Cockroach invasion

They're here. Every summer in Tokyo around June the cockroaches come out like a giant army overtaking the streets. Tonight they arrived. Scurrying down the sidewalks, slinking into the shadows, zipping along at an incredible pace.

I absolutely hate them. Insects should just not be over an inch long. Sure the cicadas are bigger, but they remain hidden in the trees. And I have never had a cicada scurry out from under my futon or crawl across my foot - which traumatizes me all over again just thinking about it.

So this means we have to set up the cockroach defense. The darn things like to make their way into our apartment. Not because it is dirty - the things are just everywhere. It took me a long time to get over the fact that seeing a cockroach on the wall of a restaurant in summer is kinda normal. Although I refuse to go back to any restaurant where I spy them. They are also running along the floors in the supermarkets at this time of year. Anyway, we have our chemical spray which doesn't really kill them right away, but if you are fast and have good enough aim, you can slow them down, and even immobilize them if you are lucky.

Now I strongly believe that squishing cockroaches is bad. Not only because of the aweful crunchy noise and feel that they have, but because I'm convinced every captive cockroach is laden with little baby cockroach eggs. So, after spraying the suckers with super chemical, then we whip out the pink foam spray. This spray forms a little packet that wraps around the thing so you don't have to look at it. Which is good, because they give me the willies. Nor do you have to squish it, because a few minutes later you just pick up the pink foam pouch and throw it away. This stuff would be great for just killing the cockroaches, but the spray is so high powered, it just aids the cockroach in its getaway by pushing it along with a big aerosol powered wind. So it has to be a two step process.

In addition to our chemical extravaganza, I've also told Hiroshi that he has to clean up his pile of books in front of the sliding doors to the balcony. They are like a beachside condo paradise - all they have to do is run into town (aka the kitchen) and mosey on back to their dark, cool hiding place. The fewer hiding places the better!