BB,



First of all, I feel sorry for you cause cockroaches are probably the ugliest and utterly useless creatures on this planet and maybe taken over your apartment!!



No idea about bug sprays but if you play a racket sport then its probably the best way to practice your swings and if not then its a good reason to pick it up ;-)...



Sanjeev
sanjeev, Jun 30, 2009 @ 04:28

Please make a close-up photo of the insect, so we can what you've actually got.

(put the camera in "macro" mode for that).



As they say on the internet: "pictures - or it didn't happen"

;-)
rainer_d, Jun 30, 2009 @ 04:32

Hi!

No rackets... you MUST NOT squash them!! otherwise you have their eggs everywhere :sick:

Pictures AND movie already taken... and I am SURE - they are cockroaches...studied the enemy in Australia last year and these 3 creatures definitely WERE roaches... hope that they didn't survive after being sprayed, stepped on (embedded in kitchen roll) and then flushed down toilet, but I saw one surviving 3 min in a micro wave ... tell me, what do they have to fear, little bastards ??:crazy:
BB008, Jun 30, 2009 @ 04:37

 

Hi

Being an absolute cat lover I already thought about that-the ideal solution for me...but I cannot have one in my studio (and going away often on weekends)...would be too cruel for the cat... so I hope that my toy cat awakes to life at night and chases them :D
BB008, Jun 30, 2009 @ 06:10

roaches? in Zurich?? no you must be confused :D these must be contract lawyers or trust bankers lol take one evidence (dead is ok) and run to your next drugstore to ask for ad-hoc chemical
swisskiss, Jun 30, 2009 @ 08:46

[quote] make a complaint to your landlord - insist the place is fumigated

[/quote]



.... what an informed advice lol this occidental Europe my dear, we no longer fumigate places here. One simply deposits droplets of hydramethylnone in critical spots et voila. The thing has no odor and is not toxic for humans and doesn't require vacating your home over a long weekend
Gentlman4evr, Jun 30, 2009 @ 11:39

I knew of someone who had these come into their house. Apparently they are called asian cockroaches.. apparently if you google you will get the plenty of info.

They live outside primarily and are a rarer type who are attracted to the light, so they fly towards this in the evening. It happened several days in a row in the summertime and learning that this type seemingly does not survive long-term inside, before contacting the regie, the person wanted to see if they could get rid of them themselves after doing the research. Them being a self confessed pacifist, one might think they went too far as ended up spending a certain amount of time trapping some of them in glass jars and putting them outside the next day(!), but also ended up with several cans of WD40 dotted around the place for the ones that escaped them.(which kills them instantaneously if sprayed... but the smell is not that terrific).

If you can put up mosquito protection at open windows, doors, or keep them shut at night when the light is on, it appears it also dissuades them from coming in..
TogJay, Jun 30, 2009 @ 11:51

BB:

I feel for you mate, cos cockroaches are indeed among the most disgusting things out there. When I know there might be one in my room, I can't sleep all night.

Anyway, here's an article on how to get rid of them.

Good luck, and show us the bodies once you killed them, so we know it's safe to go back to Zurich!

Nir
Nir Ofek, Jun 30, 2009 @ 11:51

Who wanted to see a picture?? :w00t:

Cockroach for sure... Blatta zurichensis  ?? :P (Zurich, 29th June 2009-23:26)

I even made a movie of the other one, but I guess uploading would not work - on top of that do not want everybody to hear my cry of fear.

Spoke to my landlady and we agreed that I will check if this was a random incident and in case it gets worse inform her.

BB again facing the enemy

(PS: These horrible creatures were one of the reasons that made me leave Australia!)
BB008, Jun 30, 2009 @ 16:39

Bravo BB!

But don't forget that you just won the battle, not yet the entire war! (-:

We'd love to see the video, and especially to hear you scream in fear! :)
Nir Ofek, Jun 30, 2009 @ 17:05

yup that's a man's job all right :D your's was to... run in circles screaming, then hugging us calling us "my hero" and (what follows is beyond the policy of this place lol) no?
swisskiss, Jun 30, 2009 @ 18:51

Hi BB008



they are ugly, but don't worry. It's probably 'Ectobius vittiventris' (in German: Bernstein-Waldschabe). They are harmless to humans; they don't transmit any disease and don't eat our food. And they do fly. This makes it easy to distinguish to 'Blattella germanica' (in German: Deutsche Schabe), which belonges to the bad cockcroaches. 'E. vittiventris' also doesn't have the two dark stripes on the pronotum (neck shield?) like the 'B. germanica'.

'E. vittiventris' is quite common here since a few years (they came from southern Europe) and esp. in an apartment with some vegetation around...



irritating for sure, but harmless - at least;)
malaika81, Jun 30, 2009 @ 21:46

Have you tried putting down lines of sticky tape (sticky side face up), especially surrounding your bed, you don't want to wake up in the middle of the night with one walking across your face. (Sorry, I know that mental image will probably not give you a sound nights sleep tonight. Did you know we all eat bugs a insects when we sleep and they just walk down our mouths.)



Once you catch them in the tape, you can give them a swimming lesson down the toilet.



Cheers



Matthew



PS I'm surprise about your feeling BB008 about these little guests, your profile says you've been to Ozz and they have all sorts of amazingly deadly creatures you can make friends with.

mbaynham, Jun 30, 2009 @ 23:21

Please see above my posting with picture:

(PS: These horrible creatures were one of the reasons that made me leave Australia!)
BB008, Jul 2, 2009 @ 02:18

[quote]Have you tried putting down lines of sticky tape (sticky side face up), especially surrounding your bed, you don't want to wake up in the middle of the night with one walking across your face. (Sorry, I know that mental image will probably not give you a sound nights sleep tonight. Did you know we all eat bugs a insects when we sleep and they just walk down our mouths.)

Once you catch them in the tape, you can give them a swimming lesson down the toilet.

Oh, my answer was cut off...

1) heard in Oz needs to be special sticky tape

2) the sticky tape thing was sold out here, bought regular baits

3) need to kill them before flushing, otherwise they survive in the sewage system... and crawls back the drains

4) yes, believe the eating spiders urban legend, one crawled on my face while sleeping, found pieces of spider legs, too, in my bed ;)
BB008, Jul 2, 2009 @ 02:21