Cockroaches becoming resistant to most chemical insecticides • Hacker News Board

Re: Cockroaches becoming resistant to most chemical insecticides

#111

Post by topspin » Wed, Jul 10, 2019, 6:20 PM UTC

js2 wrote: post #101

orblivion wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hope you're correct, and I have used diatomaceous earth (not in your list, but similar in nature) to mitigate travelers as I moved out of a cockroach infested place. But broadly speaking, I have to at least be a little skeptical - if all of these things are such easy fixes with no cost to human health, why are we even having this conversation about insecticides? Why was the market created in the first place? Is it…

Terro ant baits are boric acid. A couple times a year we get a stream of ants coming into our kitchen near the sink. I have never been able to track down where they come from. They just appear out of cracks in the wall. But in any case, the only way I've effectively gotten rid of them is to put out a couple Terro liquid ant baits on the window sill, and they're gone within a day or two... at least for a few months.

They're coming from outside. They establish routes that are many meters long through all available seams and cracks. Use Amdro ant bait (not 'blocker') in the spring around the structure perimeter when temps get above 10C/50F, avoiding wet weather. They carry the bait back to the nest and wipe it out. Follow the directions scrupulously and be patient; it will take a week. If you have a lawn keep it thick and healthy; ants usually prefer bare ground for nests. It's possible, with good landscaping and aggressive use of a caulking gun (assuming the structure is otherwise in good condition,) to keep them out, but that is often not feasible, and some ants are more industrious than others.

Re: Cockroaches becoming resistant to most chemical insecticides

#112

Post by hyperpallium » Wed, Jul 10, 2019, 6:20 PM UTC

stirfrykitty wrote: post #54

rpoconn1 wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

cool. Now how do I get rid of the ants that are eating the sugar?

The baking soda will kill them, too. Orange oil, bay leaves, and baking soda/sugar mix are all non-toxic to humans and animals, and all cheap. And they all work very well. Where I live, the only insects I will not kill are the spiders. They hang out under my roof line and eat all the bad flying insects like mosquitoes.

Will orange oil and bay leaves also work on ants (or, just baking soda will)?

Re: Cockroaches becoming resistant to most chemical insecticides

#113

Post by alistairSH » Wed, Jul 10, 2019, 6:35 PM UTC

dole wrote: post #83

alistairSH wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Inside the US, they seem to be present in large numbers in the deep south (FL through TX). Are they present in the southwest as well? Here in DC, we get them, but generally only in homes that aren't kept clean - which can a problem in large apartment buildings, as it only takes one slovenly neighbor or poorly tended garbage area to let a colony grow and become a visible nuisance. And what about Europe? Probably too c…

A little fun anecdata from the US, I've noticed cockroaches get much bigger the further south you go: Upper Midwest, Michigan, Ohio, the biggest cockroaches get up to about one inch. Central Midwest, southern Kansas/Missouri/Illinois, two inches. Texas and the gulf? Three inches.

That's definitely true. We get the little ones here. The big guys found in the humid/hot south are scary.

Re: Cockroaches becoming resistant to most chemical insecticides

#114

Post by Teever » Wed, Jul 10, 2019, 6:38 PM UTC

CriticalCathed wrote: post #87

orblivion wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> How can they develop a resistance to something that physically destroys their exoskeleton? It acts as an abrasive. Broadly speaking, couldn't they just develop a change to the structure of their exoskeleton? I can see how it might be less likely than a chemical resistance, but it still seems possible.

I'm sure it's possible, but it's like a human being developing a resistance to a hammer to the skull. It would take much more than few generations of selective pressure to do that.

Different humans have skulls of different thicknesses and if there was a situation where hammer skullings became major cause of death I'm sure that over time those with thicker skulls or other features that made them less susceptible to skullings would survive and flourish.

Re: Cockroaches becoming resistant to most chemical insecticides

#115

Post by booleandilemma » Wed, Jul 10, 2019, 6:44 PM UTC

stirfrykitty wrote: post #42

Mix baking soda and sugar together and put them in a bowl. Will kill them dead without toxicity to humans. Boric acid has no resistance. Bay leaves repel about every insect known to man. Roaches hate bay leaves and will not be in the same area with them. Editing to say that bay leaves can be crushed in a coffee grinder, put in a plastic ketchup/mustard bottle as a powder, and the resulting powder "puffed" into areas…

While we’re on the subject of insect-killing tricks, dish soap + water in a spray bottle is an excellent at killing flies, and it’s very safe for you.

Re: Cockroaches becoming resistant to most chemical insecticides

#116

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Jul 10, 2019, 6:45 PM UTC

Spooky23 wrote: post #11

otabdeveloper4 wrote: post #5

Haven't seen a cockroach in a decade. Not so hot as they were hyped up to be during the 70's and 80's.

#suburblife Cockroaches infest all urban areas. If you’re around a dense population of humans, you got them. If you’re in the US south, you got them. If you’re in the hood, you got lots of them. If you’re in an area with lots of transient people, you’re near them. My dad was a fireman. I recall him describing an apartment fire where they encountered a “moving wall” in a stairwell, a 5ft square cluster of roaches tryi…

[deleted]

Re: Cockroaches becoming resistant to most chemical insecticides

#117

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Jul 10, 2019, 6:46 PM UTC

Teever wrote: post #114

CriticalCathed wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm sure it's possible, but it's like a human being developing a resistance to a hammer to the skull. It would take much more than few generations of selective pressure to do that.

Different humans have skulls of different thicknesses and if there was a situation where hammer skullings became major cause of death I'm sure that over time those with thicker skulls or other features that made them less susceptible to skullings would survive and flourish.

[deleted]

Re: Cockroaches becoming resistant to most chemical insecticides

#118

Post by vingiesel » Wed, Jul 10, 2019, 6:47 PM UTC

goda90 wrote: post #57

petre wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We could use Tokkay Gekkos to get them. Then the cockroach problem becomes a gekko problem. Then we use a cat and the gekko problem becomes a cat problem. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokay_gecko

No, that's the beautiful part. When winter rolls around, the cats simply freeze to death.

To be followed by a similar article, titled "Cats becoming resistant to most winters"

Re: Cockroaches becoming resistant to most chemical insecticides

#119

Post by yeahitslikethat » Wed, Jul 10, 2019, 6:54 PM UTC

stirfrykitty wrote: post #82

gingerlime wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your comments are what makes HN super-awesome! Thank you. Any tips for mosquitoes when you can’t rely on spiders (or geckos) alone?

I live less than 1000' from the water's edge, so mosquitoes are ever present for about 9 months of the year. I've tried citronella candles when out BBQing, watching my children play in the lawn, etc. I don't like dousing myself in chemicals, so I don't spray myself with deet, etc. They are a nuisance for which there is little to be done other than avoidance.

Deet is benign to humans. Lots of studies on it since it was invented to protect those building the Panama Canal.

You can also build bat houses. Bats feed almost exclusively on mosquitos. They eat more than their own body weight in them.

There is a great story behind this and I dug deep into the research and history dozens of links long but this might inspire you

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hygieostatic_Bat_Roost

Re: Cockroaches becoming resistant to most chemical insecticides

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Post by stirfrykitty » Wed, Jul 10, 2019, 6:56 PM UTC

hyperpallium wrote: post #109

stirfrykitty wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Crystalline (table sugar). Powered would likely work as well. The baking soda destroys them from the inside out, basically blowing them up. Roaches have strong stomach acid, but they cannot "burp" so the baking soda creates a mini explosion inside them. Fitting end.

Thanks, I'm going to try this. Just to be clear: "baking soda" is Bicarbonate of soda (aka. bicarb soda, sodium bicarbonate)? Mix in equal proportions? It's a dry mix, not with water?

Yes, 50/50. Plain old Arm&Hammer. Dry.