Where not to look for Cockroaches ..............

PeakXV

They're creepy and crawly but fairly predictable too!

There are definite places where the experienced India traveller will absolutely not look in order not to see a cockroach.

Well since you asked .... a couple of personal favourite spots are along the toilet feed/drain pipes and under the seat on the train.

Where else shouldn't one look?

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Don't go to India ~ Pre-trip Warnings & Misconceptions?

machadinha

Funny!

Where I grew up they mostly lived in the cracks where the walls meet the floor. Then at nightfall the plant areas bordering your patio would come alive with them... The horror! (As a piquant extra, the cats would catch them and proudly and loudly come eat them at your feet at the dinner table of course. Scrunch scrunch, hey boss, look what I found.)

Never saw too many of them in India, luckily. Well, the odd one chasing around the restaurant kitchen I guess (happens everywhere). Remember squishing one with well-aimed shoe at night, band of ants marched in and had the place tidied up in no time. Impressive really. My own little National Geographic channel right there

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Nick-H

Where-ever there is a drain hole in the floor. If your house has solid floors, solid walls, no gaps --- that's where they will get in.

Frankly, there's nothing wrong with a cockroach or two: they are rather handsome creatures! Problem is with getting them to understand the 'one or two' concept!

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PeakXV

I thought they were eradicted on yörp by the turn of the 19th century!?

Nick-H

No indeed!

Check out a few London council-owned tower blocks

Wanderer22

This thread reminds me of the Calcutta hotel I stayed at during the seventies. Large areas of the white marble floor looked black if you turned the light on in the middle of the night, and it moved.... One month later I passed out in a Bombay street, diagnosis hepatitus A. One month is the incubation period so am fairly certain that was the infection point. Don't know if roaches transport the virus around, but large numbers might indicate lax hygine in a place and call for extra caution.

This is also a reminder to get appropriate vaccinations for India travel.

W22

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PeakXV

It's just as I suspected & feared. There appears to be less and less places were one can look in order to not see a CR. Drains - out, white marble floor - out, cracks & crevices - out

<walks away gazing at the ceiling ..... then suddenly spots something off color .... whew only a paint chip! >

machadinha

Haha yes think West-Indies
When I said you tend to see them in restaurants anywhere, that was including Amsterdam though. Yuck. At least we don't have the big fat flying unbeatable kind though (yuck again).

ps No I don't find them handsome. At all. No way. Appreciated the one or two idea though "Now listen young fellows, it's alright to match in here, but there's a few houserules..." etc.

machadinha

Bleeeergh! Leaving out the dishes at night is also a fun experiment

PeakXV

Oh that yörp! .... I was getting my yörp's mixed up. Yeah you got some nasty ones there.

machadinha

Ehm yes no that was ex-yörp so to speak.

<Now where's my aspirin>

wonderwomanusa

I lived in a "student house" in Amsterdam; there were plenty of cockroaches in that shared kitchen. Yuck, indeed!

robotvoice

a certain guest house in pushkar, but i wont name any names.

Nick-H

Why the big worry about cockroaches?

Like flies, they go in dirty places and you do not want them walking in your food.

Unlike mosquitoes they won't do you any direct, painful harm. But mosquitoes, which spread several really serious diseases, never seem to elicit the Eeeeuuuuuccccchhhhhh response that cockroaches get.

I'd rather have a CR in the house than a mossie, any day.

But, as I say, I'm not keen on sharing with a few thousand of them!

machadinha

Just a childhood trauma. If you ever want to take me to room 101, this is what you need to do.

The horror! The horror!

(Actually I think having naively moved "out west" as a kid with the family we stored some boxes in the garage and kind of forgot about them. After 6 months or so my mommy and me went to clean them up -- "autumn" cleaning or sth. Sure enough, out came this swarm of big ugly Spielbergian flying creatures. You picture the rest. Hey, nothing my therapist can't handle.)

They never bothered me much later, only occasionally they'd have the habit of flying in at night while you were relaxedly watching TV or something. Never failed to startle me. Anyway, cokroaches and me just don't fit as you can see. I assume they're handy for cleaning up stuff or something. Those Caribbean critters are pretty much indestructible too, I assume our Californian members can relate. Again: yuck. It's an urban myth that after the A-Bomb roaches will survive us but I tend to think there's a grain of truth to it.