# Palmetto bugs in bathroom



## Startingover (Apr 18, 2012)

Daughters bathroom is at a corner. 2 outside walls. And back door but she never sees any on back porch.

she found 2, one in middle of floor snd one high up on closet wall.

so I sprayed her house with Demon. Now she’s found 10 over a 3 week period. All dead an in her bathroom. I sprayed inside under her sinks.

where could they be coming from? At least they died near the middle of the room. Shes been in the house 3 yrs and never this many before

its Florida so slab house, It has separate tub an shower.


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## DoomsDave (Dec 6, 2018)

These are those big giant roaches?

If so, there may be an issue with rotting wood somewhere. Take a good look at the walls, and anyplace there might be a leak of water that might cause wood to rot. Also look outside for any big piles of leaf or other plant litter right near the house. If you find them, toss 'em.

Let us know what you find.

For what it's worth, the roaches themselves are harmless. But, they could be the symptom of a more serious problem.


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## Startingover (Apr 18, 2012)

DoomsDave said:


> These are those big giant roaches?
> 
> If so, there may be an issue with rotting wood somewhere. Take a good look at the walls, and anyplace there might be a leak of water that might cause wood to rot. Also look outside for any big piles of leaf or other plant litter right near the house. If you find them, toss 'em.
> 
> ...


Its a cbs house around 30 yo. We’ll check it out. Thanks. Isn’t there a gadget that measures moisture in the air or something?


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## DoomsDave (Dec 6, 2018)

Startingover said:


> Its a cbs house around 30 yo. We’ll check it out. Thanks. Isn’t there a gadget that measures moisture in the air or something?


Dunno what "cbs" is except a TV network. Moisture in the air won't be the problem so much as actual water getting into the walls or ceilings that can lead to rot, which will make the wood easier for roaches to chew and digest. This is a first step at investigating. The fact that your daughter suddenly had a population explosion of them is definitely cause for concern in that regard. 

(Putting on Public Service hat . . . .) 

Those little roaches you find up north and in the house are a different species, which, though they can also eat wood, also like people food much better. The great big ones usually stick to stuff you find in the forest. 

Interesting fun buggy fact; roaches and termites are related! Both have guts with bacteria in them to help digest wood. (Look at both in a microscope or under a magnifying glass, the resemblance is startling!)


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## mark sr (Jun 13, 2017)

I've never known of palmetto bugs living/breeding inside. They usually come in thru the window or door. The odds are if she kills them [or they leave] that will be the end of it.


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## DoomsDave (Dec 6, 2018)

mark sr said:


> I've never known of palmetto bugs living/breeding inside. They usually come in thru the window or door. The odds are if she kills them [or they leave] that will be the end of it.


That's true, though the bugs themselves will take liberties with the definition under the right conditions. That happened at my place; a pile of dead leaves right next to an aperture leading into the kitchen. Bingo! The invasion of the Palmetto Bugs. (Great live cat toys, though. Crunchy, too!)


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## Startingover (Apr 18, 2012)

CBS
Concrete/block/stucco. Common here. Altho part of her house is brick .

“Palmetto” cause they live in palm trees.

it’s just strange there’s been so many dead ones. 98% dead. one of them was laying on his back but still Kickin his feet.

Sometimes it will be in front of her linen closet, sometimes in front of her clothes closet or sink. They’re within a like 3-4 foot area on the floor.

We wish we knew where they were coming from and why they’re all in the bathroom except thats where all the plumbing is.

The north wall outside doesn’t get any sun and theres a thick row of ferns along the house. maybe we should remove those ferns that are holding in moisture against the house.


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## DoomsDave (Dec 6, 2018)

Startingover said:


> CBS
> Concrete/block/stucco. Common here. Altho part of her house is brick .
> 
> “Palmetto” cause they live in palm trees.
> ...


Well, that kind of gives the boot to my theory about rotting wooden frames! Hmm. . . . isn't there at least a wooden frame in the roof? 

My experience is that they don't just appear; roaches are perfectly happy to be in a place good for them, and aren't ripe for adventure, unlike, say, hornets. 

Maybe if they just stop appearing, the whole thing might be a false alarm. That would be for the best.


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## Startingover (Apr 18, 2012)

DoomsDave said:


> Well, that kind of gives the boot to my theory about rotting wooden frames! Hmm. . . . isn't there at least a wooden frame in the roof?
> 
> My experience is that they don't just appear; roaches are perfectly happy to be in a place good for them, and aren't ripe for adventure, unlike, say, hornets.
> 
> Maybe if they just stop appearing, the whole thing might be a false alarm. That would be for the best.


(Aren’t ripe for adventure). That cracked me up.

Ohhhh. We forgot......there used to be a damp looking area on porch ceiling, right next to her bathroom. ok we’ll investigate that area. Appreciate this.


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## DoomsDave (Dec 6, 2018)

Hope we can solve your problem!

And that of any lurkers with the same problem. (Lurkers, you don't have to lurk.)


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## subbuilder (Jun 20, 2016)

Whatever you put out to kill them is working, that's why you're finding them on their backs, but...... you need to put some (poison) bait in those rooms so they can take it back to wherever they're hiding out and kill the rest of them (probably in a wall somewhere.


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## DoomsDave (Dec 6, 2018)

subbuilder said:


> Whatever you put out to kill them is working, that's why you're finding them on their backs, but...... you need to put some (poison) bait in those rooms so they can take it back to wherever they're hiding out and kill the rest of them (probably in a wall somewhere.


Hmm. Not totally sure that's accurate. Roaches don't "nest" like ants do, and, as far as I've been able to tell, don't exchange fluids the same way either.


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## ChuckTin (Nov 17, 2014)

A Florida CBS home (we're in one) has wood furring strips between the drywall and the blocks. Plus whatever garbage has been buried near the building in 30 yrs.
There's a nearby exterior door, didn't you say? Look at the jamb seals, especially the bottom. Roaches and the like are (pardon the spelling) phigmoscopic. That word means they can and will flatten themselves down to slip thru crevasses and gaps.
Do you have wood chip mulching around the home walls? We were just pulling up some scraggly Crepe Myrtles and I saw four roaches in one bed against the house that was mulched.

Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk


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## DoomsDave (Dec 6, 2018)

ChuckTin said:


> A Florida CBS home (we're in one) has wood furring strips between the drywall and the blocks. Plus whatever garbage has been buried near the building in 30 yrs.
> There's a nearby exterior door, didn't you say? Look at the jamb seals, especially the bottom. Roaches and the like are (pardon the spelling) phigmoscopic. That word means they can and will flatten themselves down to slip thru crevasses and gaps.
> Do you have wood chip mulching around the home walls? We were just pulling up some scraggly Crepe Myrtles and I saw four roaches in one bed against the house that was mulched.
> 
> Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk


Whoo-ee, they're what-ever-you-call-it flatteners, oh yes.

I once had some roaches in a drawer, one second they were there, the next they were gone. Where'd they go? Sat and waited and watched, and they sorta oozed out from between the joints in the boards the drawer was made of! And these weren't babies, but fully grown, though not as big as palmetto bugs.


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## Nik333 (Mar 1, 2015)

https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/ncap/pages/26/attachments/original/1428423343/cypermethrin.pdf?1428423343


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