german roaches in the car!

Title says it all. We just bought it, put $1500 in deferred maintenance into it, and it was hard to find. Don't really want to get rid of it.

A few bombs have been set off in the car, and I'll have my exterminator treat the inside tomorrow when they come for the annual treatment at the house. When we called the exterminator this morning, they weren't surprised. They're seeing this more frequently. 

Since the bombs were placed in the car, a couple of live roaches have been seen. I haven't put baits in the car yet. One of the articles that I read recently reported that german roaches have evolved to not be attracted to sugar, due to the use of sugar in roach baits. I'll still place some in the car. 

We haven't used it for more than a couple of drives, and haven't had any of our belongings, backpacks, etc. in the car, since we're trying to keep them there. 

Anyone have experience with this?

Keep gassing it with insecticide, add mothballs to further discourage animal life from spending time in there. Expect to find a pit of roach poop somewhere like the devil's secret stash of sprinkles.

I was going to say that leaving it till summer, with the windows up, and in the bright sunlight, might cook the buggers.

Pittsburgh doesn't have roaches, and for that, I am grateful.

I live in Wisconsin. Not much for roaches here either. Are German Roaches not from Germany?

In reply to pinchvalve :

Greensburg does, consider yourself lucky

Oh, those kind of roaches. I've bought some cars with remnants of the other kind...

Keep putting the bombs in.  Try to find the ones that burn and create smoke instead of a misty fog.   The problem is they have been placing egg cases full of delicious little roach eggs inside the car that will hatch for over a month. 

German cockroaches are the most difficult to control.    They become immune to pesticides very quickly.   

Ha! Though that too. German dope is a very technical prosses. 

Well, I'm always happy to provide amusement for the forum.  

Thanks for the laughs for my wife and I. Humor is always welcome!

Edit: I'll post more on this as things progress. If it's an emerging problem, it's likely to come up in searches. 

Since the car already smells like bug bombs, could you run a hose from the exhaust into a window and let the car run for a while? Suffocate the little bastards?

Nuke it from orbit, it’s the only way to be sure. Well, not really...The surest way to get rid of them would be to pull literally the whole interior, carpets, door panels, the whole lot, as well as the trunk, blower motor, a/c ducts, then bug bomb the car and scour the interior bits with the strongest cleanser they can take.  Then, maybe you’ve got a chance. Without pulling the interior there are just too many places for their eggs, which are astonishingly resilient, to hide...And it only takes two eggs to recreate the problem. 

ManhattanM (fka NY535iManual) said:

Nuke it from orbit, it’s the only way to be sure. Well, not really...The surest way to get rid of them would be to pull literally the whole interior, carpets, door panels, the whole lot, as well as the trunk, blower motor, a/c ducts, then bug bomb the car and scour the interior bits with the strongest cleanser they can take.  Then, maybe you’ve got a chance. Without pulling the interior there are just too many places for their eggs, which are astonishingly resilient, to hide...And it only takes two eggs to recreate the problem. 

Oof. Should have sent it back to the auction. A little late now, $1500 in repairs later...

My parents had an '87 Civic in South Florida when I was growing up. Never could get rid of the roaches that lived in there despite multiple bug bombs, baits, and windows rolled up in Florida summer heat. Eventually, we just learned to live with em. 

In reply to Floating Doc :

While I’ve not dealt with them in cars, in houses you’ll never get rid of them until you find out what they’re eating & get rid of it. I’d pull out the seats & rent a carpet cleaner, then go to town. My hunch is there’s probably some “leftovers” tucked away in/under the seats and/or consoles they’re still munching on. 

Remove anything they can eat, and let a few leopard geckos, bearded dragons, and/or chameleons inhabit your car.

Years ago when i was detailing, we used to leave th vehicles parked running, heat blasting and ac on to dry the carpets and cloth after cleaning. A few times i noticed after the heat treatment, there was dead german roaches in it. They couldnt take the heat i guess. Id say a very good cleaning, remove whats reasonable for cleaning, then heat blast. 

Maybe some borax too. 

I actually considered catching a gecko and turning it loose in the car for a few days. The problem is: what if it dies in there? At least it doesn't stink right now (except for the faint smell of the bug bombs). 

As to the suggestion for heat: it's Florida, but the wrong time of year.

Ha! Just saw your in deland. Same here. The colder temps shouldn't bother the de-roachification if your running the heat. 

I grew up in south Florida. I don't mind the winters here in Ohio. I swear the people here complain about the cold more than I do - I've seen what happens when you don't have winters.

In reply to Floating Doc :

Tell Donald trump,he will send in i.c.e. and put them in custody .or build a 15 metre wall around your car. Now let's see if those pesky roaches get in your car

Unfortunately, I think German cockroaches can live on just about anything. 

spitfirebill said:

Unfortunately, I think German cockroaches can live on just about anything. 

I hope they don't eat anything that might be part of the car, such as wiring isulation, etc.

In terms of what they eat...Google fu tells me that German cockroaches are cannibalistic, and can survive by eating the remains of their dead companions.

Remember to keep your concentration on the road while driving!