Monday, December 9, 2013

weekend off

Well, not really.  I took the weekend off from blogging and writing, because I needed the time to be able to straighten up the living room as best I could after putting up the Christmas tree (two boxes and assorted wrapping for slightly more delicate decorations).  And I discovered that the roaches that had moved in here about four months after they were kicked out of their previous abode* hadn't vanished--they'd moved into my silverware drawer--and nothing I was doing was getting rid of them. 

So, the weekend has been spent battling my house. 

I am about to raise a white flag, and just go back to my writing.  Which I'd prefer to be doing anyway.


*Last spring--about March, or so--a landlord evicted some tenants about two houses south of us.  The tenants, apparently, were nasty: the landlord had to rip out all of the carpeting, and some of the sheetrock, and replace it all.  And, with that, a few hundred thousand roaches fled the place, scattering in all directions.  They hit us about August.  Our neighbor directly to our south had them within a month, but has no pets, and was able to vacate for the day and bug-bomb the hell out of her place.  I have two cats, a dog, and two children, and am not willing to use poisons like that.  And the baits do not work.  

It seemed, for a short while, like the egg inhibitors we placed were working, then I realized that they'd just moved into my silverware drawer: it's right next to the dishwasher, and the hot, moist air vents right straight into it.  

My silverware is no longer in that drawer.  Not much is, except for a boric acid/powdered sugar mixture.

The bugs have finally thinned...but they're still fucking there.

6 comments:

  1. That's the pits. I hate roaches. Maybe you could get some chickens and let them live in your house for awhile. Of course, they have their drawbacks as well. :-)

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    1. Given the choice between the roaches and chickens...I'll take the roaches. They're nowhere near as nasty.

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  2. When I was researching that problem a while back, I saw several references to people who used gecko lizards. Apparently, those little buggers are cold blooded roach assassins and leave on their own when there are no more targets.

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    1. If they're not gone by late spring, I might well do that. Right now, though...our low for tonight is ten degrees, and it won't reach freezing for the high until Wednesday.

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  3. Yuck. Hopefully the poison takes care of them. It's never fun when the vermin in the dirty house on the street have to strike out on their own.

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    1. Yeah, me too. Daddy Hawk suggested getting geckos and turning them loose, and I considered it...until I thought about how cruel it would be to the geckos. My cats would think I'd given them the most marvelous toys/treats.

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