| Roaches | The Apartment pest | | Timothy Osborne | 12/3/2012 |

Roaches and other pest seem to be immune to most pesticides nowadays. In the past few years I have notice that regardless how much you bomb, spray or put out traps they always come back, sometimes with a vengeance. In most communities, mainly apartment complexes, management hire exterminators for preventative measures. But in most cases it’s already too late for that. In recent years there have been studies performed to see why this is and what can be done to fix this ongoing problem. Entomologists by the name of Jules Silverman and Donald N. Bieman conducted an experiment with German cockroaches that were gathered from apartments and a control group of cockroaches that were reared in a lab. Their findings were quite surprising as the insects grown in the lab had no preconceived notion that the poison/bait was dangerous the ones collected from the apartments would touch the bait with their antennas and quickly back off. The evidence gathered showed that the roaches that had been exposed to the different types of poison before were more weary and seemed to not be attracted to the glucose or sugar that had been contaminated by poison.
Very few animals avoid glucose (Silverman 1993). This leads me to believe that over time insects and other pest are adapting to the use of pesticides that are normal used in apartments. The developments of other types of pesticides are being created and should be used instead of the glucose based ones. There have been advances in the use of pathogens such as bacteria, fungi, and viruses that are probably the most important methods of pest control. One of these is Bacillus thuringiensis, which is a commercial pesticide. One of the pluses for using pathogenic pesticides is that they are usually not harmful to humans and safe for beneficial insects. These methods are called IPM (integrated pest management).
Several other ways to treat this problem is the obvious, stringent cleaning. If there is no food source this will reduce the likelihood of an infestation. Beyond that landscaping and maintaining of the grounds around the complex can help this. Doing these things can significantly improve the reduction of pests. Finding entry points and eliminating them is another way of getting rid of insects and keeping them out without having to use harsh chemicals. There is a nontoxic powder known as diatomaceous earth. It consists of sharp, tiny particles that cut through their hard outer covering, causing them to dry up. This and boric acid are two types of pesticides that are not harmful to larger animals but devastating to roaches.
Not many people know that the little gecko that you are trying to get rid of is actually helping you as well. They are able to wriggle and squirm into places you are unable to reach. These clever little guys love roaches as much as you hate them because to them it is lunch. Most people don’t really think that having a lizard running rampant in your home sounds helpful, but you would be surprised how fast you notice the minimization of the pest you were trying your hardest to get rid of. I am not saying that apartment complexes should start letting loose geckos in their tenants units but it might be an idea for the tenants to capture a couple if they can stand to know they are there.
A study conducted in the late 80s involved more than 100 low-income apartments in the southeastern United States. The team found that 97.5% of these dwellings were infested with the most common German cockroach. They noted that there were, conservatively, 160 roaches per unit. This can be a horrible health hazard. It has been documented that these disgusting insects carry the Salmonella bacteria that causes food poisoning, and have been implicated in spreading other diseases. Roaches also cause many people allergies that cause asthma attacks. In the worst cases the bugs will move into the bedrooms and climb on people’s faces, gnaw off eyelashes and eyebrows. This in itself is disturbing and most believe that this would be a great reason to move but this can be controlled if done properly.
In conclusion, apartment complexes, in some cases, take advantage of the lower class tenants by neglecting these pests. A good amount of the remedies are low in cost and simple to execute. Boric acid can be purchased at most hardware stores in bulk, so can diatomaceous earth which are quick fixes and inexpensive. It is easier to do this than use chemicals or traps as well as sugar based poisons which may not work. Most complexes utilize a gel or paste that is placed at the bases of cabinets when most roaches can be found near trash cans and tables because that is where the majority of food particles are left. If apartment complexes would just apply themselves this issue could be resolved within a matter of months instead years or not at all.

References:

Pennisi, E. (1993, January 9). How a cockroach lost its sweet tooth. (research on resistance to poison) (Brief Article). Science News, Vol 143 Issue 2, p27.

Siddiqi, Z. (2007, November 1). Outwit and outsmart pests: following basic, integrated pest management protocols now can dramatically reduce the incidence of pest infestation later. (feature article). Nursing Homes, 56(11), 46, 48.

Lecard, M. (1996, March 1). Old Acquaintance. Sierra, Vol. 81, p26.

Ralof, J. (1986, June 14). Roaches: The Battle Continues; Evicting the Most Common Roaches May Get Easier. Science News, Vol. 129, Issue 24, p378-379