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Why Cockroaches?
Yes, why roaches?
I guess rst-hand experience is the answer is there a better motive? During about 2005 to 2009 I stayed in a at in Linden, Johannesburg [South Africa], a beautiful suburb by the way! Let the games begin! I believe it was in the winter of 2005 that I noticed the rst cockroach in my kitchen. At rst I did not give it much attention, but soon the roaches started to increase! Being a [bush] war veteran I obviously started a counterattack . I decided cockroaches [like ies] could be killed or at least driven out with commercial poisons; anti-cockroach aerosols and walk-in traps , all containing some sort of organophosphate I gured if organophosphates were initially created for chemical warfare against homo sapiens, they would do the trick with roaches! Roaches loose the 1st round During the 1st month I seemed to gain the upper hand and the number of roaches dwindled. During August [late winter in Johannesburg] I again noticed some of the critters; it seemed as if the cockroaches were not as impressed [or depressed] with the poisons as they were initially. A surprising turn of events! Then, to my increasing dismay, I noticed that some roaches had actually made their forward bases underneath the electrical kettle, in the electrics of the microwave oven and obviously in the back of the dishwasher as well as near the toaster [I say obviously as these are near sources of food]. I also encountered cockroaches lurking in the electrical distribution box [fuse box]! I later learned that they actually moved from at to at [or room to room] using the cable ducts as tunnels.
The roaches developed resistance to the poisons! Urgent need to adapt This called for a denite change of strategy! As I dont know how these poisons would inuence my health in the long run I had to go for something more acceptable, alternative you may even call it green or organic [though organic is just the opposite of what it says, organic IS chemical, manmade!!!] At that stage I knew nothing about cockroaches, a situation that would soon change it was Sun Tzu [The Art of War, chapter 3:18] who stated that in order to defeat your enemy you must know him! The enemy
Being a bachelor and having some spare time I started doing some research on cockroaches. Firstly I identied the pests as being the German cockroach [Blattella germanica], one of the most prevalent species in South Africa. The other common species [of the more than 4000 on earth] found in South Africa are the Blattella orientalis or oriental cockroach and the American cockroach (Periplaneta americana), also known as the waterbug in the US.
Carriers of disease Urban legend wants it that cockroaches are very clean insects this legend must have had its origin with St Francis of Assisi or his peers as they would like to avoid stepping on them and having watched them groom themselves must have decided they are way cleaner than humans noth-
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ing of the sorts. Roaches have been found in the lthiest places on earth. Research has indicated that cockroaches can carry hundreds of pathogens [something that can cause disease, e.g. a bacterium or a virus] as for instance shigella , salmonella and [Link] [escherichia coli] which cause diseases such as typhoid fever and other food- and waterborne diseases [food poisoning] of which millions of people die every year, mostly in Africa. No mercy!
No use knowing a lot about the cockroach and you cant kill it, is there? I questioned friends and family, googled left right and centre. I tried many a suggested remedy until someone suggested Borax. I bought some and in my usual overkill mentality nearly choked myself in applying the stu to my kitchen. It worked! After about two weeks I could not see any roaches anymore.
Weapons of mass destruction rened! Further research took me to Boric Acid [BA]. BA is also a borate, like Borax, but it is more eective in killing cockroaches and other insects. Boric Acid has a toxicity LD50 of 5140mg/kg [mean toxicity page 13] which is less toxic than table salt, paracetamol, cannabis, aspirin and caeine to name a few substances; notwithstanding widespread and unsubstantiated rumors to the contrary [i.e. tree huggers have branded BA as highly toxic - they can have their cockroaches in that case...]. In the meantime I discovered that another naturally occurring substance, Diatomaceous Earth, [DE] could also lead to the demise of a broad spectrum of pests, including cockroaches. Both BA and DE are natural desiccants, which means they dry out the outer wax layer of the cockroach or whichever insect to such an extent that dehydration and death can take place. DE also contains microscopic pieces of silica which literally cut cockroaches at especially any moving intersection of their exoskeletons [if this is to ghastly to contemplate then I suggest you rather get used to the critters]. BA is ingested either whilst eating bait containing it or when the roach [or whatever insect] walks over it and cleans its feet and antennae. BA destroys the lining of the gut [stomach], together, BA and DE work from both the in- and outside destroying cockroaches.
The same principles apply to other pests including ticks, eas, ants, termites, mites, crickets and silver sh [sh moths]. Costly red tape [blood stained?] Having discovered that the combination of BA, DE and a little sugar, to sweeten things up and make it more attractive to the roaches [notwithstanding 'scientic' ndings that roaches started to avoid sugar, those in South Africa still go for it!], as it were, should also be available to others with the same problem, I started marketing a product called KillRoach. It was not long before an inspector of DAFF confronted me and I was charged for distributing an unregistered remedy in terms of Act 36 of 1947. That was about four years ago. Since then I had to go through various processes in order to get the mixture registered in terms of the mentioned Act. One of these involves getting the now re-named powder, EcoZap, tested by the SABS [internationally accredited South African laboratory]. These tests indicated conclusively what I and millions of people through the ages already knew that BA kills cockroaches [more or less like having a certicate proving that water could be the main cause of drowning]. Red tape is a super stimulant for free enterprise and small business! :-[ God willing EcoZap will be registered soon and then the cheaper, less-toxic DIY alternative to man-made poisons will be in a supermarket near you God bless
Gabril Smit [Link]
This entry was posted in Thoughts... on 23/04/2013 [[Link] .
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