Cockroaches in NYC
So I'm a terrified west coaster who has only seen one cockroach in his life.
From what I've heard, NYC is like a giant roach nest. Are they really that unavoidable? How often would the average New Yorker run into a cockroach in an average apartment?
These scare the shit out of me. I'd take a bunch of street thugs for neighbors over a single cockroach!
Also, bed bugs seem fucking terrifying too. Would I last in NYC?
Unless you're in a severely run down building, you'll only spot one occasionally at most.
yeah man where you tryin to stay? harlem? you shouldn't see any if you are a decent place
Cock roaches taste yummy
.
it's sexy when they hiss
Hopefully you are a girl. Because otherwise.....
I live on a creek in NC...lol we have tons of cockroaches. Snakes, rats, and chiggers too! Fun stuff. Your complaining reminds me of my other WC friends who act like its Hurricane Katrina when it drizzles. Just deal with it and buy some Raid.
Just bury those cockroaches:
OP: I hear you man. Everytime I visit the fam in NYC I come fully equipped: bug spray, powder insecticide, hypersonics...
Die bitches! DiE!!!1!
There are about half a dozen cockroaches sitting across the NYSE right now yelling "we are the 99%". I think it's a mating call of some sort.
LMFAO!
LOL
You should be fine as long as you don't live in a really run down place.
you're going to love the spontaneous rat swarms on NYC streets. if you haven't seen one, it's kind of like a flash mob, but all rats, and no dancing.
Any music?
Regards
You should watch this documentary about cockroaches in NYC apartments called "Joe's Apartment."
Here's a clip:
I fear cockroaches more than death. It really depends on where you live. If you're in a nice building (especially a doorman type with good staff), you'll likely never see one. If you're in a 100 year old pre-war building, I recommend you keep the place clean to prevent them. You can also get an exterminator to come once a month or some shit to lay down preventative measures and give you peace of mind.
Exterminator service should be provided by your landlord if you live in a decent neighborhood. I've lived here all my life and I've only seen 1 so far, it flew in when I had the window and screens open.
Keep your place clean, raid your doors and window frames once a month, and you should be ok.
I'm not sure how many of these folks have actually lived in NYC, so take it all with a grain of salt. I lived in SEVEN different apartments, moving several times for bug (roach/bedbug) reasons. SEVEN fking apartments. And they were not all shitholes ---- 2 of them were in Manhattan (UWS, and yes, one shithole in spanish harlem) and 5 of them were in Astoria.
I am obviously not a fan of bugs, but if I see them only once every few months, I can live with it. My wife, however, cannot. Hence the several moves (and ultimately, purchase of a westchester house).
Here are my suggestions in order to avoid bugs: - You either want to live in a nice building in the upper east side, or in a stand-alone house in Astoria/Queens/Bklyn. -- Keep in mind that in row housing, bugs are almost inevitable. - Do not live on lower floors that are above/adjacent to any restaurants - Do not live on the floor on top of a laundromat. The heat attracts the critters. - Put your mattress in a mattress bag when you move in. Even in the nicest buildings in NYC, bedbugs have popped up in recent years. - When you are touring apartments, look for roach traps. If you see any - there is likely an issue. - Inquire about terminator services - who pays? You? Landlord? This is important.
So, all in - yes, you need to prepare yourself. Move wisely, bud.
I run after work in the city (downtown) and the ratio of Rats:cockroaches that I have seen is probably 12:1.
When I was staying at the Marriott Financial Center a few years ago I took the side street at about 6pm to go grab some food. No joke, I saw a rat that was just a shade smaller than my 80lb American Bulldog. Apparently this rat was used in a testing lab for steroids.
Moral of the story - the rats infesting your place should eat most of the roaches, so you're good.
if you have rats in your place, you are living in a real hellhole. I've never seen a rat in an apartment. If I did, I'd be OUT.
Just sleep with your mouth closed, and you should be all set.
In Texas the roaches are 2 inches long and can fly - not joking.
Come on Voltair X, having cockroaches is a small sacrifice to travel the world... If you were to go anywhere in europe or latin america (i.e. some of the most beautiful places in the world), you're bound to see some ugly critters, a rather small pice to pay to experience new cultures.
Thanks for the advice everyone. Also, I don't mind rats at all. I've seen them running around here in California and I never really care. As long as they leave my dwellings alone I am fine.
I've actually managed to go to three European countries and China without running into anything too terrible. I saw a few creepy bugs in China, but they were all outside so I didn't mind. As long as they're not inside my apartment/house/wherever I'm staying.
Well that's the problem...don't end up in a place where they don't leave your dwellings alone - it's a legit problem.
I've also only seen one, at college in an old building. FUCK THAT SHIT. At home (midwest) we get the occasional house centipede and I hate that so going from such a sterile environment to NYC could be hard. I would make sure to get a monthly service to come even if I lived in a protective sterilized bubble.
I have heard the rat problem is horrible in NYC but that it is only on the subways. I've been in NYC on the subway before but didn't see any rats on/around the platforms but I wasn't on it for a long time. Are they doing anything to prevent this problem?
Throw some food down on the tracks late at night. You'll see a few come out...
Late at night? Hell, I see them in the middle of the day
X
We've got some GNARLY fuckin' bugs in New Orleans. Flying cockroaches that'd carry off a small child. I remember I had a hornet infestation in my back yard once. I went back there with some diesel fuel and a tennis racket to burn them out (they nest in the ground). I got within about 30 feet and tucked tail and ran. I called the experts out and a couple hours later I got a knock on the door and the bug guy had one of them trapped in a jar and he wanted my permission to turn it over to the LSU agricultural lab to study because he'd never seen a hornet so big. He told me the nest was huge and that they easily would've killed my dog if my dog had gone near them. Pretty scary.
Yes. Plus the damn fire ants. And cottonmouths and geckos. NOLA (all of LA, AR, FL, MS really) has made me immune to fearing critters in other parts of the world.
.
Keep in mind that it also depends on where you spend your time. Lot of bedbugs were breading in nyc movie theaters...
FIDI is a rat-infested dump. You can see them popping up at night in the area and I dont mean in the subways. Rarely see cockroaches though.
Echoing AVPGuerilla's good advice. Bugs will be a problem in any large city; that's just one of the trade-offs. I've been in 3 apartments in NYC, including one real bad shithole. Unless you're living in a brand new luxury complex or on of the existing "luxury" apartments, you're going to run into something at least once in a while. I'd suggest knowing how to look for droppings, including MOUSE droppings. I'm serious. If you see ANY mouse droppings, it's not worth it. Try to go for an apartment building that has a refuse chute system. Also, if you're moving into an unfurnished apartment I would highly suggest scouring the place for ANY cracks or holes, especially against the wall or where there's piping or heating. If there are, seal that shit up with some steel wool and caulk. This will prevent a lot of problems in the future.
We had a rat named squeeky that lived with us in Tribeca for about a year. We tried everything to catch him...the thing was massive. Finally, one of my roommates got him with a well thrown hammer. We all sort of felt bad afterwards because he was with us for so long (we saw him almost every night), but he was probably exposing us to a ton of diseases. My girlfriend at the time was terrified of him and glad to see him go.
How many people were sharing the apartment? I am counting you, your girlfriend, at least two roommates, so that is 4 people? Was that a loft apartment? In any case yes Tribeca and Battery Park City are absolutely rats infested. They always come out of the shrubs and the sewage to roam the streets at night and sometimes during the day too. This is such a pity as those areas seem really nice, quiet and clean otherwise...
There were four of us, and my gf wasn't living there. We had a full floor in a former warehouse. It was run down but a money place from a wow perspective as it was huge with ~20ft ceilings. Our living room was big enough that we could easily throw the football without reaching the ends of the room. Had some epic parties there.
Simple way to catch one:
1) Tall enough trash can so it can't jump out
2) Empty it, line with fresh trash bag
3) Construct steps, a ladder, or whatever to the can so it can easily get to it
4) Place a treat inside and wait - you'll definitely hear if one jumps in
5) Kill the bastard.
We tried something similar...squeeky was too smart for our traps. He would thwart the traps and skip the poisons. He was some type of genius super rat. One of my roommates must have spent 5+ hours/week working on traps and methods to kill him (he had a lot of free time). He finally gave up and decided that projectiles would be necessary. He would throw whatever hard object was at hand when squeeky appeared.
You seem like a grade A sissy. I bet your parents made playdates for you and in little league you got a trophy for not pissing your pants.
Yuck, my friend had a similar rat, ratspution, he eventually trapped it and drowned it in a bucket of water, thing was huge, put up quite a fight on the way down too.
Careful, mice can be a big problem too.
i wud probably take around 6 cockroaches over just one of those little fuckers that come out of the sink. holy shit i hate those things http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scutigera_coleoptrata
[quote=GoldmanBallSachs]i wud probably take around 6 cockroaches over just one of those little fuckers that come out of the sink. holy shit i hate those things http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scutigera_coleoptrata[/quote]
Wow. I'm definitely going to try to get drains with really tiny holes so those bastards can't fit through.
Are you guys serious? You have never seen those? They are house centipedes, not dangerous but very scary. Those things can live anywhere, all over the country, I don't know how you have never seen one. These fuckers are what I was talking about in my earlier post. They are max 2 inches long but they are FAST. They kill and eat spiders but I would rather have the spiders than them. In my basement we have carpeting that is brown with specks and they blend in perfectly so I'm always watching the floor when I go down there. When you squish them their legs fly off and twitch.
I would still rather have them than cockroaches, they are easy to kill and not as huge. The one cockroach I ever saw had a 2 inch body and then huge antennae.....FUCK
[quote=GoldmanBallSachs]i wud probably take around 6 cockroaches over just one of those little fuckers that come out of the sink. holy shit i hate those things http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scutigera_coleoptrata[/quote
I get chills and my hair stands up just looking at that thing. I hate earwigs too.
Wtf dude..they are like the size of your finger. Stop being such a little girl and man up. They are more scared of you than you are of them
maybe more rats than roaches...rats are everywhere in subway tracks..
Hopefully you don't run into one of these
http://how-i-met-your-mother.wikia.com/wiki/Cockamouse
Its the worst of both worlds
you guys should get ur low down from the user Ratinamaze ive heard he feeds of the monkey shit we throw at him
I have been bitten by a giant (about a foot long) centipede, and have seen numerous scorpions....
Roaches are still scarier. Nothing else gives me the chills like roaches do. Can't imagine living in an apartment with roaches, and that's after living in a house filled with geckos and the occasional lost bird. Fuck that.
Foot long centipede. Holy crap. Getting goose bumps just thinking about it.
Get drain covers that only have small holes for your sink/shower and put steel wool & caulk in all cracks in wall/between appliances and cabinets. That should keep out roaches and mice if your doors don't have gaps underneath them.
I saw dead roaches all the time on the streets this summer during my morning walk to the subway. The city is generally a disgusting place no matter how nice and clean people pretend it is.
God i am going to fucking die if i ever live in new york. immidiate loss of sphincter control when in the presence of cockroaches. i would rather have giant rats than roaches.
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