When we lived in Illinois, I don't recall seeing American cockroaches. We certainly saw the smaller variety of German cockroaches, but I was happy we didn't have the giant American ones that we have in abundance here in Hawaii.
I did a science experiment in high school where I put American cockroaches in jars with different kinds of impossible food material. I remember cardboard, tobacco, leaves, etc. None of the cockroaches died. In fact they flourished and I ended up with jars teeming with them. Yuuuck!
There was a book here in Hawaii written by Lisa Matsumoto called How B-52 Cockroach Learned to Fly.
So yes they do fly... high.
When we lived in the sugar plantation camp, I would walk into the bathing room carefully, making sure there were no giant cockroaches (or cane spiders) ready to dive bomb over me (or on me).
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Well, the other night Art walked into our bedroom and was surprised to see what looked like a giant cockroach on our (filtered light) window shade. Since it was dark and he could only see what looked like a shadow, he hoped the bug was outside of the house.
Nope.
So what to do? If he tried swatting it, the bug would probably just fly off. If it skittered off, we'd be chasing it all over the house. If he swatted it really hard, he could bring down the window shade and cause a mess.
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Kimo of Terminix had just stopped by that morning and sprayed the perimeter of the house for vermin.
Maybe this bug was dazed from the poison Kimo had sprayed.
Whatever the case, Art took the vacuum canister outside and disposed of the unwanted invader to our bedroom.
We now need to figure out HOW it got in.
We have enough B-52s outside of the house. We don't need them as house guests. 😝
POSTSCRIPT 1:
Holy smokes! We don't see these B-52s much in the house at all but the following night THERE WAS ANOTHER one on the wall next to the headboard of our bed!!! Art and I quickly started covering our bed and the cockroach actually jumped onto our bed and then flew to the wall behind Art.
Art grabbed his slipper to smash it on the wall and it jumped on the floor where Art was finally able to swat it.
And if THAT wasn't bad enough, I was sitting on the toilet next to our bathtub when I looked at something moving and saw this!
Arrrghhh!!!!
POSTSCRIPT 2: There was a 4th B-52 cockroach the following night so Art called Terminix and they said they would send an inspector out for free to figure out how they were getting in.
POSTSCRIPT 3: Would you believe the inspector never showed up and never called to tell us he wasn’t? Irritating. We ordered some Harris cockroach gel and tablets on Amazon that were recommended by friends. I hope it works. Then again, we haven’t seen any American cockroaches in several days, so hopefully that’s it for a while. 🤞
If any of my Hawaii readers know a good pest control company please let me know. It might be time for a change.
Here in Texas they can get as big as 3 inches long...we call them Water Bugs. When it's hot and dry, they get in the house to find water. There's a reason they existed during the dinosaur days...Tough buggars!
ReplyDeletehugs
Donna
One cockroach of any kind is too much.
ReplyDeleteThey make me shudder. Ugh!
ReplyDeleteSometimes I wonder is the pest control contract is worth it and then I think about cockroaches and pay right up. In VT, I used to suck crickets up in the vacuum, but only when Mike wasn't around. He loved crickets for some reason.
ReplyDeleteI despise the critters. They are so filthy! I don't see them here in Caney.
ReplyDeleteAnd by the way,,,I am not Anonymous. I am Margie
ReplyDeleteI hate being called Anonymous! I don't know when that started! As I said, I am Margie
ReplyDeleteThe biggest one I ever saw was in Shanghai in a hotel room. Can't remember how we got it out. We have a pest service but it's mainly for mice though the treat the perimeter for ants and other critters.
ReplyDeleteWow. That is creepy! Mind you, we are not far off mosquito season. sigh.
ReplyDeleteAieeeeeeeeeeee! I admit to the slightest phobia about bugs in the house.
ReplyDeleteOkay. It's not so slight.
Terminex would make me mad. I would call and complain, and then I would get somebody new in there.
We use Extermco, we think they do a good job. I use roach gel, which seems to work.
ReplyDeleteIzsmom
We just got some Harris roach gel and applied it in the only place we're not sure of. We just can't figure out where they're coming from. I'll check out Extermco. Thank you so much!!!
DeleteYou’re welcome!
DeleteI've never seen any cockroaches in places I have lived but I know they are around thanks to the assurances of a friend who is a pest exterminator.
ReplyDeleteDidnt know there were different types
ReplyDeleteOh yes, some can be quite big. We see them on occasion - but the pestman sprays outside and inside, so we don't see them much. We saw them a lot more in Louisiana than here in Texas. But they give me the creeps too... especially the ones that fly. Our 10 year old granddaughter likes to do pranks. She brought over a huge 3inch toy roach that actually moved around. It looked so real that when I first saw it, I froze and thought about calling 'Animal Patrol'.... ( she laughed of course).
ReplyDeleteI don't like ANY bugs in my bedroom (or anywhere really)--besides a few spiders I usually don't have to worry about it. I would hate to keep finding them around like you have; my imagination would start to see them everywhere! I encountered many German cockroaches in New York and there was one gigantic one that my daughter's cat brought down when it tried to fly around. I won't talk about the cockroaches (or spiders) in West Africa; they have their own zip codes.
ReplyDeleteWe don't have cockroaches here, at least not that I know of, but we do have plenty of mosquitos and spiders.
ReplyDeleteWe are diligent about keeping screens closed, but the spiders find their own way in creeping about somewhere, Fortunately I am not terrified of spiders and have no problem squishing them. Mosquitos love me, though, and we have them almost year round.
Yuck! I hate cockroaches - those B52 ones are so creepy with their thorny legs and they attack. But the worse ones are the spotted fatter ones that are so stink and leave oozing stinky doodoo (or guts) wherever they go.
ReplyDeleteThey are coming into your bedroom? Oooooh, double yuck! They must have outside access somehow. Maybe those dang pigeons told them to irritate you and Art. Maybe check your bathroom vent.
I just wish we knew how they were coming in. We looked all around and can't figure it out. Hmmm... maybe it's good I can't smell anything anymore.
DeleteMy landlord used Orkin and they are good. Got rid of all the roaches and ants. Once she stopped the contract, the ants came back . They did interior and exterior. -BB
ReplyDeleteOrkin? I hadn't heard of anyone using them. I shall look into that too. Thanks a bunch!
DeleteLin in ST. George UT-thankfully our exterminators work well with only spraying outside BUT I remember big cockroaches in Brazil many moons ago...
ReplyDeleteThe cokroaches of this year are bigger and more resistant than those in previous years.
ReplyDeleteI spray them with a solution of water + vinegar. It doesn't kill them on the spot but deactivates them and they stop running or flying around.
I don't know much about cockroaches.
ReplyDeleteI hope you can get this problem sorted soon.
All the best Jan
I've only seen one or two cockroaches. However, they are well known to be in buildings here.
ReplyDeleteWhen we lived in Puerto Rico, we had them bad, especially when the sugar cane was harvested. They came in droves. I had forgotten about them until I read this post! Hope they are gone now, Kay.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know cockroaches had different nationalities. I'm in a pretty old ground-level building on concrete slab. I have crickets and some Kansas version of medium-size roaches on occasion. I use those brown boxes called "Roach Motel". Unlike glue strips, you don't have to look at what they catch, unless you want to peer into the ends. My son suggested a bag of diatomaceous earth. It's not really dirt. It's very light tan powder that's also very lightweight. 3 years ago I sprinkled it along my perimeter baseboards and also on the perimeter outside. $13 from Ace Hardware for a 4 pound bag. Might be at WalMart. It REALLY stopped the crickets and roaches. Might not be good if you have a toddler crawling on the floor or a house pet. Otherwise, wouldn't one or two of those cute little Hawaiian geckos like to help? Linda in Kansas
ReplyDeleteMy Mom put out boric acid in little jar lids. They crawl through it and carry it home. It worked for Mom. It’s an old remedy.
ReplyDeleteAhhh yes. We've done that with sugar for ants.
DeleteWe used boric acid on the roaches in our first apartment. Good old 20 Mule Team!
ReplyDeleteAgggh, revolting.
ReplyDeleteThose things are so disgusting
ReplyDeleteI think the vacuum cleaner solution was ingenious. Since moving to the South from Minnesota I’ve experienced those big things more times than I’d like. We are in the woods all around and once in a while they find their way in via the fireplace. Freaks me out every time! I hope you’ve seen the last of your visiting squadron.
ReplyDeleteShould I get the Harris tablets or the gel?
ReplyDeleteThe instructions say that if you have animals, you’d have to keep them away from the gel and tablets. It would be dangerous, I think to have those poisons near Pixie. We only use the gel on our high split air conditioning system because we thought that might be where they have access. Maybe…
ReplyDeleteMahalos Dear
DeleteOops! This is me, Kay of Musings. I’m using my iPad so it lists me as Anonymous.
ReplyDelete