High rise bugs/weird?

[califmom]

This is a very strange question, please bear with me. I did some internet search on mosquitoes in S'pore and found a govt.website that said there are fewer in high-rise apartments.
But that made me think of NY city high rises and the ever-present cockroaches.
Can someone tell me how much of an issue these two bugs are in S'pore?
I am not worried about bugs per se, but my daughter is sensitive to biting bugs (gets hives) and I really really hate roaches. Would one kind of housing be better than another ? Am I over-anticipating bug problems ?
Thanks in advance
K

[nanny]

We had roaches shortly after we moved in. (The unit was vacant for a long time so I believe there were no bugs etc living in.) Our maid was leaving food leftovers, rubbish, dirty dishes etc around. One day I have seen lots of roach droppings inside my kitchenware in the cabinets. Then I have done a big cleaning, used five bottles of sprays, left the kitchen closed a day, then cleaned everywhere again. It's been 6 months and since then, no single ant, roach whatsoever. By the way, we have changed the maid, and the new one cleans the kitchen properly. We also put a bug stopper thingie (it is also called door sweep I think) under the door to block all gaps on the balcony and apartment door.

We are living on the third floor and the condo does smoke type of pest control everyweek. Right after that smoke, I see many roaches climbing to upper floors from outside doors. I have seen them quite succesifully climbing up to 9th floor. I couldn't spot them after then. Make sure you close all the windows and doors during and after that smoke and use surface sprays (which claims to effect upto 6 weeks) regularly outside of your windows, balcony or all entrance/exits of your house. We are happily bug free now. Good luck with your bug hunting.

[golf addict]

I live on the 31st floor of a condo.  I only saw one cockroach at my block -- on the first floor.  I haven't seen any ants, rats,  or cockroaches near my floor.  Surprisingly, I leave several windows open during the night and have not had anything fly in and stay.  I haven't even seen a bird.   Are there birds here?  Does the lack of birds tell us that bug population is low in the ecosystem?

My apartment overlooks another high rise condo development.   Maybe its the construction type in Singapore that keeps the pests out because they  use concrete (no wood) for their "framing".   All they do is lift a concrete wall with their crane and drop it in place.   THe workers then weld it in place.

What I find strange also about high rises here is the virtual lack of fire safety.  Maybe the concrete would suppress the spread of fire.  But I don't see fire water system which would be required in the States.  More disturbing, when I walk the stairs for exercise, I have to pass several floors where the cleaners/painters leave their stuff to block the stairway path.  

[brussels]

Don't worry too much about the bugs...compared to other cities, there seem to be very few here.
I think there are fewer mosquitos in apt. buildings (we have lived in both apt. and house). We currently live in a house, and even with monthly fogging, we still have mosquitos. In a condo, we never had bugs, most are sprayed on a monthly basis. I have a child that is sensitive to bug bites also (and allergic to bees). Bring Benadryl and your favorite brand of mosquito repellent. It's very expensive here, and all of them contain Deet (what's the new recommendation about using Deet on kids?). Also, if your kids require and Epi-pen for allergic reactions, make sure you bring them from the US. They are not available here.

[rats]

If you sit out along the back street of Holland Village eating dinner, you'll see some whopping rats scurrying across the road and down the gutter.

[cindy1234]

I chose upper floors of a condo because I was worried about bugs in a house. But after I came here and made some friends, I don't think mosquitos concern them much here, even in a house. I think having a maid who deligently cleans every single day helps, also the regular spraying. (unavoidable in Singapore, just hope we don't breathe in much of that stuff :-( )  We don't have bugs in the house, but funny enough, we used to have two wasps tyring to build a home outside until we got rid of them.

[pesthater]

yeah, same sendiments about insects and roaches , mosquitoes, and LIZARDS.

When we moved to singapore 5 yrs ago, our main concern was to get rid of this friends of the neighbourhood.

First, we fumigated the apartment with gas & some chemicals.  

Install "guard" - plastic or with bristle at the bottom of doors that lead to outside (e.g. main door).

Place ant baits in the kitchen floor,
spray lizard repellent on the front door.

Result:
1. after the clean up
2. we stayed in the condo for 4 yrs (top floor - 4th floor)
3. No ants, bugs, roaches (except for one during the first month)
4. No lizards in the house, just the one faithful lizard at the front door. We just have to make sure it does not get in.
5. NO mosquitoes.

Subsequently, we rented out the appartment as a service appartment to an asian expat that does alot of cooking.  Found no mosquitoes or ants although there are always alot of food lying around (snack).

Last our last tenant was a Jap and he leaves leftover food or fruits in the bin and i noticed couple of ants crawling.  Place ant bait and in two weeks there were no sign of any pest when we clean the premises.

Yes alot of pest in singapore houses, but it can be contained. it takes alot of effort to ensure the house is clean and free of food for at least 6 months and after that somehow the pest go somewhere else..

just my experience.

[Roachito]

We live on the 16th floor on the East Coast and I've only seen one roach up here and that was one which flew in from the outside (I didn't know roaches flew, but it definitely looked like one!).  We get the occasional mozzie, but from talking to people who live more inland, we've got it easy as far as the mozzies are concerned.  People I know who live in houses in the Holland Village area have told me they have bad mozzie problems (something to think about when coming here).

You can buy Pandan leaves and rub them around doorways/rubbish chutes etc.  Roaches hate the smell and will avoid the area.  As for mozzies, the more lizards the better as far as they're concerned!  Unfortunately we don't get many lizards either as I don't think they like noisy places and lots of people about.  We occasionally see one, but they usually scarper when they see us.