Roaches, rodents, & ants?

[petrica bilo]

I recently moved into a rental house. I have had nothing but problems since I started living here. My major problem right now is pest control. I recently saw a cockroach in my kitchen and then one in my bedroom (and I'm a clean person). Yesterday morning, I saw a mouse run through my bedroom. To top it off, I have a fire ant hill outside my home (and I didn't realize it was there--I saw it when I moved in but I thought it was top soil) near the septic pump. The ants ate the electrical wiring and caused the pump to go out. The owner stated that he would repair the septic pump this time but I had to treat for and control the fire ants. So...I am now looking at a Roach, Rodent, & Ant infestation. Not to mention all the other bugs and spiders I see here. My question is this, is it worth hiring an exterminator to come out to fix these problems? I've been using Hot Shot Powder with Boric Acid to treat for the Roaches and I am using D-Con and Mouse Traps for the mice. I just worry that I will continue to have issues. My landlord and the owners are very difficult and not helpful. They basically have a "it's your problem, deal with it" attitude. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks.
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[Becky]

Hmmm that's not very fair of your landlord or agent! How long is your tenancy? Might be worth getting some quotes to find out how much exterminator fees would be, but I would have thought that it's your landlord's financial responsibility rather than yours. Where abouts are you based?

 

[Tmann]

I would move out if you have to fork over the bill!

 

[sissy]

board of health can handle that as what you say is a health hazard

 

[taskeinc]

I agree with the post above, you might want to get the health department involved. As for the mice problem, traps won't do the trick. If you have mice inside your home they are getting in and will continue to get into your home from a hole or holes from the outside. There's also something on the outside that keeps the mice in your area.

 

[Antau LJn]

We have had similar problems with the same pests.

We have 4 cats (2 outside and 2 outside/inside) and that took care of most of the rodent problem. I used a mousetrap to catch a few, also. Between the two, as of this point in time, the rodent problem seems to be gone (they like to come in when it gets cold outside).

A skunk got into the heating ductwork under the house somehow. I understand that they eat mice, so that may have been a factor in them disappearing. Even though it didn't stink up our house, I wouldn't recommend going this route. We were able to relocate the skunk, finally, after it put itself into an empty cat food bag that was in our kitchen.

As for roaches and ants, I tried boric acid. I put it in peanut butter and put some under the sink, on the counter, and in various places outside. That helped a lot with the roach problem, and a little with the ant problem.

After that, I dusted floors and some counters with diatomaceous earth. It is very drying, and one should avoid allowing the dust in their lungs. We have a bag for gardens, and a food grade bag. I used the food grade because it was being used around us (sometimes chemicals are added to the gardening grade). I would also put it around the cats' food dish (a platter) every time the ants invaded it.

Also, I used Amdro (we had a horrible infestation of ants - red ants as well as smaller biting ones).

I tried other things, but they didn't work as well.

The roach problem is down to near-nothing, and the ants are not coming in our house anymore, and are much fewer outside.

Last October, a friend of mine gave me some plant starts. One of them was tansy (he knew about our ant problem). Tansy is supposed to repel ants.

 

[limcid]

For the roaches inside the home, try one of those electrical outlet plugin units that use the wiring of the home to emit a signal that makes the pests leave. The one I used, and still have plugged in almost 10 years later is called Pest Arrest.

I can tell you that this works on roaches without a doubt. I had about four or five different species of roach in my house at the same time! I got them from a job I had where I was bringing home several cardboard boxes. The roaches must have come from eggs in the different boxes. Each species had a very distinct shape and color. The Pest Arrest unit got rid of them precisely as the instructions predicted. If I can remember correctly, it stated that I should expect to see the roaches in a part of the house where I had never seen them on the eleventh day (not sure if that's the exact day number). Sure enough, I saw some in a totally different part of the house. According to the instructions, what you are seeing is them leaving the home. I saw no more roaches after that day. It's been many years, and no roaches.