Crisis Averted (For Now)
For anyone behind in their reading, please make sure you read this post first. Then come back here for what I hope is the conclusion!
I think I found where they were entering the apartment. It looks like the floor around a pipe may have shifted over the years creating a gap that I hadn't noticed before. I plastered it closed yesterday morning and I'm hoping that will be the end of my uninvited visitors.
I considered etching a prayer against water bugs into the plaster, or possibly imbedding an image of an appropriate patron saint. My friend said I should have written a prayer on a piece of paper and plastered over that. I'm still considering her option (I can add another layer) but with my luck I'd discover that slips of paper attract water bugs. Or as my friend put it, I'd probably find out later that "Paper is like cake to roaches!" I still kind of like my patron saint idea, though I can just imagine future people in my bathroom looking down and saying "Is that.... Jesus?"
And MP... (Yes I'm calling you out here instead of in the comments! Lol!) I'm not sure you fully appreciate the far reaching monumental implications of an impending giant mutant alien roach invasion in a NYC apartment! ;) Two roaches don't scare me. I can "move on" from two roaches! Please... I eat roaches for breakfast! Ok no, I don't really do that, that would be gross... well... maybe not in some countries.... but... wait... what are we talking about? Oh... right! The POINT is, I don't have a problem with two roaches. Not even two "three-inch" roaches. I moved on from THREE giant mutant roaches with no problem. But when all evidence pointed to the most recent roaches being a scouting party that was gathering intelligence for what was to be a full scale home invasion...? THAT'S what freaked me out! That there were more, LOADS more on the way. Not one or two but dozens!!! -Not to mention the invitations that I'm sure had already been sent out to over 80 MILLION of their nearest and dearest friends! (Any New Yorkers who happen to read here today, please explain to people how an impending invasion by giant mutant nuclear-resistant cockroaches is practically grounds for a call to 911 in NYC! ;) )
Last night I slept much better (Though I still turned on every light whenever I walked around my apartment!) I really hope that was the source of their entry. I also really hope that nobody laid eggs while they were scoping out my apartment. I hate it when visitors spawn in my home. I don't spawn in theirs.
10 Comments:
How can someone not understand the magnitude of a roach infestation? Everything is so close together in NYC its virtually impossible to get the situation under control once it starts. Your best bet at that point is to move. But maybe you live in a rent control building and moving means your rent increases by $1000 a month. Yeah, chew on that for a while. For most of the country that's like 2-3 extra car payments a MONTH, EVERY MONTH!
LOL!! OK Ok..I'm SORRY...I didn't understand the magnitude of such a scouting expedition.
I LOVE NYC but have only been in hotels where I did not SEE a bug..which of course doesn't mean they aren't there.
Me..we have spiders and centipedes..and waterbugs that try to come in from outside but the cats usually kill them first.
She's right. A roach infestation is impossible to get rid of in New York. If my place filled up with the big ones I would "freak out" too.
Melissa:
I luckily have never lived in a place that had roach infestations. But I've had a mouse (one mouse) infect the house I lived up north. It freaked me out. Mice look very cute in storybooks, but in real life...ick!!!
Here in Texas so far, no mice. But so far that has been 1 lizard, 2 snakes, and one wild cat getting into the apartment.
Vada,the dog tries to protect me, but her guard dog skills have not been fully developed. (Usually, she will take her prey (read bugs) and roll on it. LOL)
Sorry about your bugs. Who exactly is the patron saint of killing bugs?
Athena
In my case, it would be upwards of $2000.00. And yes, those buggers will freak you out! Hate, hate, hate them. About two years ago I started a war,( yes that's what I called it),on the regular little Roaches. I emptied out everything in my kitchen. I bombed, I sprayed, I left out those little disks. Everything I could think of and it worked!!... For about one year. They're back :-(
I just have to shudder at the thought...good luck with this!
Yee--owwww!!
I'm not up on saints. Lutherans have a different take on those kinds o'things. But I've taken a deep interest in Hinduism (not completely compatible, but I find it interesting...) and I'd recommend Kali.
Kali is the goddess not only of chaos and destruction, but the goddess of change. Think about it for a bit and you'll see how "chaos/destruction" and "change" are perfect partners! ;-) Plus, she has an extremely intimidating appearance. If you've ever seen "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom", you've gotten a good idea. She's most often depicted wearing a necklace of human fingers. Roaches don't generally eat meat (human or otherwise), they like composting veggies, so that's not likely to attract them. Not that there are statues available with *actual* human finger necklaces. And if there are, I'd rather not know about them...
Good luck with all of that!!! I hope the plaster is all you need to banish the pests for good.
Thank you everybody for your input! As some of you noted, the problem (which I wrote about in the comments of the previous post) is the "infestation" part. Once that starts, it's almost impossible to control.
So far I haven't seen any more water bugs since I sealed up the hole that I believe they were using to enter the apartment. I seriously hope that's the end of their visits!
Mice: I've been very lucky not to have those here. One of my neighbors had them. The first thing I did when I moved in was to seal up any hole I could find with steel wool, plaster, and duct tape. And lots of it. So far so good.
Athena: The lizard, I probably wouldn't have been too bothered by (unless it landed on me!) Nor the cat. The snakes IN the house, and not owned as someone's pet, would have freaked me out!
The dog rolling on her prey is a hilarious image!
The patron saint: I was looking at patron saints that protect people against plagues, and the patron saint of plasterers. (There is one!)
Lisa: Thank you! And thank you for stopping by! :)
Rebecca: Kali? I don't know... Saints are humble. I think they'd be cool keeping out "the plague." Kali... A bit of an ego. Not sure she'd like that task. I think she'd be much more likely to mess with the humans in my home than to concern herself with roaches!
The finger necklace... I did not know about that. -Clearly I have some serious brushing up to do!
Ooops, I thought I left a comment here a few days ago but it appears I hit the wrong button. Anyway, glad to hear your infestation problem has been nipped in the bud.
Hi Joe,
Now I want to know what you wrote! :D
Someone else told me they tried leaving a comment that didn't post. I wonder if the Blogger staff was working in the background that day? It's the only time anyone's ever mentioned this problem to me.
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