<p>I know I'm going to see one very soon in my room.. but are there any preventive measures for this? I know I shouldn't have any leftover food in my room.. but other than that.. what else can I do? Sprays? Thanks</p>
<p>Where do you go to school that you have to fear rats in a dorm room?</p>
<p>^A lot of urban city campuses have pest problems. Spraying does help. If your residence hall offers such services you can request to have it done for you.</p>
<p>Sometimes there's no way to control the ants. I had them 1 year in a dorm and they got in everywhere- it was disgusting and I rarely had food that was open. Sometimes it's just certain times of year with the weather in certain areas. They used to be in the bathrooms and hallways also at that time. You also have to be very careful with the food even if it's in a container, sometimes it will need to be sealed in an outer container.</p>
<p>Cockroaches don't bite... :P</p>
<p>I wouldn't spray. But I am just a health nut and hate chemicals. Really the only reason they would be in your room is if you have food lying around.</p>
<p>go to the grocery store, go to the laundry detergent section, and buy some 20 Mule Team Borateem. It's borax. It's lethal for sure to ants, and probably other insects.</p>
<p>It's a powder. Sprinkle it around the baseboards carefully (you don't want to breathe the dust). Leave it on for a few days. Be sure to put it in places where you wouldn't be walking and kicking up dust. Anything crawling into your room thru the floor cracks will have to pass thru the borax and it will kill them.</p>
<p>This stuff is incredible for killing ants. I once had an incredible infestation of ants. They were everywhere. I sprinkled Borateem all over my wall to wall carpeting and left it on for 2 days (I moved out for 2 days). When I returned, I vacuumed it up. All the ants had disappeared.</p>
<p>My maintenance man saw the result and he got addicted to Borateem, sprinkling it everywhere, even in outside cracks, to keep ants from invading apartments, esp when it rained. </p>
<p>Do be aware that it is toxic to pets and young kids. However, if you sprinkle it in out of the way places, you will cut down or eliminate your insect problem.</p>
<p>I have food but they are NOT opened. I had some pizza in my room and maybe there's some food bites around..</p>
<p>The coackroach has existed forever, and will be here long after we're gone.</p>
<p>Regards the roaches, if the building has an infestation they can spread throughout quickly. They are attracted to food, but they don't need it. They'll subsist on cardboard, paper, electrical wire insulation including computers, electronics. The way they breed makes rabbits jealous. Perhaps there's a room (janitor closet, utility room, floor kitchen/lounge area) that's the problem. I'd advise your RA. I understand in southern areas they are a continuing issue even for homeowners. </p>
<p>Rats and ants will seek out food. If you are in an older wooden dorm, (they do exist, usually as converted old houses, rental properties acquired by a college) the structure is probably not to "tight", with many small openings to allow the vermin entry.<br>
Usually, if you see one, you've got a hundred.</p>
<p>You should not have to deal with this, especially considering what typical housing costs are. Good luck.</p>
<p>Rats and mice are unacceptable. Contact your housing director AND maintenance dept. ASAP.
Also, tell your RA and have him write up and file a report to the proper depts.</p>
<p>For ants, buy some of Ant traps (we call them ant buttons). They're very cheap and work fairly well. I think they're made by Raid.</p>
<p>Those combat things work...</p>
<p>I've seen 2 dead roaches and 1 live one, and after I put combat things in my apartment I've only seen 1 dead one. Thank God. Still disgusting but better than live ones! EW.</p>
<p>When my parents moved into a new apartment long long time ago, they didn't get their apartment sprayed with the rest of the building. Surprise, the roaches all showed up at our apartment. We tried everything but combat was the only one that worked then too because we never saw them again after that.</p>
<p>I also bought a spray to aim from afar. Grosssss. I'm deathly afraid of bugs so >_<!!</p>
<p>Good thing about ants though = if you have those you don't have roaches because they apparently can't coexist that well.. OR they could become allies apparently. That's just...</p>
<p>thanks everybody. i saw a dead cockroach in my room and a few live ones outside my room.. and there're ants in my bathroom.. it sucks..</p>
<p>uyulove.. what combat methods do you use?</p>
<p>Terro ant traps work very well. It is Borax in a sweet liquid. I got them at Target.</p>
<p>I wasn't referring to a method, i was referring to a product :)
Combat</a> Roach Products</p>
<p>THOSE work magic. OR least I don't see any roaches after those... You leave it out all over the place in corners and replace them every 3 months and voila.</p>
<p>watch out with using chemicals. some schools prohibit the use of chemicals in the dorms. i know because my roommate and i had gone to the RD because of ants that kept getting into the room. he said that was normal in the building during the winter and that we could get facilities to cover up any potential holes the ants were using to get in. he did say we weren't allowed to use pesticide though or any other chemicals as it was prohibited by reslife.</p>