You can keep a lot of 'guests' out of you're home, but you need to profoundly clean floor and doorsteps.
I had this problem in some other tropical country and I took advice from the neighbours about the type of cleaningmaterial I did need.
I kept the floor clean with it every day, and sprinkled something sharp on doorsteps and openings to the outsid before I went to sleep (under a mosquitonet). I once took bubblegum into my mosquitonet one night but I was swarmed with small aunts while asleep, so I never took anything with me while sleeping ever again!:-)
I had extremely neat lowersinkcupboards with no spoons or other small articles, animals can hide between. Just kept them in a cupboard high on the wall. I kept the sink spotless from breadcrums or sugarparticles.
I had a cupboard with all four feet in small can's with water and detergent in it to keep from aunts and other small insects crawling in.
Keep the back of fridge and oven especially clean with special detergents. And I did wash the dishes and pans the minute we finished cooking or eating. For not attracting insects and animals by smells through the air.
No open can's or buckets with water in or around the home for not attracting mosquitos. Always dry after you take a shower.
And always watch when you step in you're shoes. It was very effective.
I tried this drill in Egypt but they could only laugh at me and told me to accept the menagery that is living in you're home when in Alex or at the countryside!:-) My SIL would crush cockroadges with her feet!:-)
But I know one year my MIL had the home of my SIL completely washed with something special caus she picked up my worries with our small kids. And I was extremely gratefull for it. The year before that I had extensively been cleaning the stairs, caus rats were running up and down on it, and while the door was always open for the heat, I could not prevent small children from touching rats excretions. I was just horrified and would not stop cleaning till everyone believed that I was just this nutcracker with a cleaningphobia!:-) When everyone went to sleep I was still scrubbing the kitchen walls after I finished the last dishes!:-)
I am so much more relaxed when at home in my place!:-) They should see me here!:-)
Posted by Demiana (Member # 2710) on :
I tried electrical repellant some years ago in my bedroom over here, but it only disturbed my sleep and Í got mosquitobites anyway.
Posted by Demiana (Member # 2710) on :
Some locals might know what plants you should surround you're home with to chase away some of the insects and amphibea. And what will especially attract them.
Posted by Penny (Member # 1925) on :
Mk they don't work. I had the same problem in my kitchen last year when a family of mice moved in. I put one of these sonic things in almost every socket and came home one evening to find a mouse on the work surface happily munching away right next to one.
We used mouse traps in the end but its a bit gruesome. Could she get a cat?
Posted by newcomer (Member # 1056) on :
Assalamu alaykum MK!
I have used an electric repellent for cockroaches and it worked really well, but it was for a much smaller area than a villa...I think that they are only effective over a certain distance.
I also had a rat problem once and had to resort to poison...it was a bit grim finding dead rats all over the place for a while, but it did work. I agree with Penny, a cat (or two) might be the best answer.
Friends of mine in Tagamo3 el-Khames also have big problems with mosquitos too, so get your sister ready for them...she will have to shut the bedroom windows at night and possibly use the plug in repellents, they seem to be effective.
The joys of living in the desert Posted by Melati (Member # 9610) on :
Stuff any holes in the kitchen ( even tiny ones)or near any plumbings attachments) you know near dishwasher pipes etc with that scourers wire used to clean dishes-they cannot get through it ( gnawing)Steel wool. Especially when a new house is built-sometimes the joinery has not been sealed totally well, or it becomes a new playground for the little critters.The worst is new removable kickboards under kitchen cupboards-they love it there. The best thing is traps, even though its cruel, its pretty final.Lure them with peanut butter in it -and keep putting them down even for 2 or more weeks-put heaps at once for a better " strike" rate. You can also spray all surfaces as Demiana says-domestos/water solution is good as I think it breaks their scent trail.
Posted by Charm El Feikh? (Member # 10243) on :
funnily enough we saw a rat on the decking by the conservatory door last night...
my method of dealing with it... i put a bit of ham down and crouched there with the dog..
sure enough he came out to get the ham and BAM... the dog pounced.
he never stood a chance in hell of catching it, but once the dog knew the rat was there he stood guard for ages.. and once the rat knew the dog was there he never came back!
Posted by MyKingdomForATaba2Koshari (Member # 8356) on :
LADIES!!
Your advice is priceless, thank you so much..
NC, she also has mosquitos; flies.. Really weird ones.. But she first needs find a solution for her huge windows with the weird rounded design in order to close them with those mosquito nets..
So I understand the ultrasound things work well for cockroaches in a small area.. That would be at least one trouble off her back.
I'll read further!!
Posted by newcomer (Member # 1056) on :
quote:Originally posted by MyKingdomForATaba2Koshari: So I understand the ultrasound things work well for cockroaches in a small area.. That would be at least one trouble off her back.
Well I can certainly verify that they work with American cockroaches, not sure about white Egypotian ones...they might be a bit tougher But certainly worth checking out.
Posted by Samia (Member # 4691) on :
My neighbour downstairs had mice in her flat.... I gave her some used cat litter in a small container, she put it near where the mice were coming in.... they were never seen again!!! Strangest thing I ever had in my hallway was a sans scorpion.... apparently they come out of the desert in winter to keep warm...my back door backs straight on to the desert.. I was screaming the place down..... little bawab just came out, raised his galabeya.. and stamped on it....just in his ship-ships!!! I asked after if they're as bad as the brown ones .... apparently they're more deadly!!! Posted by Charm El Feikh? (Member # 10243) on :
weirdest thing i ever saw was an army of ants were coming up through a hole in the concrete... she just just drew a chalk circle round the hole... the ants wouldnt cross it... they walked round the inside circumference then marched back down the hole!
Posted by KERDA(chimps:) (Member # 11116) on :
isnt there a song similar to the title
A Windmill In Old Amsterdam A mouse lived in a windmill in old Amsterdam A windmill with a mouse in and he wasn't grousin' He sang every morning, "How lucky I am, Living in a windmill in old Amsterdam!" Chorus: I saw a mouse! Where? There on the stair! Where on the stair? Right there! A little mouse with clogs on Well I declare! Going clip-clippety-clop on the stair Oh yeah
This mouse he got lonesome, he took him a wife A windmill with mice in, it's hardly surprisin' She sang every morning, "How lucky I am, Living in a windmill in old Amsterdam!"
Chorus
First they had triplets and then they had quins A windmill with quins in, and triplets and twins in They sang every morning, "How lucky we are Living in a windmill in Amsterdam, ya!"
Chorus
The daughters got married and so did the sons The windmill had christ'nin's when no one was list'nin' They all sang in chorus, "How lucky we am Living in a windmill in old Amsterdam!"
Chorus
A mouse lived in a windmill, so snug and so nice There's nobody there now but a whole lot of mice.
Posted by wise_woman (Member # 444) on :
Very good tips from Demiana.
We recently had mice in our kitchen (in the UK) Pest Control came out a few times with bait and eventually said they had gone.
A few weeks ago i bought a 4 pack of those plug in ultrasonic pest repellers. Has a built in nightlight, maybe to help the mice find their way around.
We dont know if the mice really are gone. Still dont know how they got in but we have a hole in the wall beside the front doorstep outside the house. Maybe they came in there and there's a gap in the walls where it ran through and appeared in our kitchen from a hole behind a cupboard/appliance.
A Plasterer is coming out next week to block it up. So hopefully the mice are gone and he wont block them in.
I was thinking of putting down a piece of bread on the kitchen floor to see what happens to it overnight. Hmmmmmmm should I?
Posted by Demiana (Member # 2710) on :
Wise Woman, you want to invite some more mice in? Posted by wise_woman (Member # 444) on :
That's what i was thinking.
But then, a scrap of bread would only attract those that are possibly hiding in the house. They wont be able to smell bread from outside the house and find the tunnel in.
I want to be sure they're gone before the Plasterer comes out and blocks up the holes.
Posted by MyKingdomForATaba2Koshari (Member # 8356) on :
quote:Originally posted by wise_woman: I was thinking of putting down a piece of bread on the kitchen floor to see what happens to it overnight. Hmmmmmmm should I?
Oh my God this line reminded me of a story..
One of my students (call her Tamara) once shared a very old house with a not-very-clean guy (call him Idioot).
So Idioot once goes on a holiday to South America for a month, and locks up his room and gives the key to his parents.
Three weeks later, he remembered that the heating was on when he left, which is too much money to spend when the room is empty. So he calls his parents to come and drop the key to his room with Tamara so she would come in and turn the heating off..
As she opens the door and walks into the room, she gets attacked by at least a 100 mice running all over the floor and climbing up her legs..
The idiot has left a chunck of pizza under the bed as he left, and with the hot room, it was perfect time and place for the mice to reproduce.
Tamara is still suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Posted by High-Voltage (Member # 10969) on :
MK
Try this one..... try to find a lonely young chicken but with browen head and white body, slaughter the chicken and spread her blood all over the place and then cook the chicken and bring a virgin Cat and eat together from the same dish, leave the cat in the House for 2 weeks and everything will be fine after that, if not just call the anti-Bugs company,,,,,, Posted by MyKingdomForATaba2Koshari (Member # 8356) on :
No wood for you.
Posted by Charm El Feikh? (Member # 10243) on :
nor you it would seem... spending lots of time on line late at night these days...
away on business is he?
Posted by ausar (Member # 1797) on :
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
and I thought brown sorsar was the scariest thing ever..![[Eek!]](eek.gif)
![[Roll Eyes]](rolleyes.gif)
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
But certainly worth checking out.
![[Smile]](smile.gif)