Cockroaches

[Mariacristina]

Fortunately not my own problem but a friend of mine who lives in an old village house has a problem with cockroaches.

Can anyone suggest ways of getting rid of them please?

[truebrit]

Havnt tried it but assured that it works.....bay leaves, apparently they don't like bay. So leave branches or just leaves around.

[flyeogh]

I have the exterminators come once a year. They investigate, spray and leave - along with all the little criters. I guess cost depends on area but we had three contenders so plenty of competition keeping prices reasonable. And I think not much more expensive than buying loads of spray cans that seem to have limited effect.

Of course helps if you get the neighbours to do it as well which in an old pueblo I can imagine is not easy. Even in Madrid my mother-in-law in a block of 80 flats sees a third of tenents not doing anything which leads to the treatment being less effective - but she still only sees one or two a year and they are often already dead (that's the cockroaches, not the tenents ).

The other thing that helps is mosquito nets. We have then in the doorways as well as the windows so stops them flying in.

[Miro]

The only spray readily available that I've found really effective is ZUM. But as flyeogh says, if you end up using loads of cans (and half choking yourself to death) you might as well have called in the professionals.
If it's a real plague, you could try asking at the town hall if they have a service.

We fitted mosquito screens to every window and door. They were very effective until we got a cat - who loves using them to scratch, creating holes thus rendering them largely obsolete!

[amelia]

Hi,

In the UK there is a spray Dethlac - which kills any insect that crawls over it. It is effective for 9 - 12 months. It is brilliant. There is an equivalent in Spain, readily found in ferreterias and large supermarkets - but for the life of me I cannot remember it's name. I'm sure if you visit a store you can find it. It costs about €5 for a large can.

[Enrique]

Hi,
I find ZZ Polvo very effective............

Eficaz contra todo tipo de insectos reptantes (cucarachas, chinches, hormigas, pulgas, etc

What the container looks like.............
https://zelnova.com/productos/zz-polvo-reforzado/

Can be found in Drogueria Pinturas shops.

[El Cid]

Buy some Chlorpirofos insecticide. It comes under various names usually ending in 48. I use Chas48.

It kills anything that crawls (that includes small children!). Make it up twice as strong as normal. I don't have cockroaches, but it works well on ants. I use a hypodermic to inject into the cracks around the place where they come in.

It's the stuff that the professional bug killers use.

Sid

[Miro]

It kills anything that crawls (that includes small children!).... I use a hypodermic to inject

Perfect! I'm off to buy some "48" & some needles

[Flexo]

Buy some Chlorpirofos insecticide. It comes under various names usually ending in 48. I use Chas48.

It kills anything that crawls (that includes small children!). Make it up twice as strong as normal. I don't have cockroaches, but it works well on ants. I use a hypodermic to inject into the cracks around the place where they come in.

It's the stuff that the professional bug killers use.

Remember that chlorpirofos is dangerous and causes damages in children even in very small doses. If you have children in the area you shouldn't be using it:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlorpyrifos

[Mariacristina]

Many thanks for all the helpful replies. I will pass them all on . . . and suggest that my friend joins the forum.