Roaches in Koreatown ? [mod cut] (Los Angeles: apartments, rent, condo)

[Jarradm]

Hi there,

I am thinking about signing a year long [mod cut], corner of Wilshire and Rampart.
I was talking to a friend who lived in K-Town previously and he told me that I will come in contact with Roaches in K-Town no matter where I live...
Is this true? The building is very old, something like 1905, do you think there is a good chance of infestation? The rent is an excellent prize and the apartment is located on the top floor. Any tips or questions? I am seriously scared and freaked out 100% percent from the sight of roaches and this is enough for me to move to echo park or something less convenient...

Please let me know your experiences and opinions [mod cut]

I appreciate it.

[Lenses & Lights.]

I don't know about [mod cut] but I did live in Korea Town & "GOOD LORD" my building on 8th & Hobart WAS INFESTED. I bombed the place twice & within 3-4 days they were back in abundance.
I put down glue, etc; & still that only kepth them to a minimum. I truly beleive that they were in the foundation & structure & buildings like that need not to be exterminated but FUMEGATED!!
Ten years later in an area with 75 year old tenaments (Back east that's exactly what they are LOL) that rent to people who bring their living habits from different parts of the world I'll bet your friend is RIGHT

[amc760]

Damn, I always wondered about Koreatown and pest problems. Its so dense, and with all those recently restored 1920s buildings, I'd always wondered if there was a rat problem there.
Roaches..hate 'em, but I'm not as worried about them as I am rodents.

But any housing that is dense, and has a lot of units has a good chance of having roach issues. It only takes one slob to screw it up for everyone. Keep the place clean, all food containers air-tight, and keep the trash clear.

People always recommend getting a cat to deal with pests. If thats your type of thing, and the owner allows it, why not?

[Lenses & Lights.]

There are single/efficency apartments with whole families living there...IN ONE ROOM........There's gonna be all kinds of stuff crawling around.

[vegaspilgrim]

Koreatown is a dense, congested, gritty, dirty, and often ugly neighborhood. I've walked around there a few times and don't feel very safe there, except when right on Wilshire by Western. Quite a few thug-ish looking characters out and about. It's probably the densest neighborhood in LA and one of the densest neighborhoods on the west coast. I guess that's why urban hipsters like it. I've been through a number of streets in the area that are covered in filth. Roaches are probably just the tip of the iceberg of the vermin you'll find there. I'm not sure if I'd be quick to call your rent a "prize."

[CESpeed]

There are roaches everywhere. They are especially prevalent in areas where there is construction. The only thing you can do is exterminate on a regular basis.

[ohhi]

Originally Posted by BillyJacc

I don't know about [mod cut] but I did live in Korea Town & "GOOD LORD" my building on 8th & Hobart WAS INFESTED. I bombed the place twice & within 3-4 days they were back in abundance.
I put down glue, etc; & still that only kepth them to a minimum. I truly beleive that they were in the foundation & structure & buildings like that need not to be exterminated but FUMEGATED!!
Ten years later in an area with 75 year old tenaments (Back east that's exactly what they are LOL) that rent to people who bring their living habits from different parts of the world I'll bet your friend is RIGHT

haha!

i live on 8th and hobart too and ever since the weather got "cool" ive noticed more roaches

[firetraq]

nice, so places not to live

1) Koreatown "check"

[JonathanLB]

haha, I am very terrified of roaches. I'd much rather see a rat than a roach, but there's no way a rat could get into an apartment unless it seriously fails as an apartment. There should NEVER be that much of an open space for anything to get in, jesus, what kind of place is that to live?

I had a cockroach in my brand-new condo building about two weeks ago. I left the window open for 30 minutes, which I never do, big mistake, and even though I'm on the 6th floor I'm positive it came through the window. That was only the third time I've left the window open when I've lived here. It wasn't a coincidence. This being a new building, the first ground-up new condo building in Los Angeles in like 30 years in fact, there are definitely no problems like that. I got all freaked out, though, and I cleaned my entire place extremely thoroughly, like threw out old papers, any boxes I didn't need (they can nest there), moved every piece of furniture and vacuumed under it, cleaned under it with a sponge or wet papertowel, just made sure there was nothing sticky on the floor, no crumbs, nothing. I then went to Home Depot and got roach motels, Raid, screening for my ventilation systems (yeah I'm obsessive) so I could close off anything bigger than just big enough to allow air flow, and I got caulking materials so I could close off the small cracks between walls and ceiling (put there for earthquake protection so the dry-wall doesn't crack, but this caulking solution is what they should have done anyway, since it won't crack, it's more rubbery). I haven't seen a cockroach since then, though, so it was just a fluke. But I felt it was better to overreact to it than to deal with an infestation or something. You never know if that one was going to lay eggs or if there were more, etc. On the off chance it didn't come through the window, but I know that's where it came from because there's simply no other entry. I even keep my drains blocked now whenever they're not in use just in case, though.

Did I mention I hate cockroaches?!

[amc760]

Originally Posted by JonathanLB

haha, I am very terrified of roaches. I'd much rather see a rat than a roach, but there's no way a rat could get into an apartment unless it seriously fails as an apartment. There should NEVER be that much of an open space for anything to get in, jesus, what kind of place is that to live?

I had a cockroach in my brand-new condo building about two weeks ago. I left the window open for 30 minutes, which I never do, big mistake, and even though I'm on the 6th floor I'm positive it came through the window. That was only the third time I've left the window open when I've lived here. It wasn't a coincidence. This being a new building, the first ground-up new condo building in Los Angeles in like 30 years in fact, there are definitely no problems like that. I got all freaked out, though, and I cleaned my entire place extremely thoroughly, like threw out old papers, any boxes I didn't need (they can nest there), moved every piece of furniture and vacuumed under it, cleaned under it with a sponge or wet papertowel, just made sure there was nothing sticky on the floor, no crumbs, nothing. I then went to Home Depot and got roach motels, Raid, screening for my ventilation systems (yeah I'm obsessive) so I could close off anything bigger than just big enough to allow air flow, and I got caulking materials so I could close off the small cracks between walls and ceiling (put there for earthquake protection so the dry-wall doesn't crack, but this caulking solution is what they should have done anyway, since it won't crack, it's more rubbery). I haven't seen a cockroach since then, though, so it was just a fluke. But I felt it was better to overreact to it than to deal with an infestation or something. You never know if that one was going to lay eggs or if there were more, etc. On the off chance it didn't come through the window, but I know that's where it came from because there's simply no other entry. I even keep my drains blocked now whenever they're not in use just in case, though.

Did I mention I hate cockroaches?!

Have you seen how small a space a rat can squeeze its body through?? It's disgusting how small a space a huge rodent can squish through. I think it just need a hole the size of a nickel to get in. Or a crack in the floorboard.