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Hi All,

We live in an apartment building, and apparently the whole building is having some "pest control" issues (big honkin' roaches, BLLECCHH!!). The building management is offering to pay to have apartments treated for the problem on July 10th. We definitely have some pest issues in our apartment, since we're on the first floor and directly over the recycling room, so we would like to have our apartment treated. However, I'm very concerned about what to do with Brady. Obviously, I will not have him in the apartment while it's actually being treated, but I'm unsure of how long afterwards I will have to wait before bringing him home again. Do you have any advice or suggestions? Do you know if exterminators ever treat with organically-based products that might be a little safer? What questions should I ask?

Thanks in advance for you help!

~Laurel

Sorry - I have no experience of my own but maybe you can call a few companies. I guess I would wait til I didn't notice the smell and definitely keep windowns open as much as possible to allow fresh air in so it is not as concentrated. I hope that someone with more experience can help.

I've never had more than an occasional large roach inside since leaving Texas, but the small ones plagued me until this year. Hope I'm not jinxing myself I've had fewer each year, but finally . . . none But my point is that through years of fighting them, I never found anything more effective than cleanliness (meaning, removal of food sources) and quick reflexes. Even after the spray applications have dried and lost their odor, the poison lingers on everything not stored in airtight containers during the spraying . . . toys, cages, dishes, an endless list of things that can't all be easily washed, like wood and rope perches. Sorry to be so discouraging, but have you considered moving?

Well, it's not so easy to just up and move because we own our place. I was, however, planning to move EVERYTHING associated with Brady out of our apartment during the treatment, so as to absolutely minimize the risk of exposure.

Unfortunately, we don't have an option as to what company does the treatment. The management company is hiring one company to do the entire building. The building (i.e. hallways, stairways, and the recycling room below us) is getting treated whether we like it or not, but we are given the option to have our actual apartment treated as well.

I will check with the management company to see what kind of treatment system they are planning to use. We usually only get the roaches in our bathroom and bedroom (oddly enough), so maybe I can have them limit the treatment to just those areas.

LaurelG wrote:... We usually only get the roaches in our bathroom and bedroom (oddly enough), so maybe I can have them limit the treatment to just those areas.

If they're the same kind of roaches I've battled, that might work. They are very much localized, staying right where they feed unless the food source dries up. In all my years of fighting them, they stayed in just one of my bird rooms, never venturing into 2 others or the rest of my house, despite an open floor plan. Except for an occasional one, of course.

I surely do wish you luck. Hate those things most fiercely