[vegas_4u]

Originally Posted by jksouthbay88

I agree with the Valley residents.I've never heard of a roach free place.Friends and relatives who live/lived in the valley dealt with them.I have a friend who had a house built in Nov 07 and he has roaches.My cousin lived in a NLV house built in 1991 house and had them too.Why is it such a problem?I'm thinking it's the desert climate but I'm not sure,I don't live there.

Yep, it's the climate mainly. Check this out, from wikipedia. American cockroaches have been known to live up to three months without food and a month without water. Frequently living outdoors, although preferring warm climates and considered "cold intolerant," they are resilient enough to survive freezing temperatures.

[brokencrayola]

I lived many years in S. Calif. and mostly in apts. We lived in a luxury apt. in Ranch Palos Verdes that had as many roaches as cheaper apts. down the hill in Torrance we rented. What happens in apartments is you get your place bombed or sprayed and they just move next door, then they bomb or spray and your friends come back. It is just part of life in the desert. Be happy you do not have scorpions!

[PinkString]

Originally Posted by guinnessjim

roaches are a fact of life out here (luxury or not)...tell your landlord about the roaches...maybe extermination costs are covered in your lease.

.

The roaches that are common out here are mainly the summertime ones, the great big giant ones that come out from underground to terrorize the city, sort of like godzilla but on a much smaller scale.

Apt roaches are a different variety, the german one's, they are rampant in older area's and from sloppy people that brought them from where they moved from. They can also come in from groceries, and other goods delivered to your home.
Nobody should have to live with roaches, and if it were me, I'd move right back out since I refuse to live with them infesting my place.

[PinkString]

Originally Posted by lvgirl

If the problem can be resolved with a quick spray, why is there a problem to begin with? The landlord JUST moved out two weeks ago. Shouldn't they have been spraying? There are a few other spots on the fixtures too, of course now I am assuming they are dead roaches but I'm not about to remove the light cover to find out...

Anyway, like I said in my first post I have asthma/allergies so spraying is a health hazard for me. Maybe spraying outside would help but if they're living in the vents and floorboards it won't do any good. Ugh, gross.

And yeah, I'm currently on an airbed on the floor. Nice.

Since you only saw 2 roaches so far, your place probably isn't infested by any means. They could have come thru a crack in the wall somewhere or come in thru the front door without knocking.
Go to Harbor Freight Tools and pick up the bug zapper tool. It's a long handle thingie that runs on a couple batteries. The bottom of the unit when turned on, and put on a live roach, electrocutes the hell out of it and then you toss the bug away or flush it, end of problem.
Men find more glee in using the thing than women do for some reason.

[jfkIII]

Those German roaches were trained by Hitler, himself!

[jfkIII]

Originally Posted by PinkString

Men find more glee in using the thing than women do for some reason.

Soooo....we like to play with our zappers!

[PinkString]

Originally Posted by jfkIII

Soooo....we like to play with our zappers!

I just knew you'd have fun with that.

[lvgirl]

Originally Posted by brokencrayola

I lived many years in S. Calif. and mostly in apts. We lived in a luxury apt. in Ranch Palos Verdes that had as many roaches as cheaper apts. down the hill in Torrance we rented. What happens in apartments is you get your place bombed or sprayed and they just move next door, then they bomb or spray and your friends come back. It is just part of life in the desert. Be happy you do not have scorpions!

But how do you tolerate the smell of the chemicals? How do you justify the health risks to you and any pets?

I just can't get over the blasé attitudes most people have about them out here.. like it's no big deal that every home is infested with these huge disease-carrying creatures. It's like the West's dirty little secret. Where I come from, there's a social stigma against cockroach infestation. Only filthy crackhead types live with cockroaches. It's just hard to adjust my standards on something like this. :/

[olecapt]

You have obviously never lived anywhere tropical. You know that lovely little beach house looking over the broad Pacific? Guess who lives under the house and in the shubbery.

Generally you can maintain quite nice control with external spraying and good internal cleanliness. They need water and food to exist. Control both and you will be fine.

As a health hazard they are strictly second class. So don't sweat it. Worry more about where you get your colonoscopy...

Originally Posted by lvgirl

But how do you tolerate the smell of the chemicals? How do you justify the health risks to you and any pets?

I just can't get over the blasé attitudes most people have about them out here.. like it's no big deal that every home is infested with these huge disease-carrying creatures. It's like the West's dirty little secret. Where I come from, there's a social stigma against cockroach infestation. Only filthy crackhead types live with cockroaches. It's just hard to adjust my standards on something like this. :/

[Tressa]

I can relate to LVGIRL, here in Alaska roaches won't last a winter so we don't have a problem with them as a matter of fact the oly temporary problem is on the military bases.

I will be moving to Northern Nevada this summer and will have a challenge with bugs, but will also consider the food chain for the predators. Scorpions, Borrowing Owls I guess they all work together. I haven't heard of any challenges with roaches in the area that we will be moving, I do agree that they are filthy and they make you feel like your living in the slums no matter how new your place is.

I've been told to spray that foam insulation in all opening to rid the passage of critters into the house. I love that spray foam and will not have any challenges with using that stuff is also very good at keeping mice at bay they don't like chewing through it.