Mild Winter + Spring/Summer Drought = Roaches/Waterbugs???

[Labrador]

I've lived in my house for over a decade; seen maybe a dozen waterbugs during that time frame. Over the past week or so, I've been killing that many each night around my front porch.

Trying to figure out the cause and the cure.

1) My neighbor recently kicked out a roommate and has been setting off bug-bombs to rid himself of bedbugs (probably had more pests than that), so maybe the bugs are coming from his place;
2) I've got a small garden in my stoop area that gets watered every other evening, so this could be the draw;
3) or maybe it's weather-related.

Either way, I've cleaned up any yard clippings, leaves, mulch, and other organic material from around the house. I also placed Borax in all areas I've been seeing the waterbugs (i.e. whereever the yard meets concrete, brick, or stone).

Only a few have been seen in the house, so I'm hoping (fingers-crossed) that they haven't invaded my home. I'm also hoping that watering of the garden isn't the draw. I've put a lot of time and effort into my modest garden and would hate to lose my tomatoes and peppers before getting to eat any ... but worst-come-to-worst, I'll sacrafice the garden to rid my property of the waterbugs.

Any thoughts / suggestions??

[Xi Bowhunter]

If they are waterbugs, could there be a small pool of water somehere that you may not know about? Something leaking under your house, an old well near-by, or maybe some other type of damp area?

[Labrador]

OMG!!! Was outside having a smoke last night when the neighbor asked to bum a light. He was sitting on his porch in the dark. When I got over there, his motion-detector porchlight came on. There were roaches/waterbugs everywhere!!! I'm talking piles of them, alive. I couldn't get out of there quick enough. Headed to the farm & garden store to buy diatomaceous earth (aka - DE) to treat my lawn.

He might not think it's a problem, but I won't be infested!

[dxtsniper]

Was getting ready to post that if you have never had many in 10 years I would almost bet they were coming from your neighbors house. I used to have to bomb every month because I had a nasty neighbor who kept roaches by leaving filth around. I talked to their land lord one day while I was working on my yard, and he mentioned they had to bomb and spray every month but the tenent wouldn't clean up. Suddenly the monthly invasion at the doors made sense. Some people are just nasty and have no problem with roaches and other bugs crawling on their counters and dishes that their kids eat off of. I am not one of them!

[chadwimc]

Water bugs make good fish bait. They're going to be drawn to any source of moisture in this heat.
We used to trap them when I was a kid...

[headoftheholler]

Are you talking about the tiny roaches or the huge ones? The tiny ones are German. I think you are talking about the American cockroach, big old nasty looking thing. People called them water bugs or palmetto bugs when I lived in Ga. The big ones wont infest your house like the germans, but they can fly. We had a few belly up a couple times a year when we were living in these historic (old) apartments in Ga. They were coming from the pinestraw mulch outside.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_cockroach

[westkybanded]

No roaches, but I've had wads of little red bugs in the yard for a couple of weeks now.

[Labrador]

Are you talking about the tiny roaches or the huge ones? ... I think you are talking about the American cockroach, big old nasty looking thing. People called them water bugs.

Yep, the huge roaches that people locally call waterbugs but technically are not. I have heard that they're good fish bait; a buddy of mine was telling me that there was a guy in his old neighborhood that would pay him to go catch "waterbugs" when he was a kid to be used as bait.

Well, I've had the diatomaceous earth on the lawn for a couple of days. So far, so good. The number of bugs sighted are down. If things continue to improve, I may apply DE to my neighbor's lawn as well. He, too, has a landlord, but I know the owner of the property: the landlord won't do ANYTHING. His motto is: "as long as the tennant is paying his rent, there's no need for me to come around."

Internet research said 1/2 pound of DE would treat 1000 sq ft of lawn. I found a 20# bag at TS (PM me for more info) and used about half of it just to make an 8' barrier around my house. Applied at least 10X recommendation, but it was inexpensive enough. Used a flour sifter ($8 at WM) to distribute the DE.