I have seen a few large, black bugs mostly under my hot water baseboards or under a door frame. I am assuming these are roaches and wanted to see where they are coming from. Can they enter my place if there are gaps between my quarter round molding & wall or gaps around my hot water baseboard pipes? If I caulk will that help? I should mention I am on the ground floor.
Caulking is always a good idea. Sealing your apartment as best you can will help keep newcomers from entering your home. If you can post a link to a picture of the bug you're dealing with, we can help you identify the pest and make better recommendations for how to get rid of them.
Look up Oriental Roachs. I have found them in the millions around the water meter out
by the street just walking in to buildings when they are overcrowded. They do little damage other than spread desease and contaminate your food with thier droppings. As Jonathon says caulk all openings to keep them out if you can.
I think they are oriental roaches....just odd that I've never seen them until now...there have only been a few tho. I found a number of gaps in the back of my closets where there is as much as an inch and a half between the concrete foundation and the wall....I also inspected the hot water baseboard heating and found the wall was not entirely sealed up...thinking I need to plug these up and I should be all set?? I purchased foam sealant and started filling the gaps....will that cover it?
ONE AND A HALF INCH GAPS between the foundation and wall? Holy Moly..are you in an earthquake zone? You know we have building codes in the US. Is this an apartment or condo? Have you called maintenence yet?
LOL...sorry, what I am really trying to say is the gap is between the floor and where the quarter round meets the floor....it's a little uneven in a few spots...
Whew..ok..well I've used that expanding foam a few times but the thing is that it keeps expanding and expanding and expanding...until you have this giant glob of stuff sticking out. That's still a large gap to fill. Let's wait for the boss..Jonathon.. and see what he has to say. Or if your place is decorated like mine use duct tape.
Hmmm...an interesting dilemma. First, we should probably want to know if you live in a condo or an apartment, because your landlords should be hiring someone to do the dirty work for you if you're renting. Otherwise, I'd say go ahead with the foam, but maybe try using something like wax paper to keep the foam contained while it does its thing. Wax paper is beautiful stuff.
I'd throw down a bait after you seal everything up, just to make sure you don't have any stragglers milling about. Better yet, dust with Borax.
So..what's happening Casey? Did it work?
well, filled the gap with foam...now it looks like I stuffed giant marshmallows in there...lol...I am going to cut off the excess this weekend and caulk the perimeter of my entire place. that should do it....I have not seen a critter since I used the foam tho...
well, filled the gap with foam...now it looks like I stuffed giant marshmallows in there...lol...I am going to cut off the excess this weekend and caulk the perimeter of my entire place. that should do it....I have not seen a critter since I used the foam tho...
Arright!! Roaches 0 Casey 1 !!!I'm not sure I would wait to long to cut off the excess.
That stuff hardens like plastic.
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