A fascinating look at tackling RRHA’s roach problems from Pest Control Technology:
Wanting to find apartment complexes that were very infested, Miller and her team hit the jackpot with the RRHA.
“We found the largest, most spectacular infestations I have seen in my career. There are sanitation problems, water issues, clutter and the cockroaches have a lot of access to food. The cockroach populations were flourishing and the infestations have been there for a long time,” says Miller. “We found cockroaches everywhere — in the storage units, living in a deck of cards, on walls, in the sink in the cooking oil.”
Currently, one facility at this location is under contract for five years, with Richmond paying $2,478 for quarterly treatments. They are treating 458 units working eight hours a day per week.
“If the math is correct, that means $6 a door, but the RRHA doesn’t figure it out that way, they chose the low bid,” Miller says. “I met the owner of this company and found out they are using only one technician. That means this technician is checking 92 units per day, 12 units every hour and spending 5 minutes per unit — including walking in between units, opening doors, taking breaks, etc. Under this scenario the technician doesn’t have enough time to control the infestation. He can put bait out, step on a few but that’s about all. The technician does not have enough time to put out enough bait at $6 per door.”
13 comments
I guess he is opening doors, stomping on bugs and then closing them. Good old city .
Their treatment of the bed bug problem (treating only one unit at a time instead of a whole building) has caused that to become a pandemic in lower income housing.
Pests…
We are glad they are not in or around our house, never have been. Have seen a waterbug (palmetto) or two for an entire year though but will find them dead not long afterward on their own – not sure why but not complaining!
In the projects unfortunately there are many attractions for cockroaches due to what was mentioned. I have seen it many times before even outside of projects. Dirty dishes left for days, trash piling up, dirty diapers, food in dishes laying around the house, magazines, even paper bags saved are breeding grounds since most people will store them next to their refrigerators where it is warm and of course compost piles.
What we have had in the past are raccoon and rat problems mainly from either ends of the block. Both have subsided this year.
And those damned mosquitos! What can be done about them? This variety that eats me alive are the small tiger kind that live in ground vegetation rather than around standing water, though they spawn in it. And those extremely small almost dust-like ants. They started showing up about 2-years ago where we had the regular sized ones before.
Paula Balducci Iannini liked this on Facebook.
Thomas Marlowe liked this on Facebook.
I’ll avoid placing blame on how the problem got started- if possibly by one certainly not everyone suffering that plague asked for it. Instead I’d like to talk about oversight of this program. This technician is servicing 92 units a day…? Like hell he is.
This is appalling.
Pretty every single apartment complex I have lived in Richmond has had cock roaches. The problem is, not matter how clean you may be, your neighbors may not be as clean. All is takes is one filthy apartment to keep the infestation active.
Fortunately now, I am in a single family home and have not had a problem for 20 years.
I’m with Eric – the mosquitos are out of control! Even with citronella & bug spray, our back yard is unbearable for the nicest parts of the year. Anyone have any tips?
selective pruning to make sure that there are no damp spots in the bushes, and sitting where a fan blows on you will do a lot to diminish mosquitos. Plus, if you are willing to use them, there are hose end sprayers you can treat your lawn and shrubs with and that will kill them for about 2 months.
Bugs inside your home is not pleasant. RRHA has over 100 vacant properties across the City they could sell to raise the funds to fix the buildings they have. Over 100 vacant properties! Do you know how much they spend to cut the grass and keep up with code enforcement for those properties? More than $6 per, I’m certain of that. Properties that have been vacant for years are getting more love than the dwellings used to serve our citizens. I hope someone smarter than me can probe this issue a bit more and help the people who live here.
Like #3 said, not everyone asks for infestation. You can be the most sanitary person on the block but if you live in a shared building or concentrated complex then it only takes one person. Roaches like mice, multiply very quickly. Best to get rid of them as soon as you see the very first one because there really is no such thing as “one” once you see them.
Shannon Rae Carlson liked this on Facebook.
My family owns rental property – mostly fourplexes, some of them attached by a firewall/bulkhead to other buildings, but all very close to their neighbors. Virginia Law is really screwy in that it appears to require the tenants to keep their apartments free of pests, but technically the landlord needs to ensure that they can’t get in. We ultimately said to hell with it and just started paying for the exterminator ourselves. (Nothing worse than showing an empty/clean apartment and seeing roaches).
Roaches seem to be endemic to the city, especially Church Hill. I’m just happy when our tenants tell us they only see one or two a month, even though I know that where there’s one, there are almost always dozens more. Unfortunately, keeping their numbers under control seems far more realistic than actually eradicating them.
@Nearby Neighbor – there’s already so much vacant property, and a history of people collecting multiple vacant homes and doing nothing with them (speculators ALL think they can wait until the neighborhood “arrives” and they end up collectively preventing their own individual goals.) Plus, plenty of property going to tax auction every year (I hear they are trying to ramp up the number of properties at tax auction, the number of auctions, and the speed of the process). It may not be helpful for RRHA to sell. Though they should do a better job of maintaining both their vacant and occupied properties.