### ?…ask the Bugman

Green Pest Management | ID your Bugs | Animal Issues | Natural Living
All Creatures Great and Small

# Roaches in a uranium mine

Posted by askthebugman ⋅ October 14, 2019 ⋅ Leave a comment

About 35 years ago, I was working for Orkin in Albuquerque. We got a call about a cockroach infestation in a uranium mine in Grants. I had never heard of cockroaches infesting a uranium mine so I volunteered to check it out. When I got there, they dressed me in some funny clothes and took me down the mine in a wooden box they called an elevator. It was run by pulling on a rope. We went down a very long way, got off in a dark tunnel and could only see because of the helmets we wore with flashlights attached. The took me to a break room. Imagine a break room in a uranium mine! They had some folding tables and chairs covered in plastic, I guess to help keep them clean. I looked under the plastic and they were indeed infested with German roaches. Apparently, somebody brought them from home in their lunchbox and they liked the break room (stupid roaches). I told them I would send someone out there to take care of it. Then we went back up the “elevator”. I asked the fellow if I could smoke a cigarette. He said that was bad for my health. I said hanging out in a uranium mine is good for your health!. He thought for a minute and told me to light up and then he bummed a cigarette. In 45 years that is the only call I got for roaches infesting a uranium mine. Not a common problem.

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## About askthebugman

I have been in the pest management industry for over 40 years. In that time I have used almost every pesticide available to control so-called “pests”. With this experience, I have learned over the years that the pesticides we use are far more dangerous than the pests we are trying to control. As a result, it has become a passion for me to improve the quality of life for humans and the planet, by assisting people to not only become more educated and aware of their environment – but also by learning to manage their home and business with a sustainable and healthier approach to tending to unwanted infestations of bugs. Please enjoy my blog posts, check out my publications, utilize my services, or simply stay in touch if you have a bug question…
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