<p>S attended a camp at a highly ranked university. The dorms were horribly infested with roaches. I'm interested to know what experiences students have had with this problem. Has it ruined the college experience for anyone? If you had it to do over, would you choose a different place because of it?</p>
<p>Pretty common in the south. Should not be around in the north.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t say it ruined my college experience, but I enjoyed my sophomore dorm room a lot less due to roaches. (Room right above the dining hall – ugh.) I don’t think there are schools where every dorm is roach free, so it wouldn’t impact my choices. Do they have roaches in Fairbanks?</p>
<p>When the pest control folks treat for roaches they are seen because they have been driven out of their hidey holes. Perhaps that is what happened.</p>
<p>The co-op style home I lived in for a few years as an undergrad had a bad roach infestation one year. At first it was horrifying, then it became a group bonding experience to deal with them. Believe it or not, I have fond and amused memories of several of my housemates going on late-night roach extermination “missions”.</p>
<p>omg, S is coming home from a month of dorm life in the South. What should I do with his stuff. Should I air it out in the sun? Bugs freak me out. I can’t sleep if there is a fly in the house, I have to hunt it down. Never mind mosquitoes.</p>
<p>The other concern is bed bugs. They can pop up and be ghastly AND taken home.</p>
<p>As to son’s stuff: dump it in the yard and spread it out in the sun is a good idea. Go from an hour in the sun to straight into the wash. But don’t freak out beyond that – particularly if he tells you he didn’t see any roaches or hear of complaints. Some dorms are the equivalent of posh cruise ships and you risk the chance of being a neurotic, idiot parent if you act like he’s been slumming when he knows he’s had nice accommodations. </p>
<p>Please get educated. It’s not healthy to be “freaked out” by bugs. Literally, it is not healthy. I’ve known people who live in a toxic cloud of Raid because they once saw a spider. Living with bugs is like living with people – there’s some that are dangerous and you need to know that – but most are benign.</p>
<p>I too am freaked out by bugs. I am so afraid that my son will bring something home with him. Roaches are bad enough, but bed bugs are a whole other story. I know of one school nearby that had a bed bug problem two years ago. Luckily if was right before Christmas break so the school was able to take care of it. I am making sure that I buy a heavy duty mattress cover for my son’s room.</p>
<p>You do make a good point about some being dangerous and others not, I will try to keep that in mind the next time I see something. It’s just the thought of them, plus the bed bug bites are horrible!</p>
<p>Maybe I need therapy. Educated, I think that is the problem. “Did you know roaches carry salmonella” “Have you seen video of flys where they enlarge it” - Mosquitoes, don’t get me started. Apart from bed bugs and lice- the other bugs don’t bother me. Ah, well maybe ticks- lots of lyme disease up here. I don’t use bug spray, well maybe a little avon soft whatever when I go outside.<br>
Don’t like mice either, the whole hantavirus thing. I won’t freak out when S comes home. Particularly because I would like him to go back :)</p>
<p>Nope, no roaches in Fairbanks. The mosquitos would probably eat them! ;-)</p>
<p>“S is coming home from a month of dorm life in the South. What should I do with his stuff. Should I air it out in the sun?”</p>
<p>Sorry, but I’m lol-ing over this. It make it sound like THE SOUTH is a disease-ridden, germ infested place.</p>
<p>We never had a problem until we live UP NORTH. Rats. Two of them in different towns, but I will never forget sitting up one night waiting until I heard the sticky trap go off.</p>
<p>I went to college for four years in the South, and D just completed her first year in the South. Never a roach. If my child reported roaches at any dorm or camp he attended, I would contact the health department in the college town and ask about this. It’s not normal.</p>
<p>When I think of roaches, I think of D.C. Posh homes in Georgetown and other areas of town with attached houses are full of them. They travel from one home to another, outrunnning the exterminators.</p>
<p>The Deep South has large flying roaches. I’ve never seen those in the North, but they are common in the South.</p>
<p>Speaking of bed bugs, I picked up a mattress protector for D that is a step beyond the usual allergy type & is supposed to assist in preventing bed bugs. $29.99 for a Twin XL at Target. Figured it would save me a little worrying. </p>
<p>BTW, this thread is making me itch as I read it ;)</p>
<p>
My very posh NYC lawfirm had them a few years ago. Apparently, some roaches fly because there becomes a large population in a small area.</p>
<p>I’m truly phobic about bugs. I wasn’t able to be vaccinated as a child and contracted Measles and then encephalitis. I hallucinated that bugs were crawling on me. For me, it’s totally visceral. The sensation of someone dragging a feather on my skn or running their fingers over my skin sets off all sorts of triggers in my brain.</p>
<p>This thread makes me recall the flying roaches from my graduate school days in NC. They were truly Hitchcockian. </p>
<p>But if I was worried about bring bugs home, I would take the returning laundry down to a laundromat or professional laundry and do it there before even bringing it in the house.</p>
<p>I spent one summer living in the NYU law school dorm. The dorm room was completely roach-infested, despite weekly efforts by the NYU staff and a parade of products we tried to deal with it. The view was great, and I learned to sleep with the lights on.</p>
<p>Okay, I just spotted this thread and can’t help myself… The large FLYING roaches are by far the worst kind (I’m in NC). I never knew roaches could fly until a few years ago when I had an encounter with one… You should have heard the screaming! I’ve never seen a roach in my dorm though THANK GOD.</p>
<p>I live in the south and the idea that everyone who visits me should put their laundry out in the sun for an hour and then directly in the wash upon returning to home up north is just silly!</p>
<p>I’ll admit, when I saw the first roach in my home 20 years ago, shortly after moving to the Florida panhandle, I freaked out. I screamed, cried, want to move. But then I learned that roaches were the field mice of the south. Typically at least once in the winter, a field mouse would make it into our warm home. Of course, I feel that roaches are far, far more gross than mice, but that’s my cuteness bias kicking in.</p>
<p>And, yes, the roaches here in south Texas are big and they can fly. Oh my goodness, is that ever fun!</p>