What would you do if……….

usually if there’s 1 cockroach there’s many more

turn on the water…

step on it

take off my shoe and squish it

capture it in a cup until I find the bug spray

seriously. its a bug.

Believe me, I’ve had my fair share of roaches. And I rarely saw more than one roach at a time. (Including counting anything showing up within 24 hours.)

This resonates with me, because I am DEATHLY afraid of roaches, ever since I opened my oven in my old apartment, to put something inside and several jumped out at me. They were painting all the apartments around ours, below and above our floor as well, and the roaches came streaming into my apartment to avoid the paint smell. We roachbombed (after leaving the apartment to spend the night at my parents’ house), and it was mamesh disgusting. We had also put up about ten roach motels, and they were ALL filled to the brim. I am sure Hashem had a good reason for creating these disgusting creatures, but I hope never to find out what it is.

BTW, which goy first looked at a lobster and said to himself, “Wow, a giant cockroach! That looks like a good thing to eat!” I do not get how anyone could eat something that looks like something I need to squish (but can’t because it goes crunch!)

OK, Let me too tell my story.

It was a few years ago, towards summer, when we noticed some of those <> creatures in our apartment. At the time we put down these stick-ons, the ones that are supposed to kill them and the eggs.. Well, it didn’t. As time progressed so did they. Our apartment was eventually swarming with them. We tried bombing TWICE to no avail. Poison strips. Nothing.

Then one day someone told me about boric acid. So I tried. I poured and poured like there was no tomorrow, into holes and cracks, drawers, shelves, in appliances, under appliances, behind appliances etc. Within a few days they were all B”H gone!! We B”H have not a repeat! HaShem should continue to protect us.

The question is not ‘why are roaches disgusting?’ (which they are), but rather ‘why are we disgusted by roaches?’

Good question. Probably because they move so fast,they have TRULY yucky feelers,and they spread disease. I am scared by small creatures that move faster than I do (not including my grandkids). The fact that they go crunch when someone steps on them, adds to the ick factor, and that black or brown carapace is just awful to look at. Certain other bugs do NOT disgust me, like caterpillars, ladybugs, but anything looking like a roach or a worm or slug, makes me sick. And don’t get me started on SPIDERS.

As to the boric acid – it is well known as a successful roach remedy, but HIGHLY toxic to people and pets, so be careful if you have small children or grandchildren around, or a dog or cat. It will wipe out the colony within a week, as the roach gets it on its legs and brings it back to the nest, where it dies, and the other roaches cannibalize it and also die. Or so I was told by the person who recommended the BA as a cheap pesticide. It also slows them down so they can be caught, if that is your wish. I would not put BA near open food.

The roach baits (Combat and Raid make these), probably contain some Boric Acid, I bet.

You can bet I had everyone away. They were all in the country – it was before and during the summer neither my children nor my grandchildren (?!?) were around. I did spray into drawers and shelves like there was no tomorrow, of course I cleaned up at the end of the summer (uch).