If you’ve lived in New York and have switched apartments from time to time, then there’s a good chance you’ve come across cockroaches in at least one building. At least, that’s according to NYC.gov’s statistics which state some 30% of NYC residents have purportedly encountered roaches in their homes.
If you’ve ever had the misfortune of encountering these stubborn pests, then you know how difficult they are to get rid of. Luckily, there are some tips and tricks folks can follow if they notice no matter how much they clean or exterminate their area, there always seems to be an errant bug or two scurrying around their place.
TikToker @hellloo111 shared one of her roach-curbing hacks in a viral video that’s accrued over 9 million views as of Saturday. In it, she doesn’t explicitly state what the “hack” she’s performing is for, but many folks in the comments section immediately picked up what she was putting down.
@hellloo111 iykyk #nyc #apartmenthacks #roachgirl #coverup #brooklyn #pov ♬ original sound – franceshaha
The TikToker writes in a text overlay of their video, “Pov: you live in NYC and you leave for the weekend” as they walk through their apartment and show that they’ve turned vases and glass bowls upside down over their sink drains.
No, this isn’t some kind of occult practice meant to summon or trap a drainage spirit while tenants are away—it’s to prevent cockroaches and other pests from entering their apartment. The TikToker explained this to a commenter who also suggested they keep their toilet lid closed as well, just in case there were any rats looking to make their way into her residence.
“Oh no no no this was for cockroaches but the more you know !” the creator responded.
Another user shared other ways of ensuring no creepy crawlies invade their personal space—by simply pouring Clorox down their drains.
You may be asking yourself, what is it around sink drains that cockroaches find so appealing? Why do they hang around them? Wouldn’t the constant water pressure push them further down the drain, drown them, or was them away?
Hunker explains the roach and drain connection more thoroughly, writing, “Cockroaches can survive for long periods with little to no food, as long as they have moisture. Sink drains provide them with drinking water, both in and around the drain. Leaking or dripping faucets increase the amount of moisture available to the roaches, encouraging them to live in and around the drain. Any drain that traps water inside it could be a home for cockroaches.”
The outlet explains that errant scraps of food cockroaches feed on when often get pushed down drains as well.
“Drains also feed cockroaches, which are capable of living on a wide range of organic material. Kitchen drains often trap scraps or traces of food debris from dishwashing, while bathroom drains can catch skin cells, hair and grow fungus or mold,” the article states. “Cockroaches often live in sink overflow cavities connected to the drain, as these provide easy access to food and water inside the drain but don’t flood regularly.”
So, presumably, when tenants are leaving their apartments for the weekend, there’s less water and less food getting poured down the drains, which may prompt these bugs to leave their mini little wet tunnels in order to explore beyond the pipe, and into their apartment, in search of food and water.
Some commenters thanked the TikToker for her suggestion, like one West Coast transplant who now has an additional bit of knowledge to help prevent cockroaches from entering her apartment.
“I just moved here from LA,” they wrote. “Thank you for your service.”
Others were too grossed out to even think about the implications of her upturned glass trick, with a user sharing, “I have so many questions that I don’t wanna know the answers.”
But there were other New York natives who didn’t really know what @helll00111 was talking about when she posted her video, as they’ve never experienced drain roaches before in their lives.
“I left for the weekend and never had to do this,” one of them said. “I live in Brooklyn.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to @hellloo111 via TikTok comment.
