Stemming the Flood

One positive outcome in the aftermath of the flood was I discovered how the never-ending stream of cockroaches were able to get into the kitchen.

There were two points of entry, not just one. The first I noticed near the drain pipe for the washing machine; a gap in the concrete seemed to lead outside. The second was the drain pipe itself; I had covered it with heavy cellophane tape when we first moved in (our machine is outdoors), but over the years the roaches had chewed a hole through it. It wouldn't surprise me if they had chewed the gap in the concrete larger as well.

To prevent a recurrence, I jammed a wad of steel wool into the drain pipe and hosed it down with an environmentally friendly but deadly-to-cockroaches poison. I then filled in the crack with silicone.

With luck that will cut way down on the numbers of beasties getting into the house, which is great because the more roaches that get in, the more eggs they will lay. Control mechanisms such as traps and poison bait can only do so much, which is why I prefer heading them off at the pass.

It took the little buggers mere days to rebound after the deluge.

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