What to do about cockroaches

[Anonymous]

Have you seen the flying ones in Florida? Those are real fun.

[Anonymous]

They're coming from your attic, call an exterminator.

[Anonymous]

You probably have a hoarder house or something similar near your townhouse and the critters are spreading out looking for food. You can put out gel, etc., but as someone else mentioned, you've got to seal the entry points for long term mitigation.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like water bugs, not roaches. Real roaches -- the small ones -- can be easily taken care of with those roach motels. Just chuck them under furniture and under the fridge. They really work.

Water bugs -- not sure.

[Anonymous]

Ew you all must not be very clean. Step one: vacuum, mop, and empty trashcans. Remove food waste from tables/floors. Put fresh food in the fridge; do not leave food out on counters or tables.

[Anonymous]

You are getting terrible advice. First off, they are roaches - American roaches, and it is true they live outside for the most part. They also do fly and are the same ones you see in Florida - palmetto bugs, water bugs, they’re all just an American cockroach. Unfortunately, they can and do breed inside mostly between walls in wet/damp areas and they’re completely unrelated to cleanliness. It’s also very very unlikely they’re coming from your attic as your attic is usually the driest area in the house. They’re usually coming from basements or through drain holes in the wall (not the actual pipes, they crawl outside of the pipe and into your house via the holes made to hose the pipes through). In your case, if you made any cuts to your drywall to install a new toilet perhaps you didn’t seal it completely completely and they’re coming in that way. That would be where I start. That said, you have cockroaches behind your walls, and three in a month means they’re more than 50% likely to be breeding somewhere back there.

The person who mentioned sealing all of your entry points would be correct, but that will be impossible as you’re in a townhouse and can do nothing about your neighbors points of entry. Let’s just say I lived my actual hell in a former townhouse, sold because of cockroaches I could never get rid of, and will never share walls again. Godspeed.

[Anonymous]

OP again. Thanks all. I now saw a couple in the garage so I think that is where they are coming from. But how they got from the garage to our room is the question. And if they are related to the toilet. The toilet before it was installed was sitting in a box in the garage. I wonder if they just came from the garage with the toilet or the toilet wasn't sealed properly and someone there is an entry point from the garage. Ironically due to medical issues we have someone come clean, help with unloading the dishwasher, and do laundry three times a week

[Anonymous]

Big ones come when it rains outside.

[Anonymous]

I once lived in a NYC apartment and had huge roaches. I was told to put cloves (the kind you use for cooking) in cabinets and behind furniture. I did, and never saw another roach. I've not researched whether this is a commonly successful strategy, but it worked for me.