in the middle...obligations to hosts or guests?

[mreeed]

I killed a cockroach in my sister's low income apartment this week (apparently the first sighting in a month) and one in her hallway a couple weeks ago. How concerned should I be that if I drive her to our parents' place for a long-in-coming family gathering that she might bring critters along? At what point is there a concern or an obligation or 'right thing to do' to let people know when we go visiting? She is embarrassed and doesn't want people to know. A couple years ago we attended a larger gathering at our parents' while she had bed bugs (we took precautions) and it came out a couple days later that she had them and our mum was very upset and felt she had to email all the guests about the concern.

I'm generally my sister's only ride anywhere, and only close contact in the family, so this puts me in the middle. Anybody have any experience to relate that can help me better gauge the risk? I know they hitchhike, but under what conditions? I don't think we need to bring anything besides what we can carry in pockets. I told my mum a couple months ago when my sister moved and my dad saw a dead possible roach in the hall outside her suite that I couldn't guarantee she didn't have them, and she didn't press the issue or talk to me about it since. Is that enough for me to say?

(I've had recently had issues myself with roaches even in a good building which I've told my parents and siblings about, which are now resolved per the exterminator. And four family members had mild covid last week, so the gathering has already been postponed a week.)

What about for other visiting? At our church we've recently started take turns going and contributing to lunch at others' places (neither of us host). These events are outsized important to my sister who is healing from foot surgeries and aside from moving, has seen noone she knows but me and her best friend for 7 months. We've done some baiting ourselves but she refuses to tell her landlord about the problem (but that is another story).

 

[Pavel Mosko]

I think it is really hard to pass these things along. They are much different than lice and fleas. Unless she is importing crates of material into your warehouse or supply ship etc. I think your safe.


These things generally are passed from one neighborhood house to another one, coming in under the gap of a door and staying and nesting if you got food crumbs lying around.

By the way this is a good incentive to make sure your doors at home are left closed! Mice and rats also usually get in like this or schootching under a door, besides sometimes burrowing their way in.

 

[JAM2b]

It doesn't sound as if it is a big problem. If they were visibly crawling on her clothing or in and out of her purse, I might say something about double checking and being careful about not bringing any along with you. But short of that, I'd just go on as if nothing were wrong. I don't think there is any need to tell people about it. It will only embarrass her and make others judge and worry.

 

[RDKirk]

As Pavel said, roaches don't inhabit humans the way lice and fleas do, nor do they inhabit clothing the way bed bugs might. Someone would have to be exceedingly unkempt for that to happen...you'd see a lot more than a couple of roaches over the course of a couple of weeks.

I've lived in places were there was no house of any economic level free of roaches...where if you walked out at night and shined a flashlight on the lawn, you saw roaches scurrying through the grass...where if you left laundry in the hamper overnight, it would be full of roaches the next morning.

And even then, roaches didn't take rides on people, unless they were the type to pull clothes out of the hamper and put them on without even a shake-out. I'm going to presume your sister isn't like that.

I would, however, be very sure that her suitcase is clean. Have her pack only freshly cleaned clothes.

 

[mreeed]

Thank you all, that's reassuring to hear. I've wondered if it was possible that I might have gotten them from her when I had them, despite my vigilance. Her place is quite small, feels like I'm always brushing something, especially in winter with heavier clothes, and we still have coldish temps. Yet her best friend makes himself right at home with his backpack, jacket etc and seems to have had no issues. I don't know what to think. Do you think it's more likely then from thrifting or shopping? Also I think I've had other bugs come through my air conditioner in warmer months when not covered. I'm on first floor, but not ground level.

 

[RDKirk]

That's reassuring to hear. I've wondered if it was possible that I might have gotten them from her when I had them, despite my vigilance. Her place is quite small, feels like I'm always brushing something, especially in winter with heavier clothes, and we still have coldish temps. Yet her best friend makes himself right at home with his backpack, jacket etc and seems to have had no issues. I don't know what to think. Do you think it's more likely then from thrifting or shopping? Also I think I've had other bugs come through my air conditioner in warmer months when not covered. I'm on first floor, but not ground level.

If you're in an apartment building, then it's more likely from another apartment. People can be pretty gross living habits, and if you're unfortunate enough to have such neighbors, you can't prevent a problem with their roaches...and you wouldn't know why unless you paid them a visit. The only way to effectively fumigate an apartment building is to fumigate the entire building at once.

 

[mreeed]

My old caretaker when I moved in who had been here 20 years used to brag that this building had never had bed bugs (and I'd thought maybe not other extermination issues either but perhaps I was assuming) But I've lived here 12 years now, things can always change. I've noticed in recent months several suites with towels under the door, not near me, but maybe that's a sign?