Living in France is not only about beautiful streets, family walks, photos, and new projects. Sometimes real life comes from a much less pleasant side โ for example, when you discover cockroaches in your apartment.
We live in France, and we have learned that cockroaches can be a common problem here, especially in apartment buildings, older buildings, places with shared basements, garbage rooms, pipes, ventilation, and many neighbors around.
Even if you try to keep your home clean, the problem may not always start only inside your own apartment. Sometimes insects can come from shared areas, from nearby apartments, or through technical spaces in the building.
So we decided not to wait. We bought several different products and started our first attempt to deal with the problem.
What We Bought
This time, we bought different types of products against cockroaches and other insects.
We bought cockroach gels, sticky traps, insect spray, an electric fly swatter, a UV insect lamp, and other bait products.
For now, we have the most hope for the gels and traps. The gel can be placed carefully in areas where cockroaches may appear, and the traps can help us understand where they are coming from and where the problem is strongest.
The spray looks like a quick solution, but we think it probably helps mostly when you see an insect directly in front of you.
Why We Decided to Act Quickly
When cockroaches appear at home, it changes the feeling of the apartment. You start checking the kitchen, the corners, the cabinets, the trash bin, the places near water, food, and appliances.
For a large family, this is especially important. Home should be a calm and safe place for children, a place where we can cook, eat, play, study, and rest.
That is why we decided to take this problem seriously from the beginning.
Our First Plan
Our first step is cleaning and checking the apartment carefully.
We want to remove anything that can attract cockroaches: crumbs, food leftovers, open packages, wet places, and trash.
Then we will check the kitchen, the cabinets, the corners, the area under the sink, the places near pipes, and the spaces around appliances.
After that, we will place traps in different areas to understand where cockroaches appear most often. We will use the gel very carefully, especially because we have children at home. All products must be kept away from children and used only according to the instructions on the packaging.
It Is Not Shameful โ It Is a Home Problem
Before, I used to think that if someone had cockroaches, it automatically meant that the home was dirty.
Now I understand that the situation can be more complicated.
In France, many people live in apartments with neighbors above, below, and next door. There are shared walls, shared pipes, shared basements, and common garbage areas. Sometimes the problem does not come only from your own home.
So the most important thing is not to panic and not to feel ashamed. The important thing is to stay calm, clean carefully, observe the situation, and look for a real solution.
What We Want to Find Out
We do not know yet which product will work best.
Maybe the gel will give the best result. Maybe the traps will show us where the cockroaches are coming from. Maybe the spray will only help in emergency situations. Or maybe we will understand that, if the problem is bigger, professional treatment may be necessary.
This article is the beginning of our small home experiment. We will observe what happens, write down the results, and later share what worked, what did not work, and what mistakes we made at the beginning.
โAn ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.โ
โ Benjamin Franklin
What do you think?
Have you ever had cockroaches in your apartment or house?
What really helped you: gel, sticky traps, spray, professional treatment, cleaning, sealing holes, or something else?
We would be very grateful for your advice, because we are only at the beginning of this fight and we want to understand what really works and what is just a waste of time and money.
