traumatized by vermin

Multicollinearity, BSN, RN · Jul 10, 2006

Well. I am studying for an exam tonight and I'll be up until about 3 am. You know - these vermin are nocturnal. So I'm sitting on the couch with my feet UP OFF THE CARPET. I've bribed by cat with catnip to stay in front of the couch with me, kitty on patrol. I got a big boot from my closet right next to me to kill incoming vermin, and I have my bug spray next to my books. Eek gads. I've never been so disturbed by bugs in my life as I am right now.

tencat · Jul 10, 2006

Honey, if I saw the spider inside my house that I saw crossing the road today, I'd be a BASKET CASE myself. I don't blame you in the least!:chair:

ternerzero · Jul 10, 2006

Sounds like the place is over-run by insects. Roaches and spiders are a health hazard. :uhoh3:

If you own:

Call a professional pest control company to thoroughly spray the property.

If you rent:

call the landlord or manager and explain that you have been bitten and there are roaches in food prep areas. If they are wise they will understand a health hazard and liability go hand in hand.

If they don't seem to respond, :idea: ask the manager, if YOU call and arrange for service, can you deduct it from your rent (most maintenance and repairs are deductible)

Until then go through clean counters and floors (roll out the fridge and pull out the stove and wash the floor and spray some insect spray RAID - critters love to hide under them) and throw away trash every evening.

Hope this helps you.

boomerfriend · Jul 10, 2006

To respond to your earlier question regarding Phoenix locations & Phoenix College....

I go to Phoenix College and love it. Would definitely recommend it. As for a place to live: I live in Tempe and commute with a couple of friends from the east valley. Our neighborhood is pretty well established and don't have problems with critters. I have been told that if you eliminate the scorpions' food source, they don't hang around (i.e. crickets). As for spiders, I figure they are entitled to live outdoors. The inside of my house is my domain. I just don't go sticking my hands in bushes, under things etc. outdoors. I know we have black widows and those gargantuan brown ones (some tree spider??) I keep the inside of my house free of webs as best I can but we haven't had an existing problem with spiders (except for the itty-bitty ones), roaches, ants, scorpions, etc.

My recommendation is to find a well-established house/apartment. Look first in the downtown area (for ease of access to school). I have a couple of classmates that live downtown and love it (they're young yuppie types 25-35 y/o). There's lots of possibilities and it would be fun being downtown in the Encanto or Arcadia area (my personal opinion).

As a side note, I've lived in many different states and countries and I'll take Arizona's critters over anyone else's. Texas and Florida have what we called "Jurassic Park bugs" I'm sure because of the moist environment. Everyone else has mosquitos -- we have virtually none. Korea (as the previous poster said) has REALLY big roaches. Germany has mosquitos. Hey, I'll take our little critters anyday. Just know how to identify them and how to avoid them. We're living in their desert, remember

madwife2002, BSN, RN · Jul 10, 2006

Where I live in Anthem some houses have problems with scorpions and some dont.

ternerzero · Jul 10, 2006

just know how to identify them and how to avoid them.

we're living in their desert, remember

***** ********* ***** *********

true - on my property, the rule of the land tends to be...

poisonous critters when your in my territory, beware...

my sister is a biologist and environmental health, she explained to me that there are many serious pest related injuries and illnesses.

my philosophy: we (humans) live, prepare food and sleep in our homes and insects can live outside.

besides...

some children are simply not able to identify insects and can be seriously injured by poisonous insects.

http://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:asoljxuckyrsvm:http://www.uidaho.edu/so-id/entomology/b-widow.jpg

the black widow

people rarely die from a black widow's bite. life-threatening reactions are generally seen only in small children and the elderly.

the brown recluse

http://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:rdptqquv_zphbm:www.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/218420/2/istockphoto_218420_scorpion.jpg

scorpion

http://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:irt-tjvbar_uhm:vinsonlab.tamu.edu/ant/ant4.jpg

fire ants

http://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:owwalu8srzlcrm:www.beecare.com/images/bees/ahb.jpg

africanized bees

http://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:bqyvvmwrn5urcm:entomology.unl.edu/images/spiders/hobospider2.jpg

hobo spider-aka northwestern brown spider (tegenaria agrestis)

www.mteww.com/images/mtaarr/fleas/fleas.jpg

fleas --

fyi: plague case fatality rate in the united states is about 15% - in the us: approximately 10 cases of plague are reported each year from the states of arizona, california, colorado, new mexico, and utah. source:http://www.emedicine.com/med/topic3381.htm

http://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:gugyfvvgwzubcm:www.lawestvector.org/images/ticks.jpg

ticks (lyme disease)

poisonous snakes

western rattlesnake

http://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:n9r0mxdeku8iwm:www.californiaherps.com/snakes/images/cvlutosus.jpg

eastern diamond rattlesnake

http://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:r2ydti4pc-v85m:www.kingsnake.com/louisiana/pics/diamondback_rattlesnake2.jpg

coral snake

http://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:v3dw31reyz9fdm:www.sloanmonster.com/images/coral.jpg

copperhead

http://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:ejqg5ju8f821lm:www.herpnet.net/iowa-herpetology/images/snakes/copperhead_new_head.jpg

cottonmouth/water moccasin

http://www.kingsnake.com/suncoastherpsociety/photogallery/russcotton66.jpg

poison control (for people or animals)

800-222-1222

gr8rnpjt, RN · Jul 10, 2006

I was afraid that the spider-animal was a brown recluse spider. Here's why:
http://brown-recluse-spider.ascendedhealth.com/img/brown-recluse-spider-bite-pictures/img_BRS_thumb_day_10.jpg
Warning, the photo of the person recovering from a bite is graphic.

You guys are giving me the heebie-jeebies, and I am sitting in an office cubicle on the 8th floor in a building in downtown Pittsburgh! I have the shivers, shakes, chills, everything else. The only thing that I can add is I visited Phoenix many times and the cockroaches there are the biggest I have ever seen! There is a big miniature golf course near downtown Phoenix where we loved to play--but only in the daytime, because at night, they loved to play through. :uhoh3:

Multicollinearity, BSN, RN · Jul 10, 2006

To respond to your earlier question regarding Phoenix locations & Phoenix College....
I go to Phoenix College and love it. Would definitely recommend it. As for a place to live: I live in Tempe and commute with a couple of friends from the east valley. Our neighborhood is pretty well established and don't have problems with critters. I have been told that if you eliminate the scorpions' food source, they don't hang around (i.e. crickets). As for spiders, I figure they are entitled to live outdoors. The inside of my house is my domain. I just don't go sticking my hands in bushes, under things etc. outdoors. I know we have black widows and those gargantuan brown ones (some tree spider??) I keep the inside of my house free of webs as best I can but we haven't had an existing problem with spiders (except for the itty-bitty ones), roaches, ants, scorpions, etc.
My recommendation is to find a well-established house/apartment. Look first in the downtown area (for ease of access to school). I have a couple of classmates that live downtown and love it (they're young yuppie types 25-35 y/o). There's lots of possibilities and it would be fun being downtown in the Encanto or Arcadia area (my personal opinion).
As a side note, I've lived in many different states and countries and I'll take Arizona's critters over anyone else's. Texas and Florida have what we called "Jurassic Park bugs" I'm sure because of the moist environment. Everyone else has mosquitos -- we have virtually none. Korea (as the previous poster said) has REALLY big roaches. Germany has mosquitos. Hey, I'll take our little critters anyday. Just know how to identify them and how to avoid them. We're living in their desert, remember

Thank you for the recommendation! Phoenix College is my first choice for my Maricopa application. I just hope I can find an apartment in downtown Phoenix for less than an arm and a leg in rent. I imagine Phoenix is probably like Tucson, in that it's the new housing in 'wilderness' like areas with the most vermin?

I recently discovered that that we have flying roaches in Tucson. Who knew? My mother purchased a lovely home in a central Tucson neighborhood recently. We were sitting on the couch when I saw a roach, a big roach fly by us in the living room?! It didn't fall from the ceiling, because it was flying quite vertically. Who knew.

Multicollinearity, BSN, RN · Jul 10, 2006

Sounds like the place is over-run by insects. Roaches and spiders are a health hazard.
If you own:
Call a professional pest control company to thoroughly spray the property.
If you rent:
call the landlord or manager and explain that you have been bitten and there are roaches in food prep areas. If they are wise they will understand a health hazard and liability go hand in hand.
If they don't seem to respond, ask the manager, if YOU call and arrange for service, can you deduct it from your rent (most maintenance and repairs are deductible)
Until then go through clean counters and floors (roll out the fridge and pull out the stove and wash the floor and spray some insect spray RAID - critters love to hide under them) and throw away trash every evening.
Hope this helps you.

Thank you for the tips. Every year I have in influx of bugs around monsoon rain time. I believe my problem is mostly the weatherstripping around my patio door off my living room. After my spider trauma on Friday, I sprayed around there, and put down sticky tape at the patio door. Not a single bug since Friday. Note, I am afraid of jinxing myself by mentioning this, so I am whispering it.

I called someone out to install new weatherstripping to close off their entry point. I've actually been sitting on my couch and watched various vermin enter there and begin their freedom run across my carpet.

Multicollinearity, BSN, RN · Jul 10, 2006

Due to my spider trauma (I'm serious - I was traumatized) I didn't mention what nearly cured my roach problem.

You know that sticky putty like material you buy to stick items to walls? I bought some at the hardware store. I rolled it up and stuck it in my backsplash in my sinks and tub. I plug all drains shut when not in use. No more roaches. It cut down on the scorpions too. I've seen them crawl up and run into my kitchen sink from the drain, in two places I've lived.

Anyway, not as many roaches now.

ternerzero · Jul 10, 2006

i live in tucson. i'm on the far northeast side. i've lived here for a few years. the vermin are traumatizing me. i just had an encounter with the biggest spider i have ever seen inside. i'm still shaking. i realized after i saw it that it was too big to kill with a shoe. long story short, it has left this world and its corpse is on my patio.
i am moving to phoenix for nursing school soon, when my pre-reqs are done. i know that the newly developed areas have the most insects indoors, but still? are certain areas worse than others? does phoenix have as many 'vermin' as tucson? here's what i experience outside: tarantulas on my sidewalk last week, bobcat by trash can a few days ago, a snake by my drive a few weeks ago, and javelina come by my bedroom window at night. indoors: spiders, roaches, and the occasional scorpion. .....

*******************************************

okay i think the roach problem you mentioned has got to be addressed...

yes.... having a sister that is a biologist/epidemiologist/health inspector (currently director ) has changed my life... good food handling practice is the law of the land

(picture making a family dinner with the health inspector sitting at the table - yeh fun!)

roaches top the gross me out list (up there with flies and fleas)

both roaches and flies often begin their lives in fecal matter...

roaches love sewers and garbage bins.... then they cruise over to your house to cross-contaminate items in your house - yuk!

always wash off kitchenware before using (they may have crawled on the items)

how to control the pest:

do not store paper bags, containers, cardboard, magazines, newspaper, equipment boxes or clothes near infested areas or wedge paper bags between appliances or inside cabinets.

if there are gaps in your kitchen cabinets or between pieces of wood shelving, clean, vacuum and seal them with silicone caulk. remove drawers in the kitchen and inspect inside the drawer frame. seal small openings that are pathways into your home.

if you live in an apartment building, pay special attention to walls that adjoin other units.

keep the kitchen and bathroom as dry as possible.

remove pet water dishes overnight.

eliminate food sources

the kitchen is a great place for cockroaches because it is warm, moist, and has plenty of food.

keep your kitchen very clean and do not allow grease, crumbs, or clutter to accumulate anywhere.

seal off drains when not in use... roaches live in sewers

(a good idea recommended in a earlier post)

move stoves and refrigerators and scrub on, around, underneath and behind them. clean all surfaces, especially between counters and appliances. use insecticide that mentions roaches on the label, carefully follow directions and precautions on the label or call a professional pest control company to spray.

clean cupboards inside and outside and wipe up any droppings.

store all food, including pet food, in tightly sealed, cockroach-proof containers.

don't leave bowls of pet food on the floor overnight.

keep garbage, compost and recyclables in tightly sealed containers. empty them daily, preferably in the evening.

wash and dry dishes, utensils, pots and pans immediately and don't allow dirty dishes to remain on the counter top or in the dishwasher overnight.

the home must have a thorough spring cleaning.

good sanitation is a critical component of pest control. pest control efforts are ineffective without good sanitation practices.

the following practices must be implemented:

keep storage at least 6 inches off of the floor. keep work areas clean - especially break areas where food is present. keep countertops, areas under equipment and appliances, and the interiors of drawers and cabinets clean and free of food particles. properly store food in sealed containers. wipe up food and beverage spills immediately. keep garbage containers clean. keep large containers covered.
seal penetrations in the building envelope so rodents and insects can't enter.

if it was me, i would do all of the cleaning and prevention listed above and i would call a professional pest control company to spray the home.

ternerzero · Jul 10, 2006

thank you for the tips. every year i have in influx of bugs around monsoon rain time. i believe my problem is mostly the weatherstripping around my patio door off my living room. after my spider trauma on friday, i sprayed around there, and put down sticky tape at the patio door. not a single bug since friday. note, i am afraid of jinxing myself by mentioning this, so i am whispering it.
i called someone out to install new weatherstripping to close off their entry point. i've actually been sitting on my couch and watched various vermin enter there and begin their freedom run across my carpet.

*********************************************

....make sure they (landlord or manager) remember to do this,

if they don't come in 3 days -- a follow-up call may be needed

be sure to read the roach post (above this post) -

if the manager comes out to weathherstrip ---- you can mention that the unit needs to be professionally sprayed or treated for spider and/or roaches.

even if you don't or haven't seen insects -- think of it as preventative.