I live in a 53 yr old apt. bldg......wow was I shocked first time I saw roaches........YUK doesn't begin to describe the feeling!! I started by using sprays.......but they of course kept coming back...they were in my bathroom.....ONLY for a while....then one day to MY HORROR I saw one out of the corner of my eye while I was at the kitchen sink...IT WAS ON MY KITCHEN COUNTER.....EGADS!!.........So I put all the stuff on my countertop into plastic shoe boxes......then I tried COMBAT...they are those little black squares with bait.....you use all 8 of them at once....put them in the bathroom and kitchen, even 2 on the kitchen counter......1st day, I saw one dead one in the bathroom.AFTER THAT NOT A ONE.the box says to change them every 3 months, or whenever they come back.....HUH? come back!! oh well.....I did see one teeny tiny baby one.....(now how the hell did THAT happen!?! lol) so changed them. I keep track of the dates on my kitchen wall calendar.... I ALSO HAVE in each room those electronic bug things......$50 each but were on sale for $10 off when I got them.....gee, lucky for once! don't know if they really help but they are made very well not like those cheaper ones.......... anyhow, DO TRY COMBAT....it's helped me a lot.......

Get yourself a cup of coffee, this is gonna take a while. I live just out of town & do my own pest control. I have your basic old fashion Mouse traps baited with peanut butter, but they're not a big problem in the house - I only get 1 or 2 a year. I have a bigger problem with Squirrels getting into my garage. I have the old fashion rat traps for them, baited with a whole peanut, wired to the trigger pad (works great - nailed 6 in the last month without having to replace the bait). I have a still bigger problem with Ants getting into the house every year. They start late in the spring and just keep coming, you can kill 30-40 a day with a fly swatter. For them I use an ant poison that contains Borax and put drops in areas that I see them travel and spots I believe them to use as entry points. They pig out on it, have a good time like they're drunk, and then take it back to the nest - it takes about a week but it kills the whole nest. So just when you think all is well ... another nest comes in and the process starts all over. It's now the end of July, I've killed at least 15 nests, and I've been ant free for two weeks - wish me luck. Another pest that I control is - Fruit Flies. They can be annoying, and don't bother chasing them around trying to swat them between your hands or with a fly swatter - it doesn't work (I've tried), you have to trap them. Pour an inch of apple cider vinegar into a cup and add a drop of dish soap (when they get into the solution they can't get out and drown). Stretch a piece of plastic wrap over the top of the cup (as tight as a drum skin) and put a tight elastic band just below the lip of the cup to keep the plastic wrap sealed. Next you puncture 6 or 8 holes in the center of your drum skin (a circle about the size of a quarter) with a pointed toothpick. Do not make holes bigger than the toothpick or anywhere near the outside edges, or the little bastards will escape and piss you off some more. That's it you're done and it will last for months. But don't sit there waiting to see if it's going to work - they know you're watching. Go do something and check it a few hours later. By then I usually have 5 or 6 inside and a few more trying to get in. Other than that skunks like to dig my lawn for grubs - If I catch them at it they get the garden hose from about 30 ft away. The odd gopher wants to dig holes too, but he gets his tunnels filled with water. The raccoons try to get into the garbage once in a while but they aren't strong enough to lift the lids on my bins (I've added extra weights to make sure). Besides that the deer like to prune my bushes, but they don't bother me - so I just let them. : ).