no problems with the germans at all. Our cats would take care of any visiting palmettos to our screened patio area...more munching, YUK.
The Combat bait traps are flat, pan-cakey looking things and really work. So do the roach motels, but they smell and you have to look at the sometimes still moving bodies inside them when you check for inhabitants.
Both are alot safer than the poisons you spray or that an exterminator sprays too. Our partner told of how he went to check out his Mother's apartment down there one day and found a roach crawling across the exterminator's bill from the day before. The only way to get 'em for us was to use the roach baits!
And now that I have truly disgusted even myself, I will crawl back to my rat hole in my roach-free Mid-Atlantic abode.... and hope no one was eating anything while reading this!
Oh CAgrrl, make sure you put ALL your flour, crackers, snack foods, etc in the refrigerator or freezer for awhile. Or at least get some canister with lids that are bug proof. We still keep all of our flours, molasses or syrup bottles in the frig just out of habit. But, now it also keeps ants away here. Lab Rat 4 GMOS
[ edited by labrat4gmos on Nov 18, 2000 05:04 PM ]
posted on November 18, 2000 05:01:35 PM
ACCK!!! I hadn't thought of that.
Now I'm really freaking out. This SUX.
BTW, thanks for all the advice, you guys, I do appreciate it.
Labrat, I didn't see your post until after I posted mine, but thanks for the info! Incidently, we already keep everything in the fridge due to the ants (and we have 2 fridges). They really bother my boyfriend, he is very freaked out by bugs of any kind! Ants don't particularly bother me, but I humor him. Roaches could spell disaster here.
[ edited by CAgrrl on Nov 18, 2000 05:06 PM ]
posted on November 18, 2000 05:02:21 PM
I can understand freeaking out though I wouldnt actually blame Ebay at all.
This is a problem that has been around for ever and isnt new at all you can go out for supermarket resturunt and come home with these critters in the cuffs or seams of your pants shoes or in the most odd places.
Advantage of liveing out here in the woods on a lake we dont see Roaches much but all other forms of insect and critters.
sound like maybe these things you got were stored in like a damp dark basement unsealed in boxes or maybe under a cabinet with maybe a sink attached or something.
posted on November 18, 2000 05:12:16 PM
Shosh- yes I did pay shipping AND handling. I still would have been delighted with this purchase if not for the "free gifts". I bought the stuff to re-sell but obviously that plan is OUT. So I'm totally bummed because I was looking forward to making a good $50-$75 on that lot. Now it looks like I'm going to be out at least that much (how much does it cost to pay an exterminator anyway??)
Should I say something? I mean, what could I even say at this point that would make a difference? If this person is selling out of a roach infested place I'm sure they full well know it already and just plain don't give a $#%#@. But what would you guys do?
posted on November 18, 2000 05:26:18 PM
It is incredible the nerve of some sellers to list garbage like this...dolls with matted hair infested with roaches, stinky cheese dishes, clothing that reeks of cig smoke, quilts loaded with cat hair, the pot a while back filled with cigarette buts, and the infamous pizza shipping box infested with ants...really disgusting!
Are you able to buy Bengal Roach Spray where you live? We are innundated with roaches down here in Louisiana. There is a Bengal dry powder spray that absolutely knocks out any roaches.
Once one of those big palmetto bugs (2" long cockroaches) was on the wall of my apartment. I got the roach spray out and sprayed it. The little SOB flew off the wall into my face. I screamed and when it went into my open mouth. Gaaagggging just remembering that incident! In the same apartment I'd be laying in bed trying to go to sleep, and would feel something run across my legs...so I'd swat at it, get up and turn on the light and there would be a dead roach. I lived in a shotgun double at the edge of the French quarter, and the guy on the other side of the house was a pig...all his roaches would just come over onto my side of the house whenever he bombed over there. Needless to say I moved.
No roaches in my new place, just gekkos and skinks running all over the walls. Gekkos are a pain, when you try to catch them their tails fall off and squirm all over like crazy. Eeeewwww! At least there are no tarantulas, that would be the limit for me.
posted on November 18, 2000 05:33:51 PM
mzalez- I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry at your post. Bengal roach spray? honestly I have no IDEA what is available or what to buy.
Gosh, I'm hoping these roaches aren't the flying variety. That would TRULY suck.
posted on November 18, 2000 05:39:29 PM
Shoshanah:
Whats the worry over paying shipping for these Items I dont beleave roaches weight enough to incress shipping that much.
My guess is they traveled free.
I would how ever complain if they charged you handleing on these items .
Actually I beleave the USPS and Ebay both have laws about the Shipping of pets though.
posted on November 18, 2000 05:47:44 PM
I've lived in many military quarters and they are almost always infested with roaches. The advice on getting a professional is the way to go. But you can also try sprinkling boric acid everywhere a roach could hide. You didn't mention whether they were the large or small, (german), cockroaches-if they are the small-bewarned, they breed like crazy! So you need to do something in a hurry! The big ones prefer to live outside. GOOD LUCK!
posted on November 18, 2000 05:48:45 PM
dman3- rolling on the floor laughing! That's funny!
guys, I don't care about the s/h. I woudn't be any less upset if I'd had the shipping for free. I wouldn't be any less upset if I'd had the whole bleeping box for free!
posted on November 18, 2000 06:02:15 PM
mzalez, that's the kind of story that nightmares are made of....Glad to hear you are livin' "roach free".....
Just a thought....it is possible that the seller didn't actually know & isn't living in a roach motel.....Lots of sellers from time to time pick up boxes from ALL over for their shipping...and/or store these boxes in garages, sheds, wherever.....& bugs can hide in the folds of the boxes, especially roaches, who typically run from light....That's the extent of my roach knowledge (THANK GOD!)....So I don't know if any would/could have died (auggghhhhh) in the doll's hair during the shipping.....
Any-which-way, I for one know I'm gonna be real real careful bout boxes & packing stuff.....& CAgrrl, I hope you run the little critters right outta town, FAST!
posted on November 18, 2000 06:09:38 PM
Have you checked the rest of the toys and dolls since you put the box outside? Sorry, but I just have visions of the roaches inside the doll bodies!
posted on November 18, 2000 06:16:23 PM
rancher, in theory I agree with your post, but according to her auction ad those were her toys from childhood. Either her ad was misleading, or she knew. Or the roaches didn't come from her. But I think they did.
Shaani- I think I'm going to just throw them away. Yuck. It breaks my heart to do it- there are some killer things in that box. You're right, I bet there probably are some in the doll bodies- not to mention down the drain in my sink, because I cleaned some of them before I noticed anything weird.
posted on November 18, 2000 06:24:39 PM
Timely post! Last month we went on vacation to the Outer Banks in North Carolina. We have gone every year since 1996 with no problems. I was really looking forward to going. We actually left at midnight to take the 10 hour drive and got there, sleepy and unable to even get inside the house until the afternoon. If only I had known, I wouldnt have WANTED to go inside the house.
You had to bring your own sheets so when I went to make the bed in the room my daughter was sleeping in, I removed the bedspread and found one of those freaking huge cockroaches (or Palmettos) luckily dead. However, I know that if you see one, that it means there are more. We didnt see any for a few more days when my mother-n-law came downstairs (my in-laws and another couple went with us) and whispered something to my father-n-law. We found out that there was a huge one on her bedroom wall. When they went back upstairs, it was gone! She did find it later and killed it but in the meantime, the rest of us decided to look around and to our absolute HORROR, we discovered them EVERYWHERE. Not just those Palmettos but those small brownish ones. I went through every single piece of luggage I had, shaking it all out and packed it back in my car. Although it wasn't sure to be safer there, at least I felt it was safer. When we complained to the realtor, they brought us ONE can of bug spray (we wont ever be using this realty again...). I cried wanting to go home but we stuck it out for another two days. I slept with the lights on and a flashlight in my hand!
I NEVER EVER want to go through that again. As a matter of fact, we decided to take a vacation someplace else next year.
Mzalez: I am squirming reading your post. I had to read it to my husband and thank God that didnt happen to me! You poor thing!
Edited to add: Forgot that my great-grandma got some in her house and it took my grandparents over 3 of those bug bombs before they were able to finally get rid of them. I would try that if all else fails. You can get them at a hardware store and even a store like Kmart I am sure. Good luck!
posted on November 18, 2000 06:47:04 PM
Oh, that is so gross! Once we bought a storage locker that had beautiful funiture and what looked to be nice clean boxes. We moved the sofa and some boxes, roaches came out from everywhere. We put bombs and other stuff in corners and any crackes. Locked it up and left it for two days. We thought because it was such a closed small area it would work. When we went back there were dead roaches all over the floor and crunched as we walked on them. We moved the sofa again to sweep them out and sure enough lots more live roaches. I think these were all babies they were smaller.
We told the manager he could keep the contents of the unit but he wouldn't give us our $250.00 or the $100.00 cleaning deposit. At that point I didn't care about the money.
I think we have the German ones here and you only get roaches if you are dirty.
posted on November 18, 2000 06:59:30 PMdman3...that was meant to be "tongue-in-cheek", but I guess it was too subtle without the "smiley"...so here goes.... Hope they did not charge you shipping AND handling WINK, WINK
Anyway, I definitely would let seller know.
******************** Gosh Shosh!
Believe me I did!)
Now it looks like I'm going to be out at least that much (how much does it cost to pay an exterminator anyway??)