cockroaches

Boric acid (powder) is pretty effective but you have to be able to sprinkle in places where no pets or people will touch it (behind counters and appliances and in the walls.

I actually recently moved to a new place and had a roach problem myself. I asked some friends for advice and the two responses I received were (1) boric acid powder, which is apparently readily available in Chinatown and (2) cats.

Not having the time to trek out to Chinatown and not too keen on having cat hair everywhere, I just purchased some Raid Double Control Small Roach Baits Plus Egg Stopper: http://www.killsbugsdead.com/fop_dc_srb_p_es.asp.

It has worked pretty darn well! I would say it took about four days for the roaches to really clear out. Since then, I have only spotted one roach and that sucker was on its way into the roach bait!

http://www.pestproducts.com/maxforcegel.htm
tip from someone who heads up pest control for NYC

Boric acid is not harmful to humans. I can't speak to pets, but I used to use it as an eyewash when I had pink eye. I don't know about ingestion, but it will not burn or have any negative reaction to skin.

I agree with marla_singer that it is a committment - you need to be prepared for perhaps a few weeks of pest warfare.

After getting fed up with the fact that my kitchen was turning into a little waterbug social club, and after realizing that no amount of cleanliness will keep them away, I stormed into a hardware store on my way back from work (I went to one in Park Slope on 5th Ave just because that's where I was coming from at the time, but I assume most hardware stores carry this stuff - I woud recommend checking with the one on Nostrand between Pacific and Dean, they are very helpful there) and bought the following items more or less on impulse:

> NiBor powder (an apparently stronger - and somewhat pricier - form of boric acid)
> Combat Roach Killing Gel (which is somewhat nasty to use but does the trick), and
> Combat Roach motels (for the smaller bugs)

The combination of the three of these items after about a week of use took care of my problem. It may actually have been overkill, but I am happy that it is at least over.

My aunt usually has an exterminator come to her house to spray once or twice a week--no roaches. Effective if you can afford it.

Other than that, move out of brooklyn, cause even a nuclear strike won't kill brooklyn cockroaches.

Chinatown doesn't have a monopoly on boric acid....you can get it at any decent hardware store, and many supermarkets/drugstores. Sometimes called "roach powder"...but if you look on the label, you'll see that boric acid is the main ingredient.

The key is to spread a very fine layer of it in places where it won't be disturbed by foot traffic (well, unless it's roaches feet). You don't want mountains of the stuff...just a dusting, which you can do pretty easily by squeezing the container. It's considered relatively safe, but it's definitely not 100% non-toxic. I'd suggest wearing a dusk mask when blowing the powder into place to be safe.

Washing dishes and taking garbage out helps!

homeowner wrote: Boric acid is not harmful to humans. I can't speak to pets, but I used to use it as an eyewash when I had pink eye. I don't know about ingestion, but it will not burn or have any negative reaction to skin.

Boric acid can be harmful to humans if you consume enough of it, but it's definitely not as toxic as most pesticides.

Carnivore wrote: [quote=homeowner]Boric acid is not harmful to humans. I can't speak to pets, but I used to use it as an eyewash when I had pink eye. I don't know about ingestion, but it will not burn or have any negative reaction to skin.

Boric acid can be harmful to humans if you consume enough of it, but it's definitely not as toxic as most pesticides.

i thought i remembered reading somewhere that its toxicity was right up there with table salt's. is that about right?