best ways to fight roaches

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best ways to fight roaches

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Full-Time Investor · Charlotte, NC · Member since 2009 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes

to make a long story short, i had tenants move out the week before i bought the building and they lived in filth..even my contractors didn't want to go in there, it smelt so bad..there were roaches everywhere. i had a guy come in and spray..twice the roaches are going into the adjacent apartments due to the spray, bait, and the fact that the food source is gone since the tenants are gone. i have one very clean OCD tenant who i don't want to lose that is planning on moving out bc some of the roaches are moving into his apartment through the walls...do yall know of the best roach killer? these bastards are resilient, and even if you kill them, there's babies in the walls, meaning i'll have to kill another generation of them...hoping you guys might know a 'little known' trick or something..any ideas??

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Will BarnardPro Member
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Developer · Santa Clarita, CA · Member since 2008 · 15k+ posts · 10k+ votes
15y

Forget about baiting them.
Spray alone will not do it as you see.

Contact a licensed pest control company, speak to their COMMERCIAL department and request a quote for a full fumigation. Request that they drill holes in the walls and shoot "Borid" (which has an active ingredient of Boric Acid in powder form) in there. They should also fumigate using "Pyronyl UL" which is a mixture of Pyrethrins/Butoxide/Piporonyl. This is a flushing agent that causes the roaches to flush from their hiding places, run into the freshly sprayed chemical (I always prefered the chemical Demand CS with an active ingredient of Lambda-Cyhalothrin)

It may take 2 or even 3 treatments to eradicate the problem and is not cheap if done right. If you give me the size of your building, I can tell you what you should expect to pay.

Will

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  • Paul Nicks
    San Antonio, TX · Member since 2014 · 1 post · 0 votes
    12y

    The only product that really works for us is Bengal Gold Roach Spray. It is by far the best roach killer product I have used and it has successfully killed thousands of roaches for me.

    This is the cheapest I have found it online and I have searched EVERYWHERE: http://bugrepellentzone.com/roaches/bengal-gold-roach-spray-11oz/

    ** Just saw this post was from 2012. Oops! ;-)

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  • Josh B.
    Chicago, IL · Member since 2015 · 31 posts · 1 vote
    11y

    If you want to save $ and decimate the little guys it is not really that hard. I HIGHLY recommend as many avenues of treatment as possible for the best results and being as thorough as possible the first time. I recommend buying supplies through ebay or domyownpestcontrol.com. The pesticide "Phantom" is great for any roach issues. Phantom takes a week or so to really kill anything but it is the best option by far. The roaches cannot sense this product and uses their natural instincts to destroy them. They use pheromones to attract each other so lets say one goes through where you sprayed he will then go around and kill any other one it comes into contact with. Also they do have IGR aerosols (Gentrol) you can buy that can be sprayed in problem areas that will cause the littles ones to be unable to molt (they will die) and the adults to be unable to reproduce.

     I would also recommend baiting crack and crevice with Advion roach or Advert. Then finally buying a small duster to dust boric acid into voids and crack and crevices. Also roaches can last weeks without food but only days without water. A surefire way to give you the best head start is making sure you have no leaks or areas of left over water (empty the refridgerator condensate pan) for them this will help crash the populations fast. Guaranteed success. 

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  • Chas Fabiano
    Real Estate Investor · chandler, AZ · Member since 2014 · 72 posts · 23 votes
    11y
    Originally posted by @Robert Burns:

    Years ago, I worked as the national sales manager for Bengal Chemical in Baton Rouge LA and we created and sold the "best" roach spray in the world. It is Bengal Roach Spray. It works like no other and I know because I sold thousands cans and tested hundreds of cans. It uses a powerful synthetic pyrithroid that attracts roaches and attacks their central nervous system. It works in 24 hours and will kill thousands of roaches. I tested it in a filthy duplex as well as many other places and it kills roaches better than anything. Boric Acid works by plugging the roaches digestive system. This method is very slow and does not attract roaches. Nothing attracts and kills roaches like Bengal Roach Spray.

     I personally have used this with great results  

    http://www.domyownpestcontrol.com/onslaught-fastcap-spider-and-scorpion-insecticide-p-2579.html?zmam=70093104&zmas=1&zmac=2&zmap=2579&gclid=CNatgYLenMMCFY-Vfgod2ysALQ

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  • Chas Fabiano
    Real Estate Investor · chandler, AZ · Member since 2014 · 72 posts · 23 votes
    11y

    Onslaught FastCap Spider and Scorpion Insecticide

    Sorry about the long hyerplink before.  I go on "Apocalypse Now" missions to kill these pests.  This stuff lasts for 3 months with every spray.  Dead pest bodies everywhere.  I left a few survivors to go and warn their fellow pests not to come back.

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  • Barry Christopher
    Real Estate Agent · Pensacola, FL · Member since 2015 · 28 posts · 7 votes
    11y

    I bought a house that had a multitude of issues. One of them was a MAJOR GERMAN COCKROACH INFESTATION from the previous renters. I found ADVION(with a little research. I bought it from EBAY. It eliminated all roaches within 10 days.  

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  • Jeremy Shinall
    Orlando, FL · Member since 2015 · 39 posts · 10 votes
    11y

    Might anyone have any experience with out of control roaches in Florida? I'm looking at a distressed property in the Orlando area. The roaches are climbing the walls in droves in the daylight. They're everywhere. I couldn't even begin to estimate how much it would cost to have such an infestation taken care of professionally. The home is about 1100sqft. I'd love to know what that would cost in Orlando!

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  • Charles Clayton
    Real Estate Professional · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2015 · 34 posts · 4 votes
    10y

    First of all, you need to seal all the opening of your rented units before using any cockroach killer spray. After doing this, you should spray the entire unit with either Hit Cockroach Spray or Herbal Strategy whichever you prefer. Both these are the best product for cockroach extermination and can do cockroach pest control up to 75-80%. But for complete cockroach extermination, you need to take help from professional cockroach exterminator from a reputed pest control company.

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  • Randy Iannone
    Rental Property Investor · Virginia Beach, VA · Member since 2017 · 2 posts · 1 vote
    8y

    I know this is an old thread but for anyone who may encounter this problem do yourself a favor and buy Advion Cockroach Bait Gel and follow the instructions carefully. It is available on amazon and is a professional product. I was turned onto this by a pest control company back when I oversaw Maintenance for several multi-family apartment communities totalling about 1000 units. I'm sure the pest control company owner would not be pleased to know that they had an employee giving away trade secrets. I can tell you with certainty that this stuff works. You do have to make sure that you seal off any entry points and modes of travel between units. Most importantly, enforce strict cleanliness guidelines as if you don't remove the food source you will have the problem over and over again. Usually if you properly apply this product you will see nothing but dead roaches inside of about 3 days. I use it at my own properties at the first sign of any issue and it clears it up very quickly.

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  • Sam Shueh
    Real Estate Agent · Cupertino, CA · Member since 2016 · 4k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    8y

    Sign up with the pest control. They get tenants signing up and often that is the documentation used to evict. Often they are brought in by the tenants assuming the place had no roaches before.  These folks will come in a few times and you can also setup roach motels for monitoring. Rather taking heat from tenants you refer the tenants to the professionals.

    Landlord can seal all opening, sink pipe entry, garage etc. 

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  • James WilcoxBusiness Member
    Real Estate Agent · Bowling Green KY ~ Lexington, KY · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 602 votes
    8y

    We have used diatomaceous earth is all places that we can apply inside the walls and in cracks. This has worked well as a preventative step. We do this once during first tenant turn over. Stuff is cheap and easy to apply. We also do preventative spraying on the outside once a quarter and sprays inside when requested (within reason). I have also purchased Zoecon Precor 2000 Plus and Alpine sprays for roaches, fleas, and bedbugs with a pretty good success rate. The main thing is to get rid of them from the start and stay on top of preventative maintenance. 


    If you have any trouble or doubts call in a professional and get the property back to pest free. Our pest control guy is amazing and has even eliminated roaches from a unit that had roaches even on the front door. *sigh* Inherited tenants, got to love them lol. Good luck!

    REI James w/ eXp Realty54 Reviews
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