Cockroach Tales

No, you don't have to crush it nor do you have to chase after it with a can of pesticide. Neither do you have to arm yourself with a shoe or anything else in sight that can help you smash it.

I like to call them 'xiao qiang' but when they end up in my house, they become our public enemy number one... a trait i inherited from my mum. Especially after one time when I accidentally dropped a cockroach into my boiling pot of noodles because it was lingering on the plastic packaging of the noodles, and in shock I flung the packaging aside only to have the cockroach end up in the boiling water... There goes the cockroach. There goes my noodles. I dumbed the cockroach flavoured noodles, scrubbed the pot clean and started on my new bowl of noodles...

So, how then do you remove a cockroach effectively from your home?

Method #1 (Humane)
Capturing and releasing it into the 'wild'

Things you need:
- a plastic container
- a matching cover (make sure it matches!)
- a piece of paper just in case

Arm yourself with the plastic container, make sure the cockroach is on a flat surface then cover it up quickly. Note that this only works if the cockroach is on a flat surface!! Do not try it otherwise...

If the cockroach willingly climbs onto the container and off from the floor, quickly... I mean really really quickly, slip the cover beneath and close it shut.
If the cockroach stubbornly stays put on the ground, then use the paper and slowly slip it between the floor and the cockroach. Slip the cover below the paper and close it shut. This one requires more precision when you try to lift the paper with the cockroach on it (the cockroach isn't that light you know..)

The final step is to open the rubbish chute and throw the container in. If you have the intention of releasing it back into the 'wild' (after watching too much discovery channel), then leave the cover a little open. But I wouldn't risk it climbing back into my home ;)



Method #2 (Inhumane)
Instant non-chemical extermination

Things you need:
- A container of any sort
- Hot boiling water

This works best when the cockroach is on uneven surfaces and when its not in an area where you'll be afraid of your things getting soaked by steaming water.

Fill the container with hot boiling water, the hotter the better. Splash the water with a rough precision in the direction of the cockroach and wa-la! the job is done at an instant. You can then proceed to start hunting for where it has fallen and probably go about cleaning your things in that area after that.

Highly effective. But you gotta pick it up after the job is done (yuck).



The above methods are credited to boh for teaching me so much about cockroaches and even showing me live demos.