The Night the Roaches Invaded

When I turned on the porch light that night, I saw an unexpected sight of many roaches eating my dog’s food in the bowl I had negligently left outdoors.

They were not little. They were very hungry. They kept on eating. I reached down to empty the bowl onto the cement, and they kept on gobbling it down. I guess the rain had soften the chunks of dry dog food.

Then I shut the patio door and washed the bowl inside, but I couldn’t get the image of the mass of cockroaches out of my mental vision. That was decades ago but I still remember when the roaches came to visit. They grow ’em big in Texas.

Cockroach or roach?

Cockroaches are not any different than roaches. Whether you meet up with one or many, about 30% live in areas inhabited by people. Otherwise, 70% live in the wild. They can be from 1/2 inch up to several inches long.

The difference between cockroaches and roaches is: nothing. ‘Cockroach’ and ‘roach’ are two names for the same thing, and though either may refer to any one of the over 4,000 species of roach, they’re not distinct.

‘Roach’ is the shortened version of the word ‘cockroach’. It’s used regionally, with some parts of the world calling these insects almost entirely by one name or the other. It’s also typical parlance for scientists and professional exterminators familiar with the bugs. So; a roach is a cockroach, and a cockroach is a roach.
-A-Z Animals

Roaches that I had previously encountered were never as big as the ones that ate the dog food. Until that time, I was only acquainted with the fingernail-sized bugs that are sometimes called “water bugs.”

How to prevent invasions and remove roaches

Surprised by bugs? Roaches may be primarily in kitchens and bathrooms. Roaches come through cracks and through drains. So what can I do?

1. I make a habit to replace stoppers on drains in sinks and tubs. I do.
2. I could call pest control if it gets worse. Not yet.
3. I could spray the area myself. I did.
4. I can put out glue traps. I did. I do.

If the infestation is more severe or ongoing, they are a threat to health. “See something. Say something.” I did.

More unexpected encounters

Turning on the lights seems to startle roaches. They start running. I start chasing and grab a shoe or whatever to eliminate roaches wherever they try to hide. Often I am unsuccessful. I missed. They are quicker than me most of the time.

However, when they invaded the bedroom…

If roaches came in the middle of the night, I thought it was a nightmare, but I woke up finding it was real. The day had been long and tiring. How could this have happened to me when I needed rest to face the next day?

Not one but a dozen were in my hair, on my bed, buzzing, flying, landing! I was so tired. I started swatting my head. I eventually awakened completely and tried to get as many as I could. I turned on the light to see some dead, some alive, some flying, some in my hair.

I fell back to sleep again. It never happened again. “See something. Say something.” I did.

What’s that sctratching sound

Unusual sounds — could I have known? Unseen, hiding roach again. Not this time, no. I thought no more about it until the next morning. Coffee time. I put water in the coffee pot, added in the filter and coffee, and plugged it in.

My coffee pot wouldn’t work.

“That’s odd,” I thought. I unplugged and started again. It spit and sputtered like never before. Something must be clogging it. I poured out the hot water into the sink and there lay a big roach boiled, dead, no legs. Unappetizing.

I rinsed the pot, I filled and boiled again. The legs were caught in the tube that draws up the water tube. So I rinsed and flushed and did a diluted vinegar treatment again and again. Finally, roach remains were freed, down the drain they went — a cleaner coffee pot than ever. The scratching was the roach trying to crawl out of the slick plastic black container where the water went in.

In the bathroom again

Just when I thought I had conquered roaches, I saw another one last night. I opened up the cabinet where I keep my toothbrush and toothpaste to brush my teeth before going to bed. There was one, staring at me on the top shelf. So, I started carefully, slowly reaching up to move things around on the four shelves.

And then, it moved. I swatted. One shelf on the little plastic with tiny metal holders can crashing down with all the stuff. Nothing broke. The roach came on down another shelf. Grab a paper towel. Reach — and another shelf fell. The roach escaped. I still can’t find. I spent the next half an hour cleaning, repositioning and do not know where the roach escaped to this time. Glue trap to the rescue for now. At least it is just one and not as big as some.

Replaying with roaches

These multi-cultural bugs from Germany, America, and the Orient seem to acclimate anywhere. When I read more about roaches and types of cockroaches around the world, I could hardly believe that some people keep these pests as pets. I clean up dishes and garbage to set myself free. My encounter with the big and small ones are enough for me.