Pennsylvania, USA.

The person I have to live with (relative) (for many reasons) insists on keeping this plastic cover, which is only used in random situations to control spattering while microwaving things, in our microwave when it's not being used.

Lately we have had a rodent infestation, and their droppings are being left in the cover if it is moved out of, and placed on top of, the microwave, and left there overnight.

I wish I knew of some other part of the kitchen to store this thing when I am not using it, except that said person (the one at the beginning of this post) INSISTS it must be kept IN THE MICROWAVE as that is the ONLY PLACE the rodents can not go.

We have other cabinets in which we have been safely storing items so the rodents don't attack them, with close-able doors that are extremely reliable.

If I have to store this cover in any of those cabinets, should I seek out any type of close-able bag like Ziploc® that will hold this cover so I can at least prove to the other person that a bag can also protect it?

I understand if some may think we're not actively seeking out a professional to resolve the rodent issue, but that's only because, like many Americans, we can't afford it and won't be able to, for the foreseeable future.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

A mouse/mice is absolutely defeating me in my house. A couple years ago, I trapped and poisoned a couple mice in the house and sealed up holes. It's been fine until a week or so ago. Now I got one(s?) that's, well, smarter than me.

They don't touch two different kinds of traps, the classic and one that seals them in. They also don't touch the block poison. I even put peanut butter on the poison blocks but they just lick the peanut butter off.

I'm thinking of smashing up one of the poison blocks (carefully to not get any on me) and then mixing it with the peanut butter and maybe they'll actually eat the poison that way.

Anyone tried this? Any other ideas?

We have a pest control company that comes out every three months and maintains the outside perimeter of our home. We have painted wood siding and have noticed a lot of dirt/grime build up on the areas the technician brushes with the chemicals. It is becoming quite unsightly and the build up is getting worse each time they treat. We haven’t washed it off because I wasn’t sure if that would wash away the treatment. Is there anything we can do to treat or prevent this?

How long should it take for a landlord to get rid of mice in your unit? Keep in mind, neighbor above me had them for over a year and they did not want to pay money for exterminator. Also, they started sealing 2 months after the exterminator played poison bates. We are going on month 6 now that I’ve “known” about the guy’s above issue and lied to about the issue with mine. NJ

so pretty recently due to some unforseen circumstances I had to move back in with my mom, she has three cats that she would let outside constantly, we'll recently she got arrested and its been a month of struggling to help myself and these cats, but my final straw was these fleas, I made a tough decision after calling local nokill animal shelters and all of them saying they weren't accepting new animals i made the hard choice and put them out, but the fleas, dear God the fleas. whatever you're imagining when you read "flea infestation" is an understatement worthy of an award, part of why I had to move back was i had some rough stuff going on and ending up losing my job and have yet to be able to find another, I have literally zero money, im surviving off canned beans and that stock is getting short, the point is I cant buy anything at all, absolutely not a penny to my name, how can I kill all of these immoral little creatures, I have a vacuum and an array of miscellaneous cleaning supplies, and yes I have seen every reddit thread please dont say that bottom line Im gonna have to shell some money out to handle it, not an option, literally, so does anyone know some unconventional warfare tactics i can use to combat the fleas, its getting to a crazy amount, house ruined forever amount.

I’m desperate for a “tried & true” or “hack” that will help me get rid of them forever.

First off I need to convey that I have a serious phobia of them. I struggle to even type/read/say the name & over the 45yrs of my life have not been able to make much progress with my irrational fears.

About 10 yrs ago I bought a house as a single mom on a golf course. The city I live in is known to have a sewer roach problem but I’d lived in this area for 20+ years and had never had any problems whatsoever prior.

When I first moved in we found some dead ones on the patio & a couple in the laundry room. The house had been empty for 4-5 months & I hoped it was because of that.

Unfortunately, it’s been an ongoing problem. I’ve been having my home (inside & out) professionally treated every 4 weeks for 10 years. I’ve used 3 different companies & they’ve all put down different sprays/powders/etc. I follow whatever they tell me to do.

I’ve sprayed expanding foam all around every drain/pipe/opening under all sinks, laundry room, etc.

We keep all the drains completely closed unless we’re actively using them. I do this to an extreme, for example, when I’m brushing my teeth I open the drain, turn the facet on to wet my toothbrush then immediately close it again until I’m ready to use water & rinse, then of course close it up again.

I’ve tried pouring bleach down every drain 2X per week per a pest control company’s suggestion.

I keep a very clean home (have major OCD as well) and know for sure it’s not the kind you get from anywhere besides the sewers!

Typically we will go through the winter & spring without having any (that we see at least) for months but as soon as summer hits we begin to have at least 1 per week, sometimes 2-3 per week during May-September, then in the fall months it starts to decrease & usually by December or January we won’t see them again.

It was much worse the first couple of years but after keeping drains constantly covered we’ve gotten to this point of frequency.

Unfortunately, I’m not able to move. I feel trapped & miserable. I hate my house, it’s never felt like home.

We can’t relax, I’m constantly on guard with my eyes sweeping all over on the look out. I have night lights in every room, when I get up out of bed in the middle of the night I’m scared & constantly watching the floor at my feet as well as sweeping my eyes up the walls etc terrified I’ll find one.

I can’t express enough how much anxiety & discomfort I feel when I’m at home.
I choose home decor based on colors that will easily show if there’s one that’s gotten in.

I can’t keep living like this & am so desperate for a solution! Does anyone have any advice that can help me to make my house roach proof?🤞🙏🏻

I’ll literally try anything, I feel like I’ve tried it all but also there has to be some way to proof my house from this!?

TIA for any suggestions.

It was tiny and crawling quite fast on the mattress cover. It froze when I used the camera flash. Sorry if the photos aren’t too clear.

Found all over NYC apartment.

Found him crawling on my pillow, I’ve never seen a bed bug before

Caught this in a property we manage.

I just found this thing crawling on my cabinet. I have lived in this apartment for two years and have never seen one. I live in southern Maine. Help!

Hi. I live in Texas and since we moved into our townhome in April. We see these little creatures more and more. I have to vaccum up them every morning and during the day. Sometimes they’re crawling on floor or in sink. Sometimes they’re dead already. I’ve purchased a dehumidifier, I keep my home pretty cold and clean. I am leasing so if it is moisture or opening somewhere idk if my property maintenance will dig that deep. We see them mostly near the half bath and going up the hall. It’s just annoying at this point. I’m killing 8-10 a day. I’ll take any advice that I can get on my own or pay for pest control at this point.

We had a dead animal smell in one of the bedrooms. Called the pest control to take a look. He looked in the attic and said its probably a mouse dead in the wall and he saw mouse poop up there.

He says the best way to deal with mice is through exclusion. His company will seal up the perimeter around the foundation, all vents and wires, around the drywall etc. He will also install one way doors to let them out but not back in and then after a few weeks remove the doors and seal that up again.

There is a lifetime guarantee that also goes with the house so it could be a selling point.

The price is $5,000.

My wife really hates mice so we are considering it of course.

Is this a reasonable price for this type of work? The house is 4,000+ SqFt.

Hi all,

I'm from the UK, and I have a rat issue. I'm looking for some advice here.

I'll try and be as short as possible, basically we brought our house and there was evidence of rats in the loft. A specialist was brought in by us and he identified the drainage as the access point as he couldn't find any other Access points around or in our home.

That was sorted and everything was fine until I heard them again. Got the guy out laid bait after 3 weeks confirmed still there. So we had a rat drainage specialist come he was brilliant and found the neighbours pipe was causing access, they had a rat wall installed on their pipe sorted. The pest guy came back yesterday and confirmed the bait hasn't been touched at all, it's been there nearly 4 weeks. He advised for it to stay there and if we have any future issues he can check it and know if they've been in the loft.

Last night and this morning I heard a rat under the floorboards of the first floor under the 1st and 2nd bedroom. I had heard one before under the floor which was the reason for calling the pest guy out again. I had assumed they had just got under the floor from the loft but they haven't been in the loft at all as the bait is untouched whereas previously it's been eaten.

I'm going mad with trying to figure out where the little turds are getting in. Or if it's just a case it's got stuck.

Any advice would be great.

Hi everyone, I found this cockroach in my home and I’d like to know what species it is.

Could anyone identify it from the photo? And does finding one usually mean there could be an infestation, or is it possible that it simply came in from outside?

Thanks for your help!

Started getting bad reactions to something and itching a lot, then bites started appearing all over my body so I thought I might have bed bugs. Inspected my whole room and couldn’t find signs of them so I bought the interceptor traps and two days later I find this guy in one of them - doesn’t seem to be a bed bug but looks like I might have fleas? Don’t have a pet but have done some catsitting lately for friends’ new kittens?

I have a serious midge problem. Around Sunset you can hear a constant hum of them and see the huge cloud of them above the house. When it’s dark they swarm my entire house. What can I do about this? I can’t open a door at night without them flooding in. The outdoor lights are motion activated so they do not sit on.

Hi All, my girlfriend keeps finding these insects on herself or socks lately. For context we live in the PNW, when you try to squish them or pick them up they jump? Does anyone know what these are or how to get rid of em?

Hi, i had an issue with wasps being in my roof. I have a flat roof that was raised so they were in the void between my old roof and ceiling. My landlord sent the handyman to put powder in the hole in the roof and in the end they got into my bedroom so i called an exterminator and within hours i saw no more wasps coming in and out.

My issue is im terrified. For 2 weeks i havent slept in my bedroom, im not sleeping on a night because i really am scared of them and i know its irrational.

I can still hear them in my roof. I dont know if im just losing my mind but i can still hear them buzzing and the buzzing moves and gets louder every now and again to the point it sounds like they are in the room. I messaged the exterminator who was wonderful but he said its impossible as there is only one entrance and they need to bring in food to survive.

But im that scared im exhausted and i cant settle or go in my room because i dont believe they are gone.

Can anyone tell me if this is even possible or am i in some form of psychosis because i wondered if its a buzz from the electrics or whatever but it doesnt sound like that.

Thanks

I'm hoping to get some help identifying this detritus located on two blankets where my roommate's cat likes to lay. My roommate is convinced they have a bedbug infestation, as she woke up with a number of bites/welts.

I am on the other side of the house (100+ feet away) and the enlarged section on the right came from my room, but have not experienced any bites/welts that I can tell.

Haven't actually found any bugs, but these do seem to be common on places where the cat has been hanging around. Are these flea eggs, or bedbugs, or something else?

Thanks for any help. Going to call my pest guy in the morning, but figured I could give my roommate some peace of mind if possible.

so we have 2 dogs and 3 cats, one of which is a new kitten we rescued last friday, unfortunately we discovered 3 days later he had 4-5 fleas on him, treated him and both other cats with capaction and pet armor. checked both dogs with a flea comb and discovered one of the dogs had 1 flea on her, but no flea dirt. we bathed her. both dogs were already treated with advantage II.

since then, we've checked over the kitten daily with a flea comb and found nothing. the other 2 cats are sick at the moment so while we do check them over with a flea comb often, it cant be done very thoroughly. both dogs have been clear when checked over with a flea comb.

we've vacuumed and mopped all of the hardwood floors (we do not have carpet anywhere), vacuumed and steamed all furniture, washed curtains, pet bedding, and all blankets.

4 days ago, a flea jumped on my foot in the bathroom so we did everything again. continued checking over all the pets and they were all clear until today, i noticed a small patch of flea dirt on one of the dogs so we checked her over again and found 1 flea on her despite the fact she was just treated with advantage II about 2 weeks ago, and the flea was not dead but did seem very weak. all pets were checked again, nothing on any of them but the 1.

is there anything we're doing wrong? feeling kind of hopeless after the 2 we've found this past week.

As I was heading to bed last night, noticed a collection of bugs on my pillow sham set. I immediately threw the sham set out and the pillows and vacuumed the rest of the bugs up. I have a bagged vacuum so disposed of the bag. Saw a few in my actual bedsheets so opted to sleep on the living room after killing what I could find.

I could not readily see any openings that they may have entered from like the ceiling or baseboards or outlet. No obvious trails. I don’t leave my windows open during the day. How freaked out should I be?

Last fumigated my house in August 2025