I have a huge phobia for all the creepy crawlies, i. e. insects and arachnids. For me, the biggest horror would be a cockroach infestation and I think that nightmare could come true.
Inadvertently, I must have killed an insect that - to me - looks suspiciously like a cockroach and to be frank, I'm really freaking out. I live in a shared flat with two really messy girls and an even more messy dude and I wouldn't think it's unlikely there might be something brewing, roach-wise.
I have never seen one IRL and I can't really look at pictures of them that long without getting sick, could you guys check out the pictures I made an tell me what I'm dealing with?
Please be civil, I'm having a breakdown here.
Here is the disgusting monster. I added a coin so you can appreciate the size.
As someone who has at least 20 flies clustered around his computer monitor at any given point for no apparent reason, even after cleaning every corner of my room, I say you shouldn't be worried unless you see a lot of them or they start eating something important
You are just overreacting, it isn't even that big or scary compared to what it could be. I wouldn't worry about infestations unless you see these quite often.
I've lived in two different places with cockroach infestations before. If you see just one, don't worry about it since it probably just came in on someone's clothes. If you see many, then it's a problem. You may also notice deposits of cockroach poop or cockroach eggs or shells around. If you really want to prevent cockroaches, make sure everything is perfectly clean. Once you start getting cockroaches, it's hard to get rid of them since they can eat parts of furniture, clothing, and even human skin cells and hair.
Best way for you to see if you have cockroaches would be to check dark warm places that dont get cleaned as often, and provide a food source. One of the best places for this is underneath the fridge. The motor in the fridge keeps the area warm, its dark, there are places to crawl and hide, and usually small amounts of food end up falling on the kitchen floor and get kicked underneath, or swept underneath by accident.
If you dont regularly move your fridge and clean under it I would definitely use that as a checking point.
On April 29 2013 03:04 babylon wrote: if you start seeing baby cockroaches, you're fucked.
i don't know if that is a baby cockroach, but it seems pretty small and insecty ... i want to say not though.
Oh God I'm going to puke!
hahaha, i hate roaches too. i can deal with almost any insect, but roaches are a complete no-go for me. give me mice and rats any day of the week over roaches ... (oh but house centipedes are also nassssssssty.)
from the photo, i can't really tell. it looks like you snapped a shot of it belly-side up. if you can turn it over maybe ... did it look like it had bands (brown and light-brown) running horizontally across its back? teardrop-shaped body?
baby roaches mean that there are roaches breeding in your place. if you see a lot more of these fuckers, i would recommend calling an exterminator, esp. if you're jumpy around them.
Is Germany really so obscenely sterile that he's never once seen a roach in his entire freaking life? I'm from a well-off family in a well-off neighborhood, but I still see a wood roach or two every month and those motherfuckers are bigger than my big toe! Also, he couldn't immediately recognize a bumblebee. We have veritable swarms of those things every summer! Don't tell me Germany is running short on those, too!
Yes, that image is about life sized. Now that I've sufficiently freaked you out (they fly, too!)...
Obviously, clean. Try to remove any easy food sources for them - spilled food, check for anything chewing its way through cardboard, etc. A pest service may be an idea, or if you have access to them, there are a few different products that can reduce potential. Sadly, when you see one it's probably already time to firebomb it and move on. But, having had to battle the above creature (I've lived in some less than stellar places) if you can secure the food supply, and be judicious in the use of products geared at interrupting the reproductive cycle placed in areas they may show up in, you can at least maintain a state of minimal freaking out.
Seriously. I lived in a house where the American cockroach was the primary tenant. It got to where I didn't twitch when I turned on a light and the kitchen floor receded, and where I would just brush them off when they landed on me when they were flying across the hallway. Later, when I was back in that house, I began cleaning the kitchen diligently and applying some products in locations where I knew they hid out. All the carpeting was ripped out. Any egg pod discovered was destroyed immediately, and large groups of them became a place to treat. Borax was used, as was some Raid maxcontrol, with weekly rotations of roach bait/traps. Eventually, they become a rare sight, although in Florida you absolutely will never eradicate the little big fuckers. Even where I live now, I occasionally find one, and the apartments here have pretty good pest protection.
Why would you take a picture of a dark colored bug on a dark surface if you want us to identify it? Anyways if you want a traditional recipe to get rid of roaches, create a mixture of boric acid, sugar, and flour. Sugar attracts it, flour makes the boric acid stick to their bodies so they take it back to their hive. Don't kill spiders, huntsmen, and house centipedes-- they all eat roaches.
I just did it funny you have google at the tip of your hands and you ask a game forum for infestation advice. Makes me wonder if you're sheltered with any world experience.
If I were you I would totally freak out. The one you got there - and at least a couple behind you dont see.I would make sure what kind of monster this is (go to pest company or so) and then talk serious to my flatmates. Depending on their reaction and my relationship to them I would call the rentor. I really like a clean flat, so maybe that would just be my personal overreaction xD
On April 29 2013 04:44 matiK23 wrote: Why would you take a picture of a dark colored bug on a dark surface if you want us to identify it?
This. Give us a better picture and we might have a chance.
People who don't have much contact with cockroaches (usually because they live in a climate where they are rare) usually have an outsized fear of the bug. Remember, at the end of the day they are just another type of insect. A really bad roach infestation is pretty gross, but if you were in that situation you would probably have noticed already.
On April 29 2013 04:44 matiK23 wrote: Why would you take a picture of a dark colored bug on a dark surface if you want us to identify it?
I just did it funny you have google at the tip of your hands and you ask a game forum for infestation advice. Makes me wonder if you're sheltered with any world experience.
That's where I found it, I couldn't bring myself to move it, for fear it would jump.
What page on google would help me? I can't look at pictures of bugs for too long or I puke, so how would I ever identify that beast?
In general first of all that thing is super small. The only fully grown one I've ever seen was more like... 3 keys on my keyboard long. Also in general to give you even worse news you're going to love: If you manage to see one it is usually an indicator for their regular living place being overflown with too many of them. The only way to really know what's going on is going to your local erh... hardware store (Obi, Heimwerker, you know what I mean) and they have traps around to catch them. If that trap catches some, you're screwed. Run. If it doesn't, you're fine.
Edit: In general, insects that have their legs curled up like this are dead. It won't jump. I'm also aware that you won't want to trust me on this but... it won't jump. Getting it in front of a white background might help to make the job of those guys at the subreddit easier.
Edit 2: Since I'm also aware that you prolly don't want to look at that subreddit too long, here are their guidelines:
WELCOME TO R/WHATSTHISBUG!
Got a photo of a bug you'd like identified? Submit it here and we'll try to figure it out!
I don't need an ID, but can I share a cool bug? Yes! This subreddit is also a community for any arthropodic discussion.
Before you post, we are not going to kill it with fire, so don't ask!
If your submission does not appear in the "NEW" bucket, message the mods to check the spam filter.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Indicate the geographic location.
Take the clearest and most detailed photo possible.
Indicate the size excluding antennae - the more precise the better.
Provide any other information you feel could help!
On April 29 2013 05:26 kafkaesque wrote: Wow, that is so considerate of you, thank you very much!
I only have to say "Hey, look what did just crawl over there?" and my gf almost explodes. It's more common than you think it is. It still is somehwat funny from time to time I have to admit. :>
Edit: On the bright side I made her appreciate Silverfish and Chrysopidae ("Florfliegen"). Those things are too cute. Progress! =D
On April 29 2013 04:06 AnachronisticAnarchy wrote: Is Germany really so obscenely sterile that he's never once seen a roach in his entire freaking life? I'm from a well-off family in a well-off neighborhood, but I still see a wood roach or two every month and those motherfuckers are bigger than my big toe! Also, he couldn't immediately recognize a bumblebee. We have veritable swarms of those things every summer! Don't tell me Germany is running short on those, too!
i'm from croatia,a rural area and I have never seen a cockroach in my entire life
On April 29 2013 05:26 kafkaesque wrote: Wow, that is so considerate of you, thank you very much!
I only have to say "Hey, look what did just crawl over there?" and my gf almost explodes. It's more common than you think it is. It still is somehwat funny from time to time I have to admit. :>
Edit: On the bright side I made her appreciate Silverfish and Chrysopidae ("Florfliegen"). Those things are too cute. Progress! =D
On April 29 2013 04:06 AnachronisticAnarchy wrote: Is Germany really so obscenely sterile that he's never once seen a roach in his entire freaking life? I'm from a well-off family in a well-off neighborhood, but I still see a wood roach or two every month and those motherfuckers are bigger than my big toe! Also, he couldn't immediately recognize a bumblebee. We have veritable swarms of those things every summer! Don't tell me Germany is running short on those, too!
I don't recall every seeing a roach here. We had some mice, but that is pretty much it.
I'd guess it's probably due to our harsh winters and our flats and houses actually being insulated.
If you google for 'Schaben', the majority of links on the first page of results have nothing to do with roaches
On April 29 2013 05:26 kafkaesque wrote: Wow, that is so considerate of you, thank you very much!
I only have to say "Hey, look what did just crawl over there?" and my gf almost explodes. It's more common than you think it is. It still is somehwat funny from time to time I have to admit. :>
Edit: On the bright side I made her appreciate Silverfish and Chrysopidae ("Florfliegen"). Those things are too cute. Progress! =D
I saw a silverfish the other day in our bathroom and somehow managed to remain my composure.
"Oh, did you know we had silverfish?", he inquired casually, nearly dying inside.
On April 29 2013 09:47 Grettin wrote: one day one of those is going to crawl into your mouth and to your ears while you are asleep. Then they will start reproducing inside your body.
I feel like that is counter-productive. We are not trying to make him freak out more.
I once moved into an apartment which had hundreds of cockroaches living in it - I was moving to a new country so I didn't get to choose the place myself, and apparently the last occupant was a total slob who just didn't care.
It was pretty unpleasant - when I'd go to sleep sometimes they'd walk across my face.
Luckily they are quite simple to kill.. You can buy a powder which kills any cockroach who touches it - I'd put it down each night in all the corners of the room and likely places they'd walk. Then each morning pick up 10-30 bodies. Any time I'd see one I'd stamp on it or crush it with something. After about two weeks there were just a few survivors, and after three they were wiped out.
EPT![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/pGaXOsh.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://www.bugs.com/bugs_database/roaches/large-img/american_11.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_m8FJtYWkX9E/Rtfn6RD_jSI/AAAAAAAAAHM/sZEm6rD5PZM/s320/gecko.roach.b.jpg)
