Please recommend me a vacuum for cockroaches

[Sanifan]

This weekend...

I plan on doing the dreaded deed this weekend. And believe me, it does fill me with dread. I hate cockroaches. I know it's a bit of a pun and all, but if those little critters did vacuum up after themselves and kept out of sight, we wouldn't have a problem, now, would we?

I'm not sure what method I'm going to use yet. If the airflow in a dry vacuum does kill them, I may just forgo the water and use a bagged shopvac. I wonder if mine takes bags. I think I'll go one step further and suck up a teaspoon full of boric acid powder into the bag just before I turn the vac off. Then maybe toss the bag into a bucket of bleach water to soak for a while before dumping it. I want those suckers dead with no chance of infesting another part of the building.

The boric acid kills them, right? Or is it just a deterent?

I also like the idea of blowing in boric acid into the walls. I'll try that too.

Thank you for your suggestions. Some really good ideas. I'd love to hear any others you may have, too.

 

[broomvac]

Just use an Oreck or Miele with a self sealing bag!

 

[whirlcool]

The boric acid kills them. When you blow it in the wall it covers any hiding in the wall with the stuff. Kills them pretty quick. Any new roaches walk through the stuff, it sticks to their feet and they carry it back to the nest that way thereby killing the rest of them. A lot of roaches come in via the drainpipes under the sink, so any holes in the wall under the sink will need the same treatment.

Is this a house or an apartment that is having the roach problem?

It's a pretty neat and easy job. No dust comes flying out of the wall. I did a complete two bedroom apartment this way in about 45 minutes. I think just one can of the stuff will all you'll need. A little goes a long way.

 

[gottahaveahoove]

Sorry, But I HAVE to............

Before I even read anything,  I thought:  Well,  first find out if they prefer canisters or uprights!  They'd want something light to push.   I know,  I'm HORRIBLE !!  A shop vac does seem  logical.  You'er worrying about them breathing?  They're not going to a spa!  Let us know about their final hour.

 

[floor-a-matic]

Electrolux traps roaches in bag; just put tape on opening after removing it from cleaner.

Rainbow drowns the roaches

 

[classicfan1]

Rainbow

I do agree, either a shop vac or a Rainbow. I would either flush the water down the toilet or have the bag cremated!

 

[redgeminipa]

Final thoughts on the topic

After reading everyone's input, here are some ideas I've come up with as a combined effort...

Bagged machine: after sucking up as many as you can, suck up some of the aforementioned boric acid powder. Remove the bag and seal the opening with heavy tape. Sanitize the hose with a steamer and put in the dishwasher.

Water filtration (Hyla, Rainbow or Shop Vac theory): Water alone won't kill them... Spray some PAM cooking spray around the inside of the dry, clean basin before filling with plain hot water. The PAM will help ensure eggs don't stick to the crevices inside of the basin. Immediately dump down the toilet when finished.

Summary: Use your Hyla with PAM and hot tap water. Immediately dump down the toilet when finished. If you have a steamer, blast it into the hose on both ends. Put the hose in the dishwasher on top rack on the highest heat setting after vigorously flushing with hot soapy water. This will help insure there are no living eggs trapped inside the hose. Same goes for any attachments you use.

Good luck to you. They're extremely difficult to completely eliminate.

 

[scvacuumguy]

Use your Hyla with PAM and hot tap water

I'm going to have to chime in again here. NEVER trust things you see on the internet.....

You should never ever ever under any circumstance spray PAM or anything inside of your basin on a vacuum cleaner. Keep in mind, most of the advice on here is coming from people who have never worked in a vacuum cleaner store on a daily basis. It grates my nerves when people with absolutely no experience give "expert" advice. Spraying PAM in your basin will ruin the plastic, and cause damage to the separator and motor. The separator is designed to separate water and dust/dirt. NOT an oil based cooking spray. You can cause major damage to your machine.

Don't worry about disinfecting the hose, just suck up the things with whatever you can use to suck them up. Dirt and debris traveling through the hose is a lot more dangerous than a cockroach. Or you can make it easier on yourself, bomb the house, and then suck up the carcasses.

It's not that gross of a thing, its not that difficult to figure out....

 

[truckerx]

roach infestation

YES!!! I live in Florida where we have huge cockroaches(it may be the state bird). Need I say more? We Floridians have to be experts or get taken over with pests. What has worked best for me are the roach bait feeders, where the roaches enter, eat the special food and take it back to the nest. This eventually will wipes out the entire colony but may take a few weeks until they are all gone. Some bait feeders are good for one year. Hope this helps - I hate those things!

 

[gsheen]

In Cape town were I stay  we mainly get the flying ones that irritate but do not infest, In Jo burg however you get the crawling ones , They call them park- town prawns, they are huge. In Cape Town CITY CENTRE however you do get big rats. a few years back I hit one with my car and it tore the air diffuser off. It was great fun telling the insurance that I hit a rat not a dog.


 


As for the roaches like I said earlier , suck them up with a shop vac with a bag in it, Kill them first though. 

 

[whirlpolf]

sometimes chemicals won't work...

...

 

[thissucks]

i think a direct air machine will kill anything once its in the bag, lots of negitive pressure, i used a simplicity canister to get rid of a infestation of pherroh ants (what a pain that was) never had one come back out of the bag, same thing with spiders and other ants.

what i would do is suck em up, leave the machine on and then suck up some plastic bb's to obliterate them, followed by boric acid, then thoroughly wash the nossle, hose and wand. (would not use a power nossle for this.) direct air machines could chew a bug to pieces, but there is a chance that it gets by without harm.

 

[thissucks]

i mean clean air in the first sentence of my post (i know im not a paying member but no ability to edit? someone was asleep at the wheel with that idea.)

 

[tolivac]

I picked up nother wood roach last night in the Water Matic-looked inside and he and his freind picked up earlier was torn up and dried out.no worry.You shouldn't need to disenfect the hose--the roach is intact when he goes thru the hose-when he ends up at the vacuum machine--he is probably going close to 100MPH at that point-critter torn up when he lands abruptly in the machine or bag.and direct air machines will chop them in the fan.Again no problems.