Trouble in Paradise: Kill Da Cockroaches!
Jan 21st, 2008Rich…poor…clean…not so clean. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you’re from. If you live in Hawaii and enjoy the tropical climate here, there’s something else that does just as much as we do: Cockroaches!
Cockroaches (very commonly pronounced cock-a-roach here in Hawaii) are pesky rodents that love tropical weather, and indulge in warm and humid conditions. Thus, Hawaii has the perfect weather and temperature for cockroaches to thrive in.
Most Common Cockroaches in Hawaii
There are more than a dozen types of cockroaches here in Hawaii, but the most common types we see in household settings are the American cockroaches and the Australian cockroaches. The above picture is a photograph of an American cockroach.
These nasty buggers are fast. What makes the American cockroach even more annoying is they’ve got the ability to fly. They aren’t very common in Mainland households, so visitors aren’t always aware of how common they are.
Don’t get the wrong idea though, Hawaii is not in any way infested with cockroaches. Just if you see one in someone’s house, don’t label the home as ‘dirty’. It’s an uphill battle when it comes to bugs, geckos, and cockroaches.
Hawaii Life Hacks: 5 Techniques For Killing Cockroaches
So, you see a cockroach either in your home or right outside of your home. After you scream in minor terror, what’s your exterminating technique?
1. Fly Swatters & Footwear - Swat & Stomp Method
Fly Swatters are effective at swatting cockroaches also. Simply attempt to aim as accurately as possible, and with the flick of your wrist you’ll have guts and gore most everywhere (I apologize for the vivid description 
).
Don’t have a fly swatter handy? That’s okay. Take off one of your slippers (rubber zoris, flip-flops, or whatever you wish to call them) from your feet, and use it as a handy substitute. Squash away!
2. Combat - Roach Viral Bait Method
Put one of these modules in every room in your house. If you have any cockroaches, they’ll feast on the poison bait in the modules, take the poison back to their nests, and poison the whole colony cockroaches. This method works long-term as the roach bait modules last for as long as six months. It’s also cleaner than the Swat & Stomp technique. For about $6-$8, you can pick up a box of roach bait at your local grocery store.
3. Glue Traps - The Sticky Method
So, both the Swat & Stomp and Roach Bait methods don’t appeal to you? Perhaps the Sticky Method may be suitable. Place some food on the glue trap bed, set it somewhere in the kitchen or bathroom, go to sleep, and when you wake up in the morning, you’ll find a visually appealing (or interesting, to say the least) bed of cockroaches stuck in the glue trap.
You could possible say that this is the more ‘humane’ technique. Maybe not, as once the buggers get stuck on the glue trap, they’re not going anywhere else in their lifetime.
If you like to look at your kill and perhaps have a token or trophy from your conquest, the sticky method might appeal to you.
4. Call Your Local Exterminator - The Dial & Tent Method
If you don’t like to get your hands dirty and don’t mind spending some moola, hire someone to do your dirty work. Simply look in the yellow pages or your local newspaper, pick up the phone and dial the number, and the exterminator will offer you a consultation for your bug, cockroaches, and other rodent issues.
Some options the exterminators have to offer are on-the-spot chemical sprayings and house tentings. These exterminating services can be rather pricey. Price often depends on the size of your house, and what kinds of packages you would like to include in your purchase.
5. Raid Spray - The DIY Chemical Spray Method
Spraying cockroaches with Raid Roach Spray is an effective, on-the-spot treatment. Raid will kill cockroaches within a few seconds.
This technique, however, is believed to be harmful and unsafe as far as health is concerned. It is toxic for cockroaches, insects, and bugs. It is also toxic for human beings. The spray may not kill you instantaneously, but for safety precautions, keep it as far away possible from children and, in general, human contact.
Hawaii Life Hacks: Preemptive Strikes - Tips for Preventing Infestation of Cockroaches
Avoid Leaving Food Out in the Open
This pertains to both your home and car. Food is what attracts cockroaches. Instead, store treats and other foods left out on counters and tables, in closed containers (preferably air tight). Try to avoid throwing food in the trash as much as possible. If you do have food in the trash, empty it on a regular basis.
Wash Your Dishes Regularly
There are scraps of food left on the ‘dirty’ dishes in the sink. This is more than enough for cockroaches to feast on. To avoid feeding the cockroaches, wash your dishes as soon as possible.
Make Good Use of the Roach Viral Bait Method
If you live in Hawaii, cockroaches are inevitable. This is an accepted truth. To avoid infestation, place Combat (or a similar product) in every room of your home. You’ll be spending a few bucks a few times a year, but the results are well worth it.
Stay tuned and check back regularly for more Hawaii Life Hacks. Local Kine will be posting more articles on life in Hawaii, and organic methods of getting rid of pesky, tropical weather-loving bugs.
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Hi,
We had cockroaches pretty bad when I first moved into my house at Iroquois Point. We used a combination of roach baits, and boric acid in all the corners and cabinets. Took a couple of weeks to see a significant decline. But now, for the past year and a half, we only see one every once in a while … and those probably wandered in from outside.
Todd
Hi Todd,
I’ve heard that boric acid does the job pretty good, but I’ve never used it myself. Thanks for the great tip!
[…] blu presents Trouble in Paradise: Kill Da Cockroaches! posted at Local Kine Hawaii. There’s nothing much more I can say to that. They do make for […]
Hi - I’m visiting from the carnival of Aloha. Your post is an interesting one to kick off the carnival.
As a fairly frequent visitor to Hawaii, I’ve had my fair share of encounters with these bugs. One of the worst situations was a convertible that we rented on Kauai. Previous renters must have eaten a lot of snacks and left the top down a lot. We didn’t see the roaches much in the day time, but if you opened the car door at night and when the interior lights came on, you’d see a half dozen scattering everywhere. It certainly made for a creepy ride at night.
Ugh! Some of the stories of the B-52 bomber varieties do make great jokes — especially the ones about women who run shrieking when one flies and gets stuck in their hair, or the men who act like they’ve seen a mouse and avoid them at all cost. But, in all honesty, I don’t want them living in my house with me.
I’ve Raid-ed and No Roach-ed them to death over the years! Maybe that’s what’s wrong with me — I’ve inhaled and topically absorbed too much of that stuff! Oh, those big ones also make great hockey pucks for people’s cats! It’s always fun to watch them go sliding across the floor that way! I guess they do have their entertainment value.
Also, don’t forget that you can also open up the covers on all of the wall sockets in your house or apartment. That gives you access to their main highway. (Inside the walls).
Open the covers one by one, and add generous amounts of boric acid, or the deadly toxin of your choice into the walls. Don’t pour any liquid over the socket whatever you do!!! Z A P ! It isn’t worth dying for. I like this method because it allows you to use strong chemicals but at the same time, the chemicals are not inside the room with you and your kids pets etc can’t get to it - but it’s there like money in the bank. Clean up around the sockets when you’re done.
Next, open up the attic and add more of the toxin up there.
Did you know that cockroaches *HATE* the smell of lavender? So, go out and get lavender scented oils. (not artificial lavender) Get the smell into all of your cabinets, drawers, closets - everywhere. Become “Captain Lavender”. It isn’t toxic but they hate it the way we hate the smell of a rotten squid omelet with a side of sewer sludge. PWHEW!
Then, go around and plug up any cracks, holes etc. You can use caulking, or even steel wool. For some double whammy action, put some roach killing gel into the hole first, then add boric acid to the steel wool, and plug the hole with the wool. Now you’ve got poison in the hole and the hole is physically blocked by a toxic barrier. After all, this is a war you don’t have to lose.
Next, always keep garbage and clutter away from the outside of your house. Your blocking them will be twice as effective if they aren’t interested in your house that much in the first place. If someone is keeping bags full of trash near your house, puncture the bags with a pencil, and spray the inside with raid. You don’t have to have roaches just because the neighbors do.
Always keep the inside of your house free from food or crumbs of any kind. Wash the dishes immediately after you eat. Always clean the tray under the refrigerator. Wipe the tile / walls behind the stove as small drops of pasta sauce etc can splash up. Keep the kitchen spotless.
Finally, add screens to the drains in your sinks because roaches can climb up through the pipes. All you need is a little piece of screen to crash their party. “OOoohh man! It’s closed!!”
I love the smell of raid in the morning.
me and my girlfriend were asleep in bed and i felt something drop on my face i turned the light on and the roof was covered with hundreds of cockroaches this apartment was very old and smelly it was our first night it has since been demolished
i m omer living Saudi arabia
and i have too much cockroaches in my home pls help
One night I woke up and there were so many big roaches running around it looked like that movie Creepshow. The neigbors were spraying, and one of them went into my ear after midnight.
I had to use tweezers to get it out. There were so many of them that they were plopping from the ceiling and getting into my hair even after I got the one out of my ear.
This is for real.
If you are worried about the chemicals (and cost ) of buying cans of raid for killing bugs you see running around, just make some homemade soap with a mix of hot water, borax/white vinegar/baking soda and scent with their favorite scent (lavender, they hate it as mentioned above, or any essential oil of choice) you can squirt them with it and they die just as quickly, its a safe cleaner and there’s no chemical smelly spray mess to clean up!