I have 450 sq ft that’s on the ground floor. Like almost 0 elevation at all from street level. 100 year old building. I live a 10 minutes walk away from the Pacific Coast, SF climate

Every time I wake up and go to the bathroom, I see 2-5 insects in it. 1-2 are cockroaches, rest are some other small thing. Flies maybe? Always see some cockroach droppings on sink counter that I have to spray and wipe down

Every time I leave a room dark for a few hours and turn on the lights, I always see 1-3 insects

During the day with lights on, I notice 1-4 insects per hour in various places excluding tiny fruit flies. Those I probably see like 5 times a day

Problem has been getting worse since I’ve moved in but this is also the first summer I’ve lived through in this place

And if I need pest control, how much work is it to have them come in? Should I just move apartments if I need them?

  • LaGG_3 [he/him, comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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    2 months ago

    I might have to try that cockroach trap. I tend to have issues with them whenever it’s warm where I live.

    I do a similar trap to your one for flies to deal with occasional fruit flies, but for some reason I add a few drops of liquid dish soap to it? I have no idea why I do this (maybe it helps get the flies stuck better) but it works well enough when I need it.

    • wax_worm_futures [comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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      2 months ago

      2 days ago I talked to a guy who said he just uses smooth plastic bottles for those roach traps, with some water inside and maybe something that smells like food.

      A lot of online how-tos recommend the drop of dish soap. I personally never got it to work, I think it blocked the smell of the vinegar and flies didn’t even come close. When I tried the vinegar on its own, they flew right in and drowned in it.