Category: Daily Living
How do you know if there are bugs in your house?
This is mainly geered toward people who live on their own, and who are totally blind. How are you aware if there are mice, or bugs? Today I found a dead mouse in my room and it scared me, I am scared of those things! Anyway, so I was just wondering, what are things you do if you think there might be something in your house, or your room? How do you deal with it? What are your experiences with this?
I don't live by myself yet, but when i do, i'm definitely going to look in to getting an electric bug zapper.
How does that work?
Hi. If the bugs are bigger, you can hear them buzzing, or bumping in to something sometimes, but the noise is kind of subtle unless things around you are quiet. I know when there is a fly or bee in my apartment because I can hear the buzzing and it landing and everything, and sometimes I can even tell whether it is a bee or a fly, because some kinds of bees have a deeper buzz than flies. As far as ants go, I know they are there when I feel them crawling on me. I can tell they are ants because they are small and also by the way they feel kind of like a crumb or something. Also the red ants when they bite you make you itchy. I actually got attacked by red ants one time, because they somehow got in to my bed, and i know that I didn't sleep for several nights until I got rid of them. I couldn't figure out what it was that was making me so itchy and uncomfortable until my roommate at the time, who was sighted, told me that there were a bunch of red ants on my sheet. Usually with mice you can hear them, especially at night. You may hear them scratching on the wall or just rustling. I live in an apartment, so maintanance or someone I guess sprays for bugs and things like that so it is not a big problem, although once in a while I will hear a bug or two. But really I can't stand when there is a bug in the apartment because, although I can guess at what it is, I am not always sure, and I don't want to get stung or bitten, and I wouldn't want my one-year-old daughter to get bitten or stung either. I hate when there are those bugs that don't make noise, and then you don't know their there, such as spiders and roaches and things like that. My friend had a friend that had a roach problem in his apartment that was totally blind, but he didn't know it until his mother came over and saw the roaches on his kitchen floor. That always freaks me out, so I try to keep the kitchen clean and the dishes washed, because I have heard that roaches are hard to get rid of.
Also, an electric bug zapper is a thing that zaps the bug or fly when it gets in it, therefore killing the bug. I was also looking in to one of those, but read that it zaps the bug in to many particles, which get in to the air and everything. I am not sure if that is true or not though.
Anyway, sorry for being long-winded in this post. I hope this helps some.
Misty
Ugh, cringe, cringe, cringe! I don't mind rodents and bugs when they're in a controlled environment like a cage, but wild ones scare the fuck out of me, only because some of them carry diseases and poison (in the case of some bugs). And then every once in awhile, gods forbid, you may get a snake in your house. That has never happened to me, but my uncle had one in his garage once.
As for hearing them, I agree with everyone else on here. Listen for rustling and scratching and squeaking in the case of rodents and buzzing in the case of bugs.
I would recommend just keeping your house/apartment as clean as humanly possible. That's my strategy. And if you're really worried about a rodent problem, consider getting a cat.
Namaste,
Becky
I don't live by myself yet, but there's bugs everywhere you go, no matter what. They exist in this world and they will continue to exist. You have no way to avoid them. I'll just ignore them, and if one dies, then, I'll simply clean it up. no big deal. I'll just grab a tissue and throw them away.
Sorry to bring this topic back up to the top, but I can't tell the difference between a bee, fly, or wasp. That's why every time something's in here flying around, I freeze. One's bad enough, but any more than that, cue hyperventilation ...
I live in an apartment and sometimes I know you can't help if you have bugs or mice no matter how clean you are. I get things called earwigs because the complex has a bunch of brush all around the complex and they craw all over outside at might, and then they come inside. There offle, I think they are worse then rouches because they can pinch and try to get in to your cups of drinks. GROCE GROCE so GROCE.
If you want to get some of the sprays or traps or powders that the professionals use, go to www.doityourselfpestcontrol.com which is do it yourself pest control. They have the stuff for roaches, ants, bedbugs... all of it, and if you have trouble making your selection, there's a tole free number to call.
Any advice for traps?
i know they have this new environment friendly stuff that they spray the is good if u have pet and children...it get rid of the bugs very well...also where we just moved from there was a bug problem but not b.c we weren't clean but b.c the complex was somehow known for bugs, and we had to get the place exterminated.
Getting a cat will take care of the mice problem, although, my cat has been known to bring me presents when she catches them. Its not fun finding a dead mouse on the floor, but at least they are not staying around long with the cat. For ants, I would suggest putting ant traps around, and putting down ant powder on the primiter of your house. There are all kinds of sprays you can get for wasps and beas. But, if you have an outdoor hose, you can have someone help you spray them after the sun goes down and the nest activity has calmed down for the night.
Glad this topic resurfaced again.
Boric acid is a powder and you can put it around the perimeter of your countertops, for roaches. They will take it back to their nest, eat it, bleed internally and die. Yeah, bugs and rodents are nasty: I'm rather a girl about the whole affair myself to be honest.
And spiders seem to keep getting into my daughter's bedroom through the screen, despite having pressure-washed the outside of the house. We know when there's a long and protracted cry of 'eeew!' I don't care what folks say about spiders being good pest controllers, at present they're pests and I'd like to get rid of them for her. Some are poisonous.
I moved in to an apartment that has some ishues and it didn't help that the bug guy forgot to come all last year. He is supose to come one a month or once every two months during the summer times. but last year he thought he was only supose to come once a summer or somehting like that. When he got to my apartment, I guess I was the first person he came to, but he asked me how often he was supose to come. HA HA, not so funny when you got ishues going on because your neighbore does not clean their home!!!!
I really like the idea of the environmentally friendly stuff. Where can you get it? Also, I've heard of this thing where they install this thing that sends electrical sparks or something. It doesn't help for things like fleas and bees, but it'll help for the bugs that like to burrow into the walls, like carpenter ants. I wish I remember exactly what it was called.
ok guys, here are some bugging thoughts. we have a good friend who is an exterminator and here's some stuff he told us.
all those bug zappers that you plug in the walls are is good stereo for insects. they do absolutely nothing for or two the nasty little critters. don't get sucked in by the hipe.
if you can afford it, get a monthly or bimonthly visit from an exterminator. for every roach that is seen there are some huge number that are not.
boric acid is a good old fashioned roach stopper as are bay leaves and slices of cucumber.
anyone who lives in an apartment has roaches. sorry all you proud folks. just because they aren't seen doesn't mean that you aren't entertaining them.
oh yes, and cleanliness can help but it is not the cureall. note how many live in hospitals. they are just a biproduct of people living in close proximity.
keep all the drains shut in your sinks and the toilet seat lids down. they look for the light. if they don't see it they won't come out.
Ifi your dishwasher suddenly stops working, have someone take the pannel off the controls. roaches love the warmths of the lights and the wires taste good to them. ick.
roach poop is the leading but least discussed cause of asthma in young children. many kids are allergic to it.
Gosh, now i must go wash my hands. gross.
naturally i forgot the most important thing.
when moving, spray your boxes inside and out with roach insecticide. then spray the tape. that way you won't have any stow aways to your new address.
Finally, if purchasing a couch or chair from someone, say ast a yard sale, clean it thoroughly before bringing it in the house. have a sighted person look in all the nooks and crannies.
good thing they like the lights because I never use them.
i once zapped the mother of all bumble bees. buzlzlzzl buz'zz'z'z'z spray spray, then crash a radio down on the place where i thought the bee was, dead bee. it was huge! i felt it land!