I was test driving a used car at a dealership (make of car, dealership, location all withheld to protect the guilty) and I looked down at the beverage holder and saw a cockroach. I pulled over at a convenient spot and attempted to remove it from the car, but he got away and crawled under the seat.
Here’s the problem: this car is exactly what I want, and is the best deal I have seen pricewise. I can get over the “ewww” factor, but if my wife sees a roach in the car she will freak out. The dealer says he will have the car “bombed”, but this still leaves questions.
How effectively can roaches be exterminated from vehicles? This is a compact SUV, if that makes any difference.
Do roaches damage cars? Are they eating away at anything? Should I not buy this car?
How do I know the dealer actually bombed it? I have test driven it one more time since then and have not seen any roaches, so it is hard to be sure they have actually done anything. Should I get something in writing?
If you’ll be parking outside, as the weather gets cooler any insects will attempt to find warmer climates. If there’s nothing for them to eat, and it’s cold, it’s undesirable.
You could call it the Cockroach car, but in my opinion, the Buick Riviera took that title in the nineties.
I would also suggest a thorough vacuuming of the car. My first thought was that maybe the previous owners dropped french fries or cereal between the seats, and that’s what the bug was attracted to. If that’s the case, a bombing may kill the current inhabitants, but the food may attract them back.
To explain my paranoia more fully: I’m worried that they will be in places where the bomb may not reach. Is this a possibility? They will not be reintroduced to the car where we live.
<b>Doparama</b>, your roach-paranoia is completely understandable: I think the consensus (among people who study phobias) is that the fear of small, crawling insects is a pre-programmed instinct harking back to our caveman days. The caveman who feared snakes and spiders lived, simpy put.
Cockroaches are more-or-less harmelss, but that vestigual instinctual fear (or paranoia) still gets triggered in this case of false alarm.
I guess what I’m rambling about is that It’s okay for grown adults to fear cockroaches!
Not a chance. A roach bomb in a space that small will get everything. The only possibility I can think of is a few spare cockroaches will sneak to the trunk. Toss a bomb in there at the same time if it will make you feel better.
Well, since it is a compact SUV, the passenger compartment and the trunk are all one space. My fears have eased somewhat, but nobody is answering my questions above - would you buy? Can they eat anything the car is made out of? How can I verify that they bombed it?
It’s possible they can eat something. Cockroaches are known to eat the adhesive off of envelopes, (Think of that next time you lick an envelope and it doesn’t seem to stick) so it’s possible that there is something in there that they can eat.
But they will not survive the roach bomb or the winter!
I used to have roaches in my car all the time!
oops. different kind of roach. neffermind.
I used to have roaches in my car all the time!
oops. different kind of roach. neffermind.
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When I first told the dealer that there was a “roach” in the car his first assumption was that I meant the kind you smoke. No, I said, the SIX LEGGED KIND!!!
Of course, although I wouldn’t recommend sawing a cockroach inside my car.
I find that the most convienent way to saw a cockroach is this–
you’ll need:
[ul]
[li]a wax pencil[/li][li]safety goggles (safety first)[/li][li]a good clear work light[/li][li]duct tape[/li][li]a cockroach blattdiae elegians, about 2 to 3 feet in length (common in New Jersey)[/li][li]A boombox[/li][li]a Jimi Hendrix tape[/li][li]and a good electric saw. I prefer a Craftsman, but any saw will do.[/li][/ul]
First, lead the cockroach into your cellar workshop. Some people achieve this by offering it candy, but I find that putting on my safety goggles & pretending to be another cockroach works just as well.
Next, using the duct tape, securely tape the cockroach to the two sawhorses, lengthwise. Speak softly & re-assuring to the cockroach during this time.
Next, shine the blindingly bright work light in its hideous compound eyes.
Go over the boombox, & start playing the Hendrix tape, turned up to eleven. This will drown out any screams.
Draw a dotted line, just above the wing casing, all around the cockroach, carefully ignoring any pleas for mercy. He’s just thanking you in French, anyway.
Then, take your electric saw & cut carefully on the dotted line.
Dance a little jig for joy. (BTW–some people think you need a jig saw for this. These people are silly.)
Clean up the mess, & then go find another cockroach to saw.
I hope this helps.
