Old oak tree with roaches....ewwww

Hi all,

I live in Pasadena and have a huge old oak tree in my front yard. I have lived here just over a year and so going into my second summer. I saw them last year and now here they are again.......roaches. They only come out at night and are all over and around the oak tree.

|'ve never seen one in the house or in the back yard. Just the front yard and centered around the tree. I should also point out there is a corn squirrel feeder on the tree that they really seem to enjoy. I suppose I should toss that (it was here when I moved in) but I don't think that is why they are there. I think they live in the tree.

So.....is there anything I can or should do? I don't want to hurt the tree or any other critters that live in it. But it is just creepy to go out front at night, stepping on the things and hoping they don't drop on you from the tree. And I worry that if I don't do something they may get into the house.

Appreciate any advice.

I suspect they're after your corn, I don't think they eat oak trees, although they might have taken up residence there so that they'd have easy access to your feeder. Feeders have a way of attracting lots of things other than what you were trying to feed! When I bought this house, there had been a rat problem that I inherited from the previous owner, and the first thing the exterminator told me when he came by to take care of things was that I should get rid of the bird feeders on my back balcony since that would attract the rats.

Could be they like the corn feeder. The bird feeders are in the back but I have never seen one in the back yard at all.

Ah well, guess the squirrels will have to live without. At least during the summer. It's interesting I don't remember seeing them at all during the 'cooler' months.

If you want to erradicate the roaches, (after you eliminate the feeder) go to a hardware store (I don't know if HD or Lowes carries it) and get some "RoachPruf" ( sp??? ) or any powdered roach killer that has boric acid as the active ingredient.

Apply it liberally around the base of the tree and any/all openings you can see in the trunk or where the roots show. It does NOT have an odor and is not toxic to humans like spray chemicals and won't harm the tree.

Keep the area dry for a few days and it should work very well.

Insects don't have lungs like we do. They take in air through tiny openings on their bodies called "spiracles". When the roaches crawl in and about the boric acid, it enters their bodies and dessicates them and suffocates them at the same time. It works very quickly to kill them AND any eggs that hatch.

A can of RoachPruf is about 6 bucks (I think...) and much cheaper than having to have an exterminator come out and spray...and it's safer, too.

Thanks Jasper. I will look for that. I had been trying to figure out where/how to apply anything and that makes sense.

Will boric acid do any harm to the squirrels or birds?

My concern with the boric acid is if it will produce boron toxicity in the Oak tree. I've seen plants get boron toxicity from very small amounts (relative to sprinkling pure boric acid around your tree). So I'd be cautious with it, perhaps placing it in little trays with corn at the center of a ring of it so as to cause the roaches to have to step through it to get to the corn.

Hey JD, is RoachPruf ok around animals? When I take my dogs out at night to their "toilet" amongst the fruit trees, there are those little critters crawling all over the ground. I think they like the dropped fruit, which I try to keep picked up, as well as the urine and BM from the dogs, which I also try to keep cleaned up. I would like to be able to sprinkle something on the ground so I don't have to worry about roaches crawling up my leg!

I don't think boric acid is a problem for pets, just for insects. I've used boric acid ant bait because it was supposed to be safer around my dog so I hope I'm right! LariAnn has a good point about putting it around plants though.

Just to be on the safe side I will get some and put it in the crawlspace and up by the house. I haven't seen any of the nasty things inside the house, but now that I've tossed their corn treat (wish I'd thought about keeping it as a bait station for awhile though - great idea LariAnn!).

I am a little concerned about the tree as it is. It has some little holes that are 'leaking' and I read on a website about oak trees that it could be a symptom of something wrong. Overall the tree is growing and reasonably healthy but I wouldn't want to stress it if the boric acid might be toxic for it. I may give the city a call tomorrow to see what they say. They are very particular about the oak trees around here and regularly check the trees and remove dead ones.