I HATE waterbugs.

sweet tea

Whatchuwant wrote: [quote=booklaw]Where can one buy a praying mantis? Surely that would be the green way to control waterbugs and other roaches?

Since, from what I believe, they're on the endangered species list. I don't believe its possible to purchase said mantis.

no and yes, respectively:

http://www.mantiskingdom.com/

gigi

Dlabrook - call in the big guns! Ewwwww

whatchuwant

sweet tea wrote: [quote=Whatchuwant][quote=booklaw]Where can one buy a praying mantis? Surely that would be the green way to control waterbugs and other roaches?

Since, from what I believe, they're on the endangered species list. I don't believe its possible to purchase said mantis.

no and yes, respectively:

http://www.mantiskingdom.com/

OMG! :shock: That is sooooo cool. I love da mantis. They're my favorite insect. Love love love!

booklaw

That's it, then. Anyone with water bugs just needs to keep a few Giant Indian Mantis around the apt., and to be very careful not to be eaten (say goodbye to pet cats and dogs!).

possibly_maybe

dlabrook wrote: here's my recent experience. warning: its not for the timid:

monday night, between 10:30 and 11:30 my cat and i caught 7. they were litteraly coming out of the woodwork, flying around my kitchen. wreckless and bold and BIG.

I was FREAKING! I figured if i saw 7 in an hour there must be an infestation and i bolted leaving all the fun for the cat.

Yesterday i returned to my apt and spent all day exterminating. sprayed all the cracks in the floorboards and pipes , which were many since i live in an old brownstone. (parlor floor) laid bait traps. (to answer an earlier post, they do make large ones, specifically for monster size roaches).
Found 7 more yesterday. Realize now that i should probably have an exterminator come do the basement. i need to call in a pro at this point.

the reason for the sudden infestation? i pulled my airconditioner up from the basement sunday night and put it in my bedroom. had it on sunday night then turned it off when i went to work. that night after work is when the attack began. i think there was a nest living in the airconditioner. (i did notice a strange rustling sound when i turned it on - thought it was leaves - but it was probably cockroach wings!!!! AGH!!!!!!!!). so while i was sleeping, about four feet away from me, they were probably crawling out of the vents....

i think i'm going to need therapy to get over the trauma!

that's horrible. :shock:

The only time I've seen one fly is the one that prompted me to write this post last month-ish. It was something I'm hoping never to witness again, and the thought of over a dozen doing this in one night..... EEEK..

dlabrook

there hasn't been any construction nearby, so i can't blame that. i have no idea why so many came out all of a sudden! the exterminator i consulted with doubts my airconditioner theory (tho it will never go back into my apt!). and the exterminator made me clarify the "flying" part; he wanted to know if they kind of swooped down from a high point or if they actually flew horizontally because if it was the later, "then you would have serious problems". fortunately, mine only swoop so i guess i should feel lucky. but i don't.

possibly_maybe

Yikes, did he specify what would be so serious if they were horizontal fliers?

From what I understand, they glide down more than fly vertically, and the one that flew toward me was sort of half-flying horizontally along the top of a piece of plywood resting vertically against the wall at a slight angle.

Swooping cockroaches.. ugh, I'm going to have nightmares.