When I first moved into my apartment I found one, just one, cockroach. It was in a drawer, lying on its back, and it was dead.
For the six (yes, six) years I was at college I didn't see another one.
After graduation, my brother lived in the same apartment for two years (my family owns the unit). He just moved out right before I returned to school a couple of weeks ago.
During the first week after my return I saw three roaches in four days. The first I found in the dishwasher under a bowl I had put there to dry after a washing. Revolted, I dropped the dish and saw the roach scurry away before I could take any action. Now, a day doesn't go by without a sighting and a subsequent squishing. Every time I enter the kitchen (the only place I have seen them), I scan the room looking for any suspicious brown objects on the counter top or on the walls.
When asked, my brother said he saw maybe four or five of them during his two years in the apartment. I don't know what happened, but seeing five in the past two weeks is not a good sign.
Using advice found on ask.metafilter.com, I have engaged in an offensive campaign to rid myself of these pests. I have scoured my cupboards and put teabags and cookies in Ziploc bags, fruit in the refrigerator (bananas in the microwave), and kept my sink free of unwashed dishes overnight. I've also placed 12 Raid-brand poisoned (but not-so-toxic to humans) baits under the sink, fridge and around the cupboards. I'm planning on buying a wastebasket with a sealed cover.
This is war without quarter my friends.
Oh yeah, in other news: School is going fine.
You know even in that really shitty apartment I had on 13th st. I never saw a single cockroach. Probably should have with the retched condition we kept the place, but never did.
Come to think of it, I have never ever seen one ever.
Damn, I think I have just cursed myself into infestation.
I have only seen one cockroach since I have been in Japan. I had expected to see more. It was in a subway bathroom.
I heard you can spray them with soapy water and that makes them die. Safe for humans also. Good luck!
If you've been looking for an excuse to buy one of those grenade/flamethrower guns from Aliens, now you have one.
I've been fighting an ant problem at my place since I moved in. They love my bathtub but respect my food at least. If I ever find one in the refrigerator or the microwave, I may have to nuke the place from space.
Good luck.
Jeremy: Maybe the roaches thought the Taco Bell downstairs was a more attractive home. You're fortunate you've never seen one ever. It's their unnatural speed that freaks me out.
JG: I'll have to put a concoction of soapy water in a spray bottle and try that out. I can also try out some glass cleaner, 409 and Febreeze and see how that goes. So far, I've found that the bottom of one of my shoes is fairly effective.
Brandon, I'll trade you my cockroaches for your ants.
I haven't seen one since my return from Portland on Sunday, so I'm hoping this is a sign that the poisoned bait is working. Otherwise, just like you, I will have to nuke my apartment from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.
I've been dealing with carpenter ants at my place since the spring of '05. Liberal doses of Raid, administered every few weeks kept them out of sight but didn't kill them off entirely. They disappeared in the fall only to return this February. The landlord finally called out an exterminator but that did little to quell their efforts.
After that, I tried those traps where the wee buggers take poison back to their queen. After a weeks, no more ants. There are a few tiny, sugar ants that occasionally pop up in the bathroom but I haven't seen the larger variety since April.
Long story short: if the roaches come back, try the poison traps. Or the nuke if the university will let you park your spaceship in the amphitheater and live in it.