Do you have cockroaches in your Laundromat? They are usually brought in by your customers in their laundry
and the cockroaches love the water, lint, string, soap and debris that reside behind your bulkheads. They stay
and raise their very large families unless you make them unwelcome.

First every Laundromat owner should make an effort to clean behind their machines at least once a year using
a wet-dry vacuum cleaner. Less food, fewer offspring is the theory at work here.

Your second line of defense should be powdered boric acid available in most hardware stores. It can be liberally
sprinkled behind all the washers, dryers and in all the backrooms. Boric acid is a common component of
commercial cockroach powders. It can often be purchased in bulk at a discount price.

A third line of defense might be to try an ultrasonic sound generator to drive and keep away these creatures. The developers of these units claim laboratory research has shown ultrasonic sound waves attack the auditory and nervous systems of most common pests encouraging them to give up their source of food, water and shelter and move on. Critics provide mixed reviews. The high-intensity sound waves are out of the hearing range or human beings and comments received from Laundromat owners suggest they might be effective in combating cockroach problems. The ultrasonic devices can be purchased for as little as $10.00 per unit and are therefore cheap enough to give them try. One unit behind each bulkhead and in each backroom is what is needed. Cost is about 25¢ per month to operate each unit.

Your fourth line of defense is monthly bug bombs. You need to do it monthly to kill all the roaches
that are in the egg stage of their life. At closing time remove the bulkheads and use your choice of
roach mist "bug bombs." Most people set off three to six in their Laundromats. Read all directions
on the selected product carefully, including avoiding open flames.