Sweden edition

Cockroach invasions plague more Swedish homes

Published: 19 May 09 07:49 CET | Double click on a word to get a translation
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/19530/20090519/

Cockroaches are on the march in Sweden, according to reports from exterminators and home insurance companies.

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The Anticimex extermination company reports that the number of Stockholm-area homes needing its services has increased by 45 percent in the last two years, according to the Svenska Dagbladet (SvD) newspaper.

In 2006, Anticimex answered 1,302 calls to clear apartment and homes which had been invaded by cockroaches.

Last year, the company made 1,885 house calls, and so far this year Anticimex has visited 713 homes to help residents get rid of the little, unwanted occupants.

In one recent case, renters in the Stockholm suburb of Husby were too disgusted to eat in their own homes after finding cockroaches in the refrigerator.

According to the Trygg-Hansa insurance company, the picture is the same throughout the country, but the problem has increased most in western Sweden.

And it’s not just cockroaches which are causing problems for Swedish homeowners; bed bugs have proven to be a growing nuisance as well.
Trygg-Hansa’s Håkan Franzén explained that many Swedes unwittingly bring pests home with them upon returning from overseas vacations.

“It’s annoying to discover that you have these creatures in your home and that’s why it often takes a rather long time before people call their insurance companies,” he told SvD.

TT/David Landes (news@thelocal.se)

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14:09 May 19, 2009 by Inletwatcher

Oh please no. No no no. I was so happy when I moved here to learn there were "not any" roaches. In Florida they are called Palmetto bugs. I personally witnessed a cat being carried across the road by two of them.

If they are in your home, they are called Palmettos.

If they are spotted in neighbors house, they are definatly called roaches.

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17:10 May 19, 2009 by mkvgtired

Inletwatcher, I have seen the roaches in the south, i.e. Palmetto bugs, and they are HUGE. These look like more traditional cockroaches. Im with you though, those ones down South are INSANE.

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17:26 May 19, 2009 by BlackfDes

I think this story should have come with a warning about advertisers spruiking their services by claiming that their is a PLAGUE to make it sound like there is a story; note the line "according to reports from exterminators and home insurance companies". This story is clearly self interest by "exterminators and home insurance companies" to sensationalise something that is a non-issue particularly if you keep your kitchen clean and tidy. It is clearly an effort to spruik commercial services that are not normally needed unless you are a disgusting pig and don't cleanup your kitchen!

My advice is to keep your kitchen tidy and don't leave any food out for the little buggers to feed on. Keep foodstuffs in sealed containers. This is the cheap way of pest control.

However, if you want to pay someone a hefty fee to come and spray chemicals in your house then don't do the above.

cheers

The Black One

Your friendly Anti-spruiking campaigner and media watcher!

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20:45 May 19, 2009 by wxman

Content of post removed by moderators.

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02:32 May 20, 2009 by jimmyjames

Many people, especially people who are not or were not native Floridians always confuse Palmetto bugs with the average run of the mill cockroach. While they look similar, except for the big differences in size, Palmetto bugs are not " Big cockroaches ". As regards to their origin I only know that from past experiances roaches do almost always accompany certain particular travel companions. Mere coincidence ?? Who knows.

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03:24 May 20, 2009 by Kaethar

It would be interesting to know who the people are who are reporting cockroaches. Another story done about this states it's mainly immigrants who report such problems (who come from places where cockroaches are a problem, of course). The flat-owners stated it was not their responsibility to pay for the extermination since the people living there "are clearly doing something wrong." It would be interesting to hear more about this.

You already hint about this in your article - "bring pests home with them upon returning from overseas vacations."

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08:38 May 20, 2009 by Inletwatcher

To touch lightly on what keith was saying, when I lived in Alaska I lived in a duplex for a short time. During that time a family from Hawaii moved in next door. With them came roaches. It does not mean your house is dirty, to have roaches. They will gladly live in a small stack of newspapers in the corner, or in your slipper you keep under your bedtable.

I have an itches now.

Inlet

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18:19 May 20, 2009 by BWake

Roaches, like mice and rats, go everywhere that humans go. It was only a matter of time.

Roaches go where the food is. If you don't want to see roaches, make sure not to leave food out. Wipe up all spills immediately, clean up all crumbs. Make sure the wastebasket has a tight lid.

The roaches will look elsewhere.

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20:45 May 20, 2009 by Mzungu

Once the invasion resumes in earnest,there will be no way one can be cockroach free,unless you are extremely lucky along with being meticulous about you habits...

If one vacates the flat or house for extended periods,remember to place all the plugs in hand-basins,kitchen sinks etc,over time the water evaporates from the u-bend,seeing the little critters love sewage and drainage systems it is one of numerous ways they can make an entrance.

*oh! don't forget to blow in the drinking straw before you suck,they love a snug nursery*

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#10

07:21 May 21, 2009 by freethinker

Try lots of foggers. Just bomd the buggers out of existance. Though they'll probably migrate to your neighbors, so keep stocked up on foggers in case they come back. Also don't use the same insectacide. Roaches are extreamly adaptive, and any eggs that hatch will most likely have a resistance to the previous insectacide, so use a different recipe, so to speak. The buggers are even resistant to radiation. If we ever fight WW 3 and nuke ourselves to oblivian all that'll be left will be raoches worshiping their twinki God.

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#11

13:56 June 16, 2009 by JonnyDee

Cockroaches in Sweden? How do they survive? I thought that was a tropical insect?

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#12

15:28 August 21, 2009 by Gosser

Cockroaches are world wide they get in with the imports. Thats why you have to be careful when you bring your groceries home from the supermarket. Sometimes they are so small you can't see them. If you see one then you know there are a million of them. You don't usually find them in homes but mostly in apartment buildings especially around the garbage shutes and containers. If you live over a restaurant or grocery store you have an excellent chance of getting them. Those suckers can live on the smell of an onion for months. You have to seal all cracks, crevises wall sockets and switches with caulking.

Fortunately I don't have any so far.

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#13

15:57 August 21, 2009 by conboy

Good man yourself keep an eye on the situation for us and be sure to let us all know how you get on

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#14

07:07 December 8, 2009 by spotlightaudio

A new cockroach was deported back to Stockholm...look out he crawls in the night near wallets & purses while your asleep!

http://www.topix.com/alerts/forum/se/kristianstad/TN8403UGILQMEIQ39

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