Cockroaches

Nope, even nuclear explosions didn't kill 'em.

Get a cat and it will kill them for you.

Oh, no...

Ignore them, they are actually harmless and just pop in a house every now and then.

I first killed them (I live on the hillside and Zürich ends where my garden ends) but still did see them, when i stopped killing them and just ignored them for some time i did not see more compared to when i killed them, they come and they go and don't make stains, and i have zero food open so no problem there.

I rather get fully rid of enormous locust landing on my TV in the middle of a game.

Which type?

The brown wood cockroaches are harmless, they only eat plant material and just come inside to stay warm overnight - we're starting to see quite a few just now, but by the end of September they'll probably be gone.

If you keep windows and doors closed, and lights off when they are open, then you shouldn't get many inside. They can't survive inside (no food), so there's no risk of an infestation.

We just ignore them, or catch them and put them back outside.

The black ones are more of an issue, as they're attracted to household food waste, so you need to check for any sort of waste leakage, open bins etc. Those we wack with a newspaper, problem solved.

Sounds like something from a horror film.

Fortunately the only place I have ever seen a cockroach in Switzerland (in 20 years!) was in McDonald's.

i'd probably trade a cockroach or two for the scorpions, locusts, hornets, lizards, bats, giant beetles, and the rest of the fauna i share my life with.

never seen a cockroach in ticino.

You'd be an ideal customer for RoachBot .

We're nearly ready to launch and just need regulatory approval. Problem is, the authorities (who are on a seemingly endless quest to kill our entrepreneurial buzz), are balking at the industrial-strength lasers and false-positive rate. That poor kitty...

Thanks, everyone, for your encouragement. As you can imagine, my house is rather CLEAN...(I am a dental hygienist!)....but the sight of them in my kitchen or bathroom still gives me the hebbie-jibbies...and I really do not like to squash anything!

Leave the windows closed....in this weather? I think someone needs to install screens! Too bad my son is gone!

If it's the small light-brown ones just look at them like the normal harmless average beetle. And no matter what you do and how clean your home is, when you have windows open they will just pop-in every now and then f they are in your neighbourhood.

If you have the 25mm big dark/black ones, just make sure there's no food reachable for them and close every possible entrance to your home so new ones can't get in. By doing so they will revert to cannibalism and the problem will solve itself eventually.

Boric Acid will do the trick. I rented and lived in a 3-story house in U.S. which was infested with roaches. Terminix came 3times and could not get rid of them. Only when I put Boric Acid powder throughout the house I got rid of them. Didn't see any after that. (We moved 3 years later). I just saw that yucky critter here in CH after 5years living in this place and will now buy the stuff from Amazon.

Boric Acid will take care of it.

Hi all,

I'm stuck in a blocking situation for which I don't see a clear solution.

The first night I was in my apartment I found out that there are roaches in it. I didn't suspect anything when I visited the flat nor during the entry inspection. That was 2.5 months ago, and since then a disinfection company has come over 3 times, but the issue is still there. Well, I don't see big bugs crawling like in the first days, but every morning some appear dead (or still dying).

The agency does not accept to cancel my rental contract, which I signed for 1 year. They allege that they're doing everything in their hands to fix the problem, i.e. sending over the disinfection guys. I fear this is a chronic problem, and in the meantime I don't have a legal base to stop the rental contract. Could I allege that the bugs pose a health hazard? Would that be legally admitted? Has anybody face a similar situation?

Cockroaches come out in the dark (which is why you didn't see any at the entry inspection).

Cockroaches can not be eliminated by treating only one flat/floor. The entire house has to be done. A desinfection company knows that actually.

As the problem was there right from the start (definitely not you who attracted them/brought them in) I believe you could at least pay the rent in a separate account [(here's how it's done, in German](file:///C:/Users/curley/AppData/Local/Temp/mv-merkbl-mietzins-hinterlegung.pdf) ) until this problem is solved.

It's mentioned here in English but not really helpful/detailed, imo.

Was just about to make a thread about this.

Every night, when I go to open the windows, I see 2-3 brown (wood?) cockroaches crawling outside on my window blinds.

So apparently those are safe? There's no thread of having the apartment invaded by them?

Alternatively, I'm looking for a good solution to tell them to "get the off my lawn" without harming other wildlife/neighbours pets.

I know buildings that are infested with cockroaches since many years despite professional disinfection, any neighbor you could ask since when there are cockroaches in the house? Did the agency rent you the apartment knowing that there was that problem?

+ did you try boric acid?

Irrelevant. You have the right to a non-infected apartment, something which they're unable to provide.

Collect them and sell them to Coop for their new insect-line!

Tom

I asked the previous tenant and he said there was no problem, so maybe the bugs came in during the 3 months when the apartment was empty. I asked the disinfection company whether they had been contacted by other neighbors in my building, but they said mine was the first notice.

The thing is that I can't be sure when the roaches will disappear completely (if ever), and in the meantime I can't cancel the contract as long as the agency hasn't refused to fix the problem. And there's no time limit after which I can legally cancel the contract (at least that I'm aware of)

Collect them and open a sandwich-stand at a lake.

Ok i found this thread so i might as well just post my question here.

We had a Roaches problem at the beginning of the Year. We called the Landlord who told us that we have to use one of their "Partner Firms" or we risk that they dont cover the cost of the threatment.

I call the firm, make an appointment. The landlord/Verwaltung handles the comunication with the firm and gives the work to them. I never saw a quote or an offer for the work.

Fast forward, problem solved. I now have recieved a bill for 750 CHF for the removal of the infestation. With a letter saying that its the renters fault that the roaches came in the flat and so i am liable for the removal costs.

I do not want to pay this, since:

- they handled the communication

- they picked the firm and i had no say in it

- they did not bother to get a 2nd offer

What are my options here?

Any clues?