Am I talking about me in the title? I could be but in this case, I am not. One of our Master Gardeners has a daughter who loves insects. I've been out to speak to her class and she is always so eager to learn and had really great questions. She has started a blog- The Girl Who Loves Bugs- about insects and it's AMAZING! I encourage you to follow her blog....I guarantee that you'll learn something!
I think it's fantastic that she is taking a passion and turning it into a learning tool for others. I wish that I was that ambitious when I was her age...instead I was busy throwing spiders at my brother.
Friday, September 27, 2013
Friday, September 13, 2013
Cockroaches in the house...should you worry?
For the past couple of weeks when I would go into the bathroom at night and turn on the light I would see tiny cockroaches scurrying about. It also happened one morning when the boy was with me and he was very upset when I rinsed the roach down the bathroom sink.
The boy- "MOMMY! We should have taken it outside and let it go!"
Me- "It's okay, cockroaches commonly live in sewers so it's going to be reunited with other cockroaches."
The boy- "Really? They live in sewers?"
Me- "Yes. When I was in college working on cockroaches I used to trap all my roaches from the sewer. I would get jars full of them overnight."
The boy- "Oh, okay."
So why am I not panicked that cockroaches are taking over my house? Well for one, anyone who knows me knows that I have a fondness for cockroaches so I don't panic when I see them. They rank from being cute to a mild annoyance to me. Secondly, I've identified them as American cockroach nymphs and I know that they are coming in the house looking for water because it has been so dry outside. If I really cared about them being in the house, I could go up in the attic and screen off any vent openings where they might be coming into the house, clean out our gutters (which probably would be a good ideas to do for other reasons as well) and stuff the weep holes with copper mesh. Our screens are already in good shape- hubby fixed that last month and the weather stripping around doors and windows is also good. I could also have the hubby go up and dust the attic or do a foundation spray around the house, but I'd rather not.
What do you do when you find a cockroach in the bathroom late at night?
The boy- "MOMMY! We should have taken it outside and let it go!"
Me- "It's okay, cockroaches commonly live in sewers so it's going to be reunited with other cockroaches."
The boy- "Really? They live in sewers?"
Me- "Yes. When I was in college working on cockroaches I used to trap all my roaches from the sewer. I would get jars full of them overnight."
The boy- "Oh, okay."
So why am I not panicked that cockroaches are taking over my house? Well for one, anyone who knows me knows that I have a fondness for cockroaches so I don't panic when I see them. They rank from being cute to a mild annoyance to me. Secondly, I've identified them as American cockroach nymphs and I know that they are coming in the house looking for water because it has been so dry outside. If I really cared about them being in the house, I could go up in the attic and screen off any vent openings where they might be coming into the house, clean out our gutters (which probably would be a good ideas to do for other reasons as well) and stuff the weep holes with copper mesh. Our screens are already in good shape- hubby fixed that last month and the weather stripping around doors and windows is also good. I could also have the hubby go up and dust the attic or do a foundation spray around the house, but I'd rather not.
What do you do when you find a cockroach in the bathroom late at night?