How to handle roaches?!?!

Question

So I have a duplex that a tenant just texted me about having roaches.

The duplex was fully renovated prior to the current tenants, before them it was empty for 8+yrs. Both tenants moved in the beginning of this yr. There was zero bugs in this house before they moved in.

My question is how do you handle this? Any advise? We are going to schedule a exterminator tomorrow, but I dont want this to be a recurring problem.

Also how do you handle this in a larger scale? A apartment building or any larger multi family.(I'll prob need to know this in the future)

Jon Segura · Answer

dry them up, some companies have machinery that can warm up the unit to 140F - which will dry up all the roaches. simple

Matthew Olszak · Answer

If its just a duplex, take care of it yourself. Advion has worked wonders for me:

https://www.amazon.com/advion-Plungers-Cockroach-Insecticide-Australian/dp/B00730QW70/ref=sr_1_2?crid=11WQEHGOFRAIU&keywords=advion+cockroach+gel+bait&qid=1573185379&sprefix=advion%2Caps%2C162&sr=8-2

The key to it being effective is for you to NOT spray Raid or other chemicals as those repel roaches, which means they won't eat the Advion chemical and then will eventually not be attracted to it even w/o the raid. As I understand it, the adults eat the gel, take a crap, die, and the youth eat the dead adults and their crap and the poison then gets transferred and so on. In bad cases, after about 3 days, it starts to look like a cockroach armageddon with dying roaches twitching as they come out of the cracks to die.

Tenant cleanliness, like keeping up with the trash and not leaving water and food out, is paramount in preventing/controlling infestations.

Christopher Cole Carcich · Answer

As a lifelong Native New Yorker, I can confirm that this system ABSOLUTELY works! It has saved me and everyone I have recommended it to from much stress & heartache.

The Dow Chemical company has done a great job in making sure this simple & healthy method is off of everyone’s radar.

btw- it also works for ants, mice, etcetera!

Christopher Cole Carcich · Answer

@Bryan Richardson

My previous apartment in NYC was amazing but INFESTED with  cockroaches. I eradicated them entirely without any recurrence using MINT! While they can survive the harshest conditions, they asphyxiate from the strong smell of mint.

Making a water solution of Dr Bronner’s Peppermint soap in a spray bottle and doing a treatment 1-2 times a week, especially near any food/water sources will send them running for good within a month.

Couple this with a treatment of food grade safe Diatomaceous Earth powder along cracks, floorboards, under sinks, behind fridge and you’ll be happy to see you’ve solved the problem without chemicals!

Dennis M. · Answer

Hotshot roach powder . Puff it in every crack and around water areas like drains tubs vanity’s sinks

Sandra Page · Answer

I have 62 apartments I am running.  In our pre-lease walk through with the prospects, we go over pest control.  In our leases we add a clause stating tenant is responsible for pest control.   Since the units are connected, when the tenant reports a problem, we do treatments ourselves UNLESS the problem is big.  If it is big infestation, we get a professional to treat all the connected units and bill back 50% to the tenants. This makes the tenant become proactive and helps control our costs as well.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

You have to determine the source. Hire a professional that guarantees their work so they'll come back for additional treatments if they miss it the first time. In a multifamily situation, make sure to treat the entire property so they can't scatter to another space.

Michael Noto · Answer

@Bryan Richardson We have tried to do treatments ourselves over the years and have also hired it out to specialists. Just hire a pro to take care of it, not worth doing it yourself because it is the type of thing where you have to be out there at a moments notice if the issue pops up again.

Larry Alexander · Answer

Quarterly pest control is pretty affordable. As @Matthew Olszak points out, tenant cleanliness is paramount - ERGO I would hope to split the cost with the tenant. I'm paying Harbor Pest $115.00 quarterly for a large property in San Diego; general pest perimeter spraying and rodent traps. That would work out to me paying $19/month and the tenant/s handling the other $19.00. Good luck!

Huong Luu · Answer

I have done both the self-extermination and hiring a professional. In either case, this is something you will have to stay on top of for a few months, up to a year until the problem is completely gone. Depending on the area you are in, you might be able to charge the fees back to your tenants. Or split the bill with them. You don't want to ignore this, as it can be a health issue, and depending on where you building is, there may be a public recording, which will reduce your changes of renting to higher quality tenants in the future. I agree with Olszak about not using regular products you can buy from HomeDepot or Lowes. You can buy professional grade products from your local Pest Control Companies. Take into consideration, if the current tenants have pets and young kids, as this will help determine the best product for you. Also, determine what caused the roaches and provide some educational materials to the tenants. Keep in mind, the tenant that did not bring in the roaches may request a rent deduction for their inconvenience. This is up to you as to if you want to give this. Good luck.

How to handle roaches?!?!

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