Santa Defeats Martians!

Mom mentioned that she doesn't go to my blog because every time she does she sees that gross picture of the cockroach. So I threw this up! That's really the only reason for this image. That, and it's funny.

Good Riddance!

So we got rid of the cockroaches. Phew! We realized that they were coming out of the drains from downstairs. We started plugging the two drains whenever we weren't using them and now, even when they aren't plugged, we don't see them around anymore. So we swept up all of the death dust and our kitchen is nice and clean!

La Cucaracha! La Cucaracha!

Ok, so a couple of weeks ago we came home to a new roommate. Crawling around behind the sink was a nasty little cockroach! Ew! So I smashed the hell out of it. Each night for the next few nights we found a cockroach on our counter as soon as we came in the house. We went to the store and bought some cockroach traps. After about a week of these annoying little house guests, I decided I really needed to nip the problem in the bud.

Megan mentioned Boric Acid as a sure-fire way. After looking it up, I found that most people that seemed to know anything about cockroaches said the same thing. Apparently, Borax is mostly boric acid, so I had Brandie pick up a huge box of the stuff. I had read that you should gently sprinkle it all over where you think they might walk. Too much and they would walk around it. This wasn't cutting the problem. They still kept showing up.

Finally I found what I was really looking for online: one expert suggested mixing 4 parts Borax, (or boric acid), 2 parts flour, and 1 part cocoa powder and (this is the best part) to apply it liberally! Excellent. So I mixed up the concoction in a bowl and I applied it as liberally as i could. Our kitchen is covered in the stuff!

However, a week later we were still seeing the stupid buggers! Luckily, I think we figured out that they are coming up the drain. We have been covering it lately and haven't seen one for a few days. Whether it's the boric acid, the drain plug, or both I don't know. All I know is that we are looking for a house!... With no dirty neighbors.

Keep in mind, this one's body was only about a 1/4 inch long. We've had them up to 3/4.

Even the kitchen sink.