gokiburi =(

[meepalicious]

So far this summer, I've seen one cockroach but I'm pretty sure there are more in my apartment

Comments

[lelek]

For what it's worth, in my experience the cockroach death cakes that you've already invested in work. In my apartment I saw one cockroach, freaked out because I'd literally never seen one before in my life, possibly went a little overboard with the poison, and never saw another one. I just put cockroach death in every corner, every cabinet, and behind every large object (fridge, bookcase, etc.), and they didn't make another appearance. I wouldn't bother with bug bombs unless you're sure there's a major infestation.

[tsukiori]

Cockroaches, sadly, are just a part of life in Japan. I agree that the roach cakes work well enough. You might also want to keep your drains covered and plug up the whole in the back of your sink that keeps your sink from overflowing. In my first apartment in Japan that is where the roaches liked to come up through. You can try calling your landlord and seeing if they will spray the place, but the answer will probably be no. Maybe if enough people call and complain though, they'll cave... Good luck!

[dearmisterecho]

ooooh, I feel ya. Only just in the past couple weeks have roaches started showing up in my apartment. My boyfriend bought some death cakes and put a couple in my room (where I was seeing most of them), one in the kitchen, one in the bathroom. It's only been a few days but I haven't seen one since, and I was seeing at least one a day before that, so yeah :)

[jen_kat]

My first summer when I was in Japan, I saw many roaches in my apartment, seeing as how my rural apartment was on the first floor and next to the mountain side. I made use of the flat, hotel-like sticky traps, cake traps, and フマキラー). The sticky traps didn't work so well for the roaches, but did work better for the mukade.

I also tried bug bombing, but I think they're kind of weak.

I think cake traps and spray are about the best you can do. Best to keep your floors clean, don't leave piles around, cover up openings, cover or toss anything that may rot quickly if left out. Once the season is over, you won't see much, if any.

[cicadagray]

In my 6 years there, I had 3. I bug bombed my apartment twice each summer (I'm a little paranoid about creepy crawlies) and just otherwise kept my place clean. Lots of Japanese people vacuum several times a week, if not daily, and I got into that habit as well.