Help! Just found a huge cockroach in my bedroom closet!

I killed it — it didn’t seem to be moving but it creeped me the fuck out. I’ve lived in my apartment for four years and aside from a couple of small spiders have never had an issue with bugs. I don’t leave food around or anything like that. Should I get an exterminator? Are there sure to be more?

Do you live in the south, OP? Was it an American roach?

The German ones are the nasty ones.

Yeah, those damn German cockroaches! Every couple of decades, they have to go and invade Polish restaurants.

get the exterminator, this is tricky if you have pets

Filmed evidence of the OP.

OP here. I live in NYC and it was one of the huge kind we sometimes call water bugs.

If you saw one there’s is hundreds more... get an exterminator ASAP

There are two things you can NEVER get rid of in NYC: roaches and mice.

[quote]Help! Just found a huge cockroach in my bedroom closet! I killed it.

Proof that the closet kills.

MOVE. Leave everything. You don't need it.

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. The super is sending an exterminator.

Does this exterminator escort? Id pay extra for the "Infestation Experience"

If you've seen one, there are probably 101 that you don't see. Sorry.

An exterminator is relatively useless unless the entire building is sprayed. What you can do is make sure all cracks and openings around the pipes in your kitchen and bathroom are sealed tight - waterproof caulking would be a good start.

Then buy some Boric Acid from the drug store. You can't use this near pets or your food, but if you clean out the cupboard under your sink in the kitchen, you can spread a very thin layer of boric acid all around the corners and along the edge of the cabinet floor. Put the powder in a small squeeze or squirt bottle and wear a mask so you don't inhale the powder. Also wear gloves on your hands. You can put back any cleaning supplies in the cupboard, but don't let them touch the powder.

You can do the same thing in the bathroom if you have a cupboard under the sink. If you have a washer and dryer in your apartment, do the same- squirt some under the appliance- making sure it's not applied where pets can sniff at it.

Then squeeze some powder under the stove and under the fridge, and under the dishwasher if you have one. Again being careful not to let any powder too close to the open where pets can sniff at it.

The idea is that the roaches walk over the powder and it sticks to them, they take it back to other roaches and spread it enough to kill all of them. You will probably see a few more dead roaches after you use the powder because they'll come out of hiding to die.

Just make sure not to use too much- you don't need a lot to get the job done - and make sure to keep it away from pets and food preparation. Don't go spreading it across your kitchen counter or spreading it around the floorboards if you have pets.

This stuff really works, so you shouldn't have any problems once you get rid of them all.

Was there any girlish screaming when you spotted it, OP, or were you resolutely masc the whole time?

I love that this thread reads on my watch list as “Help! Just found a huge cock”.

I would probably first put a couple of glue traps in every room and see how big the problem really is. The stuff the exterminator sprays in every corner is not healthy for you or your pets. First find out if there really is a problem. I also had a cockroach in my apartment and called the landlord. They put glue traps in every apartment in the building and my apartment was fine. The problem came from an apartment on the second floor and one of them probably made it to my apartment via the ventilation system. An Asian family lived there and didn't report it bc it apparently is common in South East Asia and everyone has them. Urgh. I still have glue traps in every room and regularly get new one, just in case.....

I gasped, R15.

Thanks for the idea of the glue traps R17. That’s a good way to gauge the extent of the problem.

OP it's not unusual for you to track one into the apartment. They can be lurking anywhere and get transported. Did you bring dry cleaning into your closet? Shoes? Luggage or some kind of bag or box? Shit happens. You could have even brought it in with groceries. Think about it. It doesn't seem like you have pets. So go with the boric acid.

I found signs of mice in my house. I put out humane traps (which you release them outside... a distance away), and so far I've caught three. An exterminator is coming on Wednesday. Ugh.... I don't want to use poisons, if possible. The idea that they may die between the walls.. stinking the high heaven... or go back outside, for another prey animal to eat them, then they get sick and may die, also.

Glue traps are great. I use them for spiders, and one time I had a moth problem. It took time and persistence, but the moth problem went away. These traps are safe, can put by food, in a pantry. Put them all over the house in corners. No poisons.

Did you make a wish? Cockroaches are good luck!

Are you the poster who started the thread "I just got cocked! Yes I did. I got cocked good!"?

[Quote]Did you make a wish? Cockroaches are good luck!

Only if you're a Darfur orphan.

R19: I’ve been wondering exactly that. The last few days I’ve brought several packages into my apartment and I found the cockroach under a plastic bag that a new blanket came in.

R26 Then maybe try the glue traps before the man with the poison, even if he escorts.

OP, you're a sissy priss pot loser.

Are you on 57th street, op?

I had a big issue last year with these fuckers last year. Found an exterminator that had a pet friendly formula. The guy went around with a goo filled syringe like thing instead of a spray can.

"I put out humane traps"

Fuck that. I want those muthers to die a slow painful death!

Everything R14 posted, sealed up all the cracks, but those large roaches are determined, like the regular size cockroaches, they manage to flatten themselves then squeeze into any crack or crevice!

Another good product to use is the Combat gel, put that where the cupboards are connected to the walls and definitely in your closet where the wall connects to the floor. There is also a foam sealant which hardens.

The only good thing about those large roaches, if you spray Raid etc directly on them, they seem to die faster than the regular size roaches.

I had those large fuckers when I lived in a ground floor apartment. I immediately figured where they were coming from, I was over the basement, they squeezed in through the riser pipers. I only saw them in the rooms where I had riser pipes. I sealed the space between the floor and pipe with steel wool, then secured the metal rings around the pipes down with epoxy glue. Don't use any kind of tape, even the heavy duty fabric tape didn't secure the metal rings, tape becomes loose when the heat is on.

Those large roaches do, of course, climb, we had them at work for awhile, on the 19th floor!

Oh good grief. Just go to Home Depot (or similar store) and buy some roach spray and spray it along floor edges of each room, and be done with it. Just buy the kind that has no odor.

[quote]Oh good grief. Just go to Home Depot (or similar store) and buy some roach spray and spray it along floor edges of each room, and be done with it. Just buy the kind that has no odor.

You likely haven't had any real experiences with those large fuckers. Spraying some caustic unhealthy chemical is only a quick fix. You will have to keep doing it, roach spray doesn't get to the root of the problem. You sound like you were too lazy to vote!

Sealing up any cracks and crevices is all about doing a permanent fix. I have to wonder what you'd do about bedbugs, which is actually much worse than having roaches!

You sound lazy...and fat!

Good grief, if it was just a Palmetto Bug, don't worry, just get a can of Raid for roaches and fleas.

R37- True. Spraying just kills the ones that come out. Boric acid works better because the roach takes it back to all his other little friends that are hiding in places you can't spray.

R37 Wow, if I had bedbugs I would seriously consider moving and getting rid of all stuff that doesn't fit in a freezer. My brother had them after a friend visited him and his wife (he was staying at a hotel in NYC). They hide inside the walls, carpets and everywhere inside and around the bed. Very uncomfortable and expensive to get rid of them. You have to wash all your clothes and put them in boxes, put all your belongings in boxes and treat them with heat or freeze them or wait at least 12 months. And you have to basically destroy the whole room or all rooms that are infected to find every single nest.

I'm really, really paranoid about staying in hotels now and leaving clothes in cupboards and suitcases in the rooms. My brother was also a person non grata for a couple of months bc we were all afraid they would bring them with them. Also always freaking out if I have suspicious spots/bites anywhere. Especially after a trip or vacation.

Cockroaches are though too but not as bad as bedbugs.

i'm surprised it's in bedroom closet. They are usually in kitchen or bathroom, they like damp conditions.

I agree with the boric acid, that's the first thing I bought and I powder it every corner in the kitchen, along the walls etc.

Don't leave out food and keep it clean, I throw out garbage every night, there is no trash in my apt most of the time.

R40, you put your suitcase in the bathtub when you travel. I don’t take stuff out of my suitcase any more unless I’m about to put it on. All the dirty clothes go into a plastic bag that goes into my suitcase and then directly into my washer at home. I stay at nice places too. You never know any more.

Water bugs are usually outdoor bugs, the smaller ones are indoor bugs. Seal all the crevices. I used to have a problem with roaches I could never get rid of. I had an exterminator bug bomb the whole house and that was it. No more baby roaches turning up and it’s been years. I kept my house absolutely spotless and couldn’t get rid of them until the big bombs. I think they were breeding inside the wall under the sink cabinets, especially the kitchen cabinet where there’s a cutout to accommodate the plumbing. It was a pain to wash everything afterwards but it was worth it.

Now I go to Home Depot and get pesticide and spray it myself every few months. Be sure and get a lot around the front door. Especially all around the molding, inside and out, they have to cross that to get in. I have a rubber mat inside the door with an open weave design. I sprayed a lot underneath it. Also around the sliding glass doors, inside and out and in the track. Caulking all the windows seems to have helped too.

Spray underneath all the furniture and behind the couch and cabinets. Spray across all the doorways. Spray all along the baseboards throughout the entire house.

Thank God that you don't live in Florida, Louisiana, Texas, etc. OP. Those giant, hideous American cockroaches (Palmetto bugs, Water Bugs, etc.) are everywhere and impossible to keep out. The good news is that they rarely infest (unless the house is abandoned, etc.) and they prefer to live outdoors although they LOVE dark, damp areas inside your home. Infestations occur when openings from external walls allow wetness to get into the walls, etc. Leaky water pipes in walls or under sinks are hotbeds for an infestation. Waterlines going to a refrigerator ice maker, etc. can be a great place to camp out. As a rule, they like DARK, WET and WARM and the more tropical your location, the higher probability that they will be very present in your life one way or the other. If your home is basically well-insulated to the outside, your neighbors or a warm/wet basement - you are usually just dealing with a "visitor". Roaches are photo-negative and don't care for well-it areas as a rule. For that reason they are far more active at night (or inside your cabinets and closets. That said, Diatomaceous earth is very effective at killing those huge creatures. Sprinkle it around the whole house - it is very helpful if ugly - if you lived in a home or town home, I would recommend sprinkling it all around the exterior walls as well. I would also put in in all of your cabinets under or near sinks. Line the room perimeters with the stuff and dark areas like closets as well. Be careful not to kick it up into the air and inhale it - otherwise, it isn't toxic at all to humans.

[quote]Water bugs are usually outdoor bugs, the smaller ones are indoor bugs.

Not in NYC they're not. Those huge cockroaches can be anywhere. They look for water and food and will climb walls and go anywhere on their way to food and water.

One day I was crossing a street in the city and saw an army of them crawling out of a hole in a manhole cover. It looked like something out of a horror movie! Just thinking about large roaches makes me itchy!

I was visiting a friend and she had been away for a week, I went into her bathroom and saw a baby roach crawl out from the bathtub drain. So now I seal the bathtub drain whenever I go away for a few days. This is NYC.

Palmetto bugs usually live and breed outside...so if you kill the ones you see, you should be safe from an infestation.

OP, I live in NYC, and though I used to see cockroaches all the time, I haven't seen any in over twenty years.

The solution is Combat, but you have to buy both the large and small size at the same time and lay them ALL down in the kitchen and bathroom. Large AND small size, not just either of them. And you don't have to replenish them, either. They work forever.

Of course, it may be that all my neighbors have laid down Combat as well. I don't know.

I'm R45, I forget to mention that I tape it the bathtub drain with painter's blue duck tape.

You guys are very LAX with the toxics you spray all over your house. Seriously, if I had that much toxic pesticides in my house, I don't think I could live there anymore. They say the boric acid and Diatomaceous earth is not toxic unless you inhale a huge dosage, but that stuff is basically everywhere when you just walk around the house and you will eventually inhale some of it. Just think what these sharp micro objects will do to your lungs when they're sharp enough to cut the exoskeletons of these insects.

An exterminator used a pesticide in the house I grew up in to get rid of bugs under the wooden floor (they destroy and put their eggs in clothing). It was the same stuff they used for the necklaces soldiers wore during the gulf war and caused neurological symptoms. After two weeks of running around barefoot in the house, we noticed that our toes were getting numb. We eventually moved out and the landlord had to remove all the floors and dry walls bc that stuff was so toxic. They told us at the time it was safe and exterminators used it everywhere. But it was not and caused us and the soldiers severe neurological problems.

Just be very careful and think twice before using stuff like this in your house. Especially if you have kids or pets. They say it is safe now and a couple of years later you find out it's a neurotoxin or causes cancer or asthma.

R43 My brother lives in Texas and there're no cockroaches in his house. His friends also don't have any. I also have some friends in Florida and none of them ever had cockroaches in their houses. I was once staying at an very old B&B in Houston and they had these huge cockroaches there. So I'm not sure if they're only in very old buildings/houses or if the owners are too lazy to get rid of them or if this is indeed a hygiene problem.

[quote]OP, I live in NYC, and though I used to see cockroaches all the time, I haven't seen any in over twenty years. The solution is Combat, but you have to buy both the large and small size at the same time and lay them ALL down in the kitchen and bathroom. Large AND small size, not just either of them. And you don't have to replenish them, either. They work forever. Of course, it may be that all my neighbors have laid down Combat as well. I don't know.

Wrong about Combat. Yes, it sure does work, but it sure does NOT work after 3-4 months. Combat does not work "forever". Exactly how would the company stay in business if their product worked "forever"?!

If you are a month or so over the replacement date, you will see the roaches come back like clockwork.

R45, Bed Bath and Beyond makes a type of bathtub plug that’s just a flat piece of rubber that lays over the top of the bathtub drain. It’s bigger than the drain and forms a pretty tight seal.

If you use the shower every day, there is water in the trap. If you go away for a few days, that water dries out and bugs can crawl up the drain. Same for the bathroom and kitchen sinks. Before you go, run all the taps. When you come back, run the taps and bathtub again. That will put water in the traps again and should block them from coming up again.

Are there more?! The walls are teeming with them! Soon the sheer volume of them will split the wall clean open like an overripe melon. They’ll pour out, hissing, and cover the room like black wave.

Are there more?! The walls are teeming with them. Soon—probably in the dead of night—the sheer volume of them will split those flimsy walls open like an overripe melon. They’ll emerge, thousands of them, hissing as they cover the room like a black wave.

R51: That may be your experience, but mine is that Combat, laid down as I described some twenty years ago--probably more, actually--has never had to be replaced.

I say this having been, once on a time, inundated with roaches. They were everywhere, even in the piano bench. What were they looking for there? The Bloomer Girl piano selection?

But, again, my success may have to do with having neighbors who have controlled the roach population as well. Combat of course wants customers to keep replacing it--but why would you if you don't have to?

If I see a roach, I'll buy more of it.

[quote]My brother lives in Texas and there're no cockroaches in his house. His friends also don't have any. I also have some friends in Florida and none of them ever had cockroaches in their houses. I was once staying at an very old B&B in Houston and they had these huge cockroaches there. So I'm not sure if they're only in very old buildings/houses or if the owners are too lazy to get rid of them or if this is indeed a hygiene problem.

I think most of the posts are from people living in urban environments, in apartment buildings in crowded cities. Anyone I know who lives in a private one family house in NY state sure doesn't have roaches of any kind, especially those who live in the suburbs or upstate NY.

[quote]That may be your experience, but mine is that Combat, laid down as I described some twenty years ago--probably more, actually--has never had to be replaced.

Your experience is completely absurd and extremely unique, it's likely due to all your neighbors replacing their Combat. Not because the last time YOU put them out was TWENTY years ago! Those Combat discs are damn well are not working anymore, don't troll. The chemicals have long ago lost their potency. It's like someone using 20 year old aspirin, would they work?! 🙄🙄🙄 Of course not!

If you ask anyone who uses Combat, it must be replaced and not because the company is lying to their customers. The product is made to have a short working span. If your building has an ongoing roach problem, you must continue using whatever product you are using.

I don't have roaches in my current apartment, a co-op, but my friends who do have roaches in their rentals, use Combat. All of them must replace the Combat every 3-4 months. Otherwise, the roaches are out again. Some only replace them twice a year. If the roaches ever fully go away due to the landlord hiring an exterminator, then you can stop using them.

Informative thread... thanks.

Stick it up your fucking ass, shitbag at R57.

Suzanne Sugarbaker: "The man should have to kill the bug."

We can wait. We have more time.

Raid doesn’t always kill roaches quickly - they’re evolving past it. Keep a tub of baby powder around and, if you see roaches, a quick flick of your wrist should cover them in powder. They’re immediately immobilised and usually dead very soon thereafter.

Sweep up and put in garbage as far away from your home as you can first chance you get. Powder smells ok and won’t harm you!

No, talcum powder won't hurt you. Enjoy!

I sprayed air fresher( a lot!) on a roach I found at my friend's place and it slowed the cunt down a bit and I managed to kill it.

What was on the cockroach's iPod?

R56, no but there are other insects instead of roaches, like stinkbugs.

Wow, R59 is TRIGGERED. 😂😂😂😂😂

Any person with a functioning brain knows Combat would not be effective after a ONE YEAR let alone after TWENTY YEARS!

Give it a rest, hun.

Lots of people don't keep bug spray around, because they don't have bugs, but in case you do see roaches, any chemical in a spray bottle will do the trick until you get some bug spray, boric acid or Combat.

A female friend says hairspray is great because it makes the roaches stiff. Even Lysol or Febreze would be great. They also work when those large roaches try to hide, if they hide under a piece of heavy furniture you can't move, spray some Lysol or Febreze, the fragrance will draw them out, then smash it with a shoe!

Borax. Google how to use it.. I know you mix it with sugar for ants. Not sure with roaches.

Mix the borax powder with freshly clutched pearls.

[quote]Mix the borax powder with freshly clutched pearls.

You do realize some people have all sorts of phobias? I know a big strong burly dude who does construction, he can't stand those large roaches. He was renovating an apartment building, on that particular assignment, he was taking apart a bathroom wall. A nest of those large roaches was behind that wall. He laughed when he told me, "I screamed like a 5 year old girl!"

Combat roach baits, gurl.

I am well rebuked, R73. I was just being pointlessly bitchy. I scream like a five-year-old girl when a spider darts by.

My cats are roach killers. When the rare one gets in they are on it. I do not know if they sre hesring it or dmrlling it, but they will beat it enough that I can come collect it. This clip shows how proficient a cat can be.

Those large roaches are VILE.

I can't believe some people refuse to call them roaches, they call them water bugs etc. I mean, c'mon, they completely look like a roach, they are even the same color as regular size roaches. They also fly. Disgusting.

Does boric acid last forever? or does its potency fade over time? I put some in corners over 5 years ago...wonder if I should put more in?

[quote] "...hesring it or dmrlling it..."

They are gnrfrllling it.

Put some more down. You don't have babies or pets, do you?

R80, no I don't. thank you!

Go to Amazon and look for a product called Advion gel. I had a slight infestation a few years ago and didn't want to use sprays (poison) or boric acid (messy) or Combat traps (takes too long). I found many good reviews for this Advion. It comes in a syringe-like container and you just put dots of it around wherever you've seen roaches. I was roach free in about 5-7 days.

Only thing is, it's kind of expensive. I don't remember how much I paid for the one syringe I bought, but Amazon is only selling multiple packs now (4 pack, etc) and the cheapest price is $21.00.

Diamatious Earth kills them and it is safe for your pets.

Anyone have any luck with those electronic pest devices? The ones that are supposed to drive bugs/mice out of your home with sound waves? I always thought those were a scam but my sister says she hardly ever gets roaches anymore. It's that "hardly ever" that bothers me.

R85 - Funny that you ask about those. I owned a house in Dallas and tried those stupid things. They were both expensive and completely useless. Professional pest control and diatomaceous earth kept the roaches at bay. At night it became clear why these gigantic roaches are nicknamed "water bugs". I used to walk the neighborhoods of Highland Park (really gorgeous homes) and after dark the roads along Turtle Creek were COVERED with these giant roaches - it was repulsive. So you had these 20 million dollar estates near a gorgeous water source that was literally crawling in giant roaches. All of the "lakes" that huge homes back up to in Orlando, Florida are just the same - billions of giant roaches everywhere. Moral of the story is that living next to a fresh water source is double edged sword if you live in any of those warmer parts of the country.

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