First, there is nothing to be scared about so tell everyone to stay calm. As our GERMAN ROACH CONTROL ARTICLE explains, these guys can most definitely be controlled with the right products and a little patience.

Second, in the article you’ll see several control options with one of the most common employed being a bait. No doubt you’ll get the best results if you use 2-3 different baits but if you’re on a limited budget, get the MAXFORCE GEL and with this product alone I’m sure you’ll knock out any roaches currently in your apartment as well any that might enter in the coming months. All you’ll need to do is refresh the placements every 2-3 months and you should be able to keep them at bay.

Lastly, doing this work yourself will no doubt save you plenty of money compared to using a service and since we’re selling what the professionals use, you can in fact get the same results with a little help from us on how to use the products we’re recommending.

Here are direct links to the information and products listed above:

German Roach Control:  http://www.germanroaches.com/roach-control

Maxforce Roach Gel:  http://www.bugspraycart.com/bait/gel/maxforce-magnum-roach-gel-1-oz

You most definitely have a serious roach problem. Based on your message, it would seem they are active in many locations and will require extensive treatments. At this point I strongly suggest you refrain from spraying and read our ROACH CONTROL ARTICLE. In the article you’ll learn about the ROACH GEL and why it’s the best way to treat when dealing with a problem such as yours. A good baiting program will no doubt solve this problem a lot faster and efficiently but this can only be achieved if you stop spraying. This is mainly because the spray will contaminate the bait but also because the spray tends to “spread” or disperse the roaches. Leaving them as is and then deploying nothing but 1-2 baits will prove easier and more effective by a long shot.

Here are direct links to the information and products listed above:

Roach Control Article:  http://www.germanroaches.com/roach-control

Roach Gel:  http://www.germanroaches.com/roach-control#roach_bait

Magnum Gel:  http://www.bugspraycart.com/bait/gel/maxforce-magnum-roach-gel-1-oz

Appreciate your help!

I recommend going with the ORTHENE we have listed in our LARGE ROACH CONTROL ARTICLE. It’s ideally suited for outdoor applications and if you spray the outside of the home every 1-2 months, you’ll be able to keep all bugs out. Nothing is stronger. The key is getting the roof line treated, up around the gutters, where these guys like to enter. It’s also important to treat the attic with either MAXFORCE GRANULES or DRIONE DUST.

Lastly, if you ever start to see more than just 1-2 inside, apply some GEL in any room with activity. These big roaches love the stuff and will quickly feed and die after you apply some where they’re foraging.

Here are direct links to the information and products listed above:

Orthene:  http://www.bugspray.com/item/orthene_wp.html

Large Roach Article:  http://www.bugspray.com/article/largeroaches.html

Maxforce Granules:  http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page278.html

Roach Gel:  http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page284.html

I can’t do the treatment for you since we’re on the other side of the country but I can tell you the problem can be controlled. As our ROACH CONTROL ARTICLE explains, it does take time and persistence. I suggest you quit doing everything and go to a strictly bait regime. If you set out ROACH GEL and AVERT GEL in every room where they’re active I’m sure you can control them. The key will be making sure you renew the applications every 2 weeks until you don’t see any activity. In most cases people who use bait in a bad situation simply don’t use enough. They’ll start out fine but in the end if you don’t keep putting out fresh bait, the roaches will find another food supply and continue to thrive. In the end the only way to knock them out completely will be vigilant baiting program making sure to get some applied everywhere the roaches are seen.

Here are direct links to the information and products listed above:

Roach Control Article:  http://www.germanroaches.com/roach-control#roach_bait

Roach Gel:  http://www.bugspray.com/item/magnum-roach-gel.html

Avert Gel:  http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page222.html

You stated that you read through our online GERMAN ROACH CONTROL ARTICLE which is where we list the products you’ll need to use for this problem. As detailed in the article, the ROACH GEL is definitely the way to go inside. It’s easy to apply, readily accepted by the roaches and will knock out any problem.

But using the Gel outside is tough if not impossible to use successfully due to a host of reasons. Combine this with the level of infestation you claim is present, I’d go with the CYPERMETHRIN instead. It can be applied to the turf, plants and siding of the home safely and will provide a quick knockdown, repellancy and in the end, control. I recommend treating the entire property at least once using about 1 finished gallon of product for every 1000 sq/ft of turf. Roaches will nest down in the ground under leaf litter, grass clippings and general debris. In southern climates they’ll live outside all year long and since mulch, compost piles, grass clippings, thatch and other organic debris will stay “warm” as it decomposes, there is usually a zone of heat created that will enable them to get through the harshest of winters remaining active all the while.

Applications of Cypermethrin to the turf will result in a quick kill of any insects living there. Spraying the side of the home will kill and repel any from the structure which in your case could be important. Based on what is happening around the neighborhood, it’s entirely likely more will be foraging onto your property on a regular basis so you’ll be prone to reinfestation. To keep this from happening, apply some COMPLETE GRANULES to the turf every 1-2 months at the rate of 20 lbs per 10,000 sq/ft. And if you intend on keeping any porch or patio lights on around the house, spray the outside house siding with the Cypermethrin during this same time interval to keep new ones off the building as well.

Here are direct links to the information and products listed above:

German Roach Control:  http://www.germanroaches.com/roach-control

Maxforce Roach Gel:  http://www.bugspray.com/item/magnum-roach-gel.html

Cypermethrin:  http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page14.html

Cyfluthrin Granules:  http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/granule/complete-insect-killer-granules

As explained in our ROACH CONTROL article, achieving success when treating for roaches can only be reached when three conditions are met. 1) You must have full access to the units being treated 2) You must get the tenants to “go along” with your roach control program and 3) You must use a combination of the right products.

With this in mind, I’ll assume you have access to the units you want to treat and that your tenants will follow “good housekeeping” guidelines. If this happens, you’re 95% of the way there.

The last step is insuring the right products are being applied. Though most people feel liquid spraying is the best way to control roaches, in many cases this is not true.  Currently we have many types and flavors of cockroach gel and bait which arguably works better than any spray. The great thing about using a bait is that you don’t have to be precise with where you make bait placements. Since the roaches natural do nothing but forage for food, any bait which “tastes” good will naturally attract roaches. All you need to do is get your placements as close to where the roach activity is being  reported. Since most roach infestations are identified by visual contact, it’s generally very easy to make such placements. When done right, such placements will quickly yield positive results and have a devastating impact on their numbers.

Now just what roach bait is best? There probably isn’t “best” roach bait but rather the best way to use them. This “best way” seems to be by employing two or three types at one location. Multiple flavors of roach bait applied ensures you’ll get quick acceptance by any roach actively foraging for food. Like people, roaches will vary their diet and like to change from time to time. Using a variety of roach bait ensures that any roach which changes it’s dietary consumption needs or wants will likely be switching over to an alternative bait! This strategy will yield faster and more effective roach management success.

One other benefit when using roach bait is that tenants won’t be able to complain about bad smelling spray or the amount of work they typically have to do in order to prepare their cabinets and other living spaces to be sprayed. In most situations, any of the bait we recommend can be applied safely and effectively with little to no preparation needed by tenants. ROACH GEL comes out in small doses that can be finely controlled with the use of our BLUE BAIT GUN. Small dabs about the size of a grain of rice can be placed every few feet in discreet locations that many times will not be visible to the naked eye. AVERT AEROSOL BAIT can be used for spaces, voids and other more open locations where the placement of gel will not be easy to make. And the new ADVION GEL is a great third flavor to introduce as needed; units which display an ongoing roach problem should probably be retreated with the Advion following the initial clean out or use it right from the start if the problem looks bad enough.

In summary, baiting for roaches is usually the best approach when initially trying to get a roach infestation under control. Four Plex units, condominiums, apartments  and even residential homes can all get roaches. These dwellings have so many crumbs laying around as well as great locations for roaches to safely nest and hide it’s a wonder we can ever keep them roach free in the first place. The great advantage of roach bait is the fact that it takes advantage of what roaches do most of the time: forage for food. Start setting out roach bait for your 4-Plex units and I’m sure you’ll be able to get your roach problem under control.

But yet ever time I visit to do work, I find roaches all over the place.

Why are they coming in to the house when there is no food to be found???

Love your website by the way.  Also had a chance to visit your store last week.  Great service, great help.  Thanks!

There are several reasons why this happens. First, roaches don’t do much except look for food and nest sites. When food is scarce, they are forced to forage more than they’d like. I suspect this is happening at your second house. When food is plentiful, roaches are able to get their fill when they feel most secure and will spend more time hiding out of sight. But if the local food supply is limited, they’ll have to come out more and forage more so in the end, there is a greater chance of them being seen. Clearly this is happening at your location.

Second, as explained in our GERMAN ROACH CONTROL article, roaches can live 6 months or longer without food. So even if you removed all there was for them to eat, you would still expect to see them foraging around for a good 6-12 months under normal conditions expected life spans.

Third, roaches are cannabilistic. They love to eat other roaches. I’m sure there are lots of dead roaches hidden behind walls and under things which are providing ample nutrition and food for the local population. These carcasses can conceiveably sustain an active roach population indefinitely.

Fourth, roaches will commonly feed on things people don’t consider to be food. These items include fabric (furniture, drapes, carpets, etc), paper products (boxes, paper plates, paper), wall paper, wall paper glue, insulation and basically most any construction component found in most homes these days.

In summary, roaches are great survivors. They’re both adaptable and persistent. They’re able to survive on material commonly found around most any house that most people don’t consider to be “food”. With this in mind, it’s no wonder they can remain active in an abandoned house indefinitely. So if you wish to get rid of them, you’ll need to do some baiting and the ROACH GEL is ideal for this type of problem. Since it’s so much more attractive to what they’ve been forced to feed on, the gel will readily be accepted and in most cases, the population will be knocked out in 3-6 weeks once it works it’s way into the bulk of the population.

Roaches can live outside and there are many species which do fine existing on structures around lights, decks, overhangs, rooftops, etc. From there they can forage inside if given the chance. The best thing to do is treat the outside with some ORTHENE WP as explained in our LARGE ROACH CONTROL article. Surface treat all areas where you’ve seen them. If the area is close to the ground, apply some MAXFORCE GRANULES to this area as well. Roaches love this stuff and will quickly find it, eat some and die.

If they are appearing inside, it would be best to set out some ROACH GEL where you’ve seen any activity. This bait uses a strong attractant roaches seem to love and it should be found by them, fed upon and in turn kill them with little effort on your part. For the most part, you shouldn’t have to spray inside so the Gel should be enough to get control of the problem.

Since you want something that’s odorless, there is only one product that we’ll recommend. The Roach Gel is the only product that won’t leave any type of smell once it’s been applied. You can see it in our Roach Control Article and as the article explains, the roach gel is not only odorless and safe to use, it’s actually one of the best roach control products available. This is because it uses a food lure roaches can’t resist combined with an active ingredient that’s highly active for a long period of time. Roaches that die from eating some will actually end up killing other roaches so there is a chain reaction benefit derived once some of it gets into the roach nests. Forget the Orthene WP and Aerosol sprays we have featured but instead use nothing but the gel and I’m sure you’ll be satisfied.

Cockroach control in vehicles like a car or truck can be tricky. The bottom line is you need to first get it cleaned out which it sounds like you may have already done. If so, I suggest you place out some bait (gel) up under the seats, under the dashboard discreetly on the door panels. If you’ve done a good job removing all the food supplies, the cockroaches will be desparate to find some food and the cockroach gel will be quickly accepted. Since the gel is both odorless and easy to apply, it’s ideal for such a sensitive area.