Sunday is a day I love and hate simultaneously. On one hand I can get up and operate at my own sweet pace without being dictated by my clock. On the other, Sunday reminds me of the weekly survey and stocking of vegetable/grocery and of scrubbing the house. How I miss my premarital days when it hardly bothered me to see things strewn around and "cleaning" was never a word in my dictionary. When they said marriage transforms you, I think they were talking about me. All at once, I started becoming conscious of my surroundings. There came a genuine effort from my end to try and create some semblance of a “home” where my family stays. This Sunday saw me take up my kitchen as the task of the day and by now, you would have guessed whom I bumped into. Yes, it was that scourge of mankind, the COCKROACH!!
I wonder why we love to hate them! They are such an essential part of the worldwide food web, the omnivore scavengers who clean up our environment and help recycle the organic waste. Infact, I read somewhere that in Myanmar, cockroaches are considered signs of good luck. Even, back home, white roaches are taken as a positive signal from Goddess Lakshmi, the god of wealth. So, what is it that makes them despicable? Is it their looks? Is it the creepy feeling? I know not and I proceed without an answer. I only know that these organisms that have lived on earth from the times of dinosaurs make me recoil in horror, terror, disgust. I only know that they remind me that I am not so neat after all. I only know that if left on their own, they will multiply within no time and create an invincible army.
~ Did you know a cockroach could live a long time, perhaps a month, without its head?
~Did you know a person who is allergic to consuming shellfish is also likely to have an allergy to eating cockroaches, I repeat EATING cockroach!!!
~Did you know ’cockroach’ sounds the same as the Spanish dance called ‘cucaracha’.. maybe due to the vigorous stamping of a homeowner on the pests. (Happy Feet, yet again!)
~Did you know that world’s largest cockroach is the Australian giant burrowing cockroach, which can grow to 9 cm in length and weigh more than 30 grams. (Did you say Australia? I wont venture near that continent! )
All said and done, after seeing the darned pest hiding in my kitchen shelf and having a feisty, feasty time, and after my confessions to Him for the murder I was about to commit, I rushed for the nearest can of spray called HIT.
I have contemplated a lot of other methods to get rid of these unwanted guests.
Squashing them with slippers or broom makes me weak at heart (ughh!!).
Picking them with their antenna is a feat that deserves Arjun Award and not for the likes of me.
The poison-in-bread-crumbs idea does not work. It only makes them more healthy.
Calling the pest control people is not effective. Plus, dismantling and re-arranging the kitchen is painful.
HIT works.
HIT, developed by Godrej Sara Lee Ltd. comes as 3 different variants :-
>HIT Crawling Insect Killer (CIK) contains propoxur which kills cockroaches instantly. It remains effective for days.
>HIT Flying Insect Killer (FIK) contains Allethrin which knocks down mosquitoes. Both are available in cans of 160 ml, 320 ml, 500 ml.
>HIT has also come up with chalks with which lines can be drawn at all cockroach prone areas. As they cross the line, they die (Laxman Rakha indeed!)
I go for the CIK. Usage is pretty simple. Just spray the insecticide in the nooks and the corners of kitchen and bathroom and all other entry points to the house. Make sure you do not keep any edible items within the vicinity. Incase you have a toddler, better to use the spray in the minimum possible areas. I generally spray HIT at night - for 2 reasons. Cockroaches are nocturnal creatures and secondly, I cant stand the sight of any living thing torturously dying. So, I am greeted to the sight of cockroaches lying upside down the next morning (what a wonderful way to start your day). The worst part of the whole mission is to clean up the dead insects.
So, HIT works and works well but my wishlist would still include a repellant that would drive these pests away rather than converting a poor peace-loving woman into a murderess. After all “ghar mera hai”!!!
p.s. When I came here to write down my experience, I realised that Sujata (afrank) has already beautifully explained what these creatures can do to a normal woman :). Read her take on the subject.