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When I booked my first solo trip, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Possibly finding a cockroach in the apartment wasn’t a thought, since I was more worried about things like driving a rental car on the mountainous island of St. John.
Once my solo trip was underway, I quickly realized there were some things my husband usually takes care of that I was going to have to handle myself. Two such things were driving and killing bugs. I should have known it would be the latter that gave me the most grief.
The incident in question relates to a run-in I had with a huge cockroach in the small apartment I rented. I have dramatized the incident for fun, but at the time, I was distraught and didn’t know what I was going to do.
The Disturbing Time I Found a Cockroach in My Apartment
Writing this story brought to mind the riveting tales my dad enjoys telling of his encounters with woodchucks and other vermin in his yard. I guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
I also want to preface this story with the fact that I’d already run into a few issues with this vacation rental. Here is a summary:
- Before arrival, I made an inquiry to the owner about where I’d find the key to the property. She sent me a snooty response to read her instructions for the unit in full before asking further questions. I’d already read them all, and there was no mention of the key.
- When I arrived at the unit, the trash can in the kitchen was full. Right away, I wrote to the property manager, who told me someone would remove the trash in the morning. A day later, I was piling my garbage on the counter because no one had arrived yet. I ended up taking it out myself.
- On night two of my stay, a noisy family arrived upstairs. I heard loud voices and banging sounds for two nights; my husband could even hear them over Facetime. I contacted the owner, who insisted that no one ever had an issue with noise before. However, she said she’d speak to the family, and there was noticeable improvement after that.
I was willing to look past all this until I got to the ‘roach situation.
Finding a Cockroach in the Apartment: What’s a Girl to Do?
It was a day that started like any other. I woke up to soft light coming through the window beside the bed, and I sat up to view the boats anchored in Coral Harbor. My morning started slowly as I was deciding what I would do with the day ahead of me.
Coffee on the porch was sounding good, so I grabbed the pot to give it a quick rinse and turned on the water. That’s when I saw it. A massive insect about two inches long scurrying in a panic all over the sink.
I let out some small screams and half hoped the family staying in the unit above would hear me. Unfortunately, they didn’t, and I backed away from the sink as my heart beat in my chest.
I didn’t know what in the hell this bug was, but it had settled onto the side of the sink. It sat there, unmoving, taunting me as I called my husband.
Of course, he couldn’t do anything from Ohio, but wished he could. I didn’t even allow him to talk me through killing the bug, since I was adamantly against going anywhere near it.
We wondered together if I could call the property manager, but I’d had such bad luck getting assistance from them so far. I was sure they would chalk the bug up to a “normal island occurrence”. I couldn’t bear the thought of them leaving me to deal with it myself.
Since touching or approaching this bug was a no-go for me, I initially decided to leave it in the sink. Maybe it would scurry back to its hole, and I could just pretend this whole thing never happened.
Deep down, I knew that wasn’t possible, and that I’d likely be up all night in a disturbed state. Could I really let this bug win? I surprised myself with what I did next, and I’m telling it the way I recounted it to my husband over text.
Full on Assault
I went on full assault. Mano a mano. Me vs. it.
I put all my stuff in the Jeep. Made it think I’d left for the day. Except I didn’t. That whole time I was scared and it thought it had me. But I’d been eyeing the bug spray in the basket across the room.
So, I returned and sprayed. Cautiously at first. I could see it was working so I kept at it. Saw the soap just across the sink and went on full soap attack.
It was trapped. Couldn’t move in the thick slippery soap. That’s when I turned on the faucet.
Didn’t turn it off until all signs of movement ceased.
When I felt I was in the clear, I grabbed a spoon from the container next to the sink to flip the drain over. Needed the assistance of the spatula.
Got it, but the best I could do was trap it under the drain. This bitch ain’t touchin’ no roach. No thank you sir.
Resolution
During the action, I hadn’t known what kind of bug it was. Later, when I was at Trunk Bay decompressing, I finally had the stomach to Google what cockroaches looked like. The pictures that came up looked identical to the bug that was in the sink. I should know, as I was right upon it smothering it with soap.
That night, with the assistance of my husband, I booked a new place to spend my last night. With the frustrations I’d already had with this apartment, the cockroach was the last straw. Plus, spending the night on the other side of the island meant I’d be close to a gas station for my rental car, as well as the ferry to get to the airport.
Management’s Response to the Cockroach in the Apartment
Once I’d left the unit, I informed the property owner of my departure. Her response was not surprising, since she seemed to invalidate any issue I’d brought to her thus far. Here is her response regarding the bug:
“As I explained in my communications with you before you arrived on island, we do have occasional insects that come inside the house despite our efforts to keep them out and to do pest control. What you found in the bathroom is called a mahogany bug and they are very common Caribbean insects. I’m sorry that you felt you had to leave the cottage because of it. I would’ve liked to have known that you had this issue that you needed help with so that I could have asked our pest control man to come and deal with it for you. He lives nearby and would have come over as soon as possible.”
Here are my thoughts on that response:
- I knew she would say it’s a typical Caribbean bug and invalidate my complaint
- I Googled mahogany bug. Nothing came up for that term, and rather Google presented me with pictures of cockroaches.
- Under different circumstances, I would have contacted them for help. However, I’d already had a few instances where they hadn’t helped me. By that point, I was at my wit’s end and wanted to peace out.
What I Would Advise to Others
Should this happen to you, I recommend writing to management immediately, as they really should handle this problem. However, if you’ve been having other issues like I did, don’t feel like you have to stay somewhere with owners that won’t hear you. I had a previous instance a few years back where I waited something out, but later regretted not simply leaving.
Even if you do contact management, you might not want to sit in your vacation rental keeping track of a cockroach until the arrival of pest control. I mean, this is your vacation, and you should be able to spend your morning at the beach as planned. You should feel like you can handle this bug yourself, especially if you are a solo female traveler like I was during this trip.
If I can handle this, so can you. If you can’t stomach getting close to the ‘roach, I highly recommend using something you can spray from a couple feet away like I did. This will give you the confidence to move closer and make a move for something like soap.
• • •
I will certainly never take for granted my husband handling bugs for me ever again. Especially the ones he graciously never tells me about.
