I know this is going to sound overdramatic to some people, but I recently moved into my apartment in Tokyo and there are several dead cockroaches on the balcony, in the drain for the washing machine. All I have to do is get rid of them so I can start on cleaning and bleaching the balcony, but I have a genuine debilitating phobia of bugs, even dead ones. I just spent twenty minutes standing near them with rubber gloves, the bin, and a yard brush, and all I have to show for it is anxiety sweats. I can’t physically make myself go near them and it’s driving me insane. We don’t have cockroaches in the country I come from, so this is a fresh hell I’ve never experienced as someone with this phobia.
Is there anyone I can call to help me deal with this? Would I be laughed off the phone of pest control if I called over bugs that are already dead? Would the landlord be able to help or is this too dumb of a request?
Respectfully, I am in tears, if anyone has any ideas please help, thank you.
15 comments
I wonder, could this be an opportunity to make a step toward confronting your phobia? Maybe stay away from the site for a while, and try to rationalize the fear away. Tell yourself ‘They’re dead. They won’t move. What’s the worst that could happen, and how can I deal with that happening? Eg what if the brush flicks them closer? No problem, I’ll wear boots and long trousers. They won’t touch me. And if they do, so what? It won’t hurt. I won’t get sick.” Plan it out: “I’ll brush them into a paper bag, pick that up with tongs, and into the bin they go. ” Have a cup of tea, take your time, steel yourself, and get those little suckers gone.
There’s long handled devices for catching live bugs without getting near them, but of course it could be useful for dead bugs too : https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/Insects-Catcher-Insecticides-Cockroaches-Spiders/dp/B0B4ZVGGZW/
My wife also hates all insects and would be the same as you, and I am always given the task of catching and disposal, so I understand your situation.
Go to Daiso and buy some long steel tongs. Pick up the bugs and throw them outside.
Or maybe get one of those claw toys.
Or you can get a few kitchen towels and wet them. Throw them over the bugs so you cant see them anymore and then pick them up with some tissues.
If you’ve found the dead ones, just remember there’s probably hundreds if not thousands more all around your balcony. And you leaving their brethren out as a sign of dominance won’t bode well.
Get a broom and vacuum cleaner and clean them up? Sticky tape and rubber gloves and pick them up? Or hairspray and a lighter and cremate them?
Most pest control won’t say a thing so long as they’re paid. My partner called them(without me knowing) in for a single wasp that seemed to enjoy chilling on our balcony. He diligently checked the surroundings for nests, got rid of it, gave some basic advice and that was that.
I put a bag on top of it then scoop everything up with another bag like when you collect dog poop so you don’t have to see it.
Call the police and have them arrest you before you harm yourself irrevocably by cleaning up dead bugs.
Can you tell me what country doesn’t have cockroaches??? I seriously need to move there …
Maybe you can ask a neighbor? Buy a piece of cake or something and offer it the neighbor will give you a hand. I’d be happy to do it even without any reward: I know people cannot help phobias.
You can pay a cleaning company for regular balcony cleaning and they’ll surely take the bugs too.
Or you could vacuum.
Do you have a hoover? Just hoover them up.
Great source of protein.
Just saying’…
Toss some old towels or rags on them and pick up the towels in one swoop with a plastic bag turned inside out.
While you’re at it, get those バルサン bug bombs (ofc check and follow instructions to avoid setting off the smoke detector etc) to get rid of some roaches that might be hidden in your apartment.
Alternatively, call a cleaning service or benri-ya to clean your balcony and apartment.
Vacuum cleaner?
Vacuum them but dispose of them fairly quickly after – they he dead roaches apparently leave a pheromone that attracts more. It’s why the recommendation is not to crush them.