So far so good...

The exterminator came today. I think he was able to wratchet up Mark's level of disgust, which until now, had been much less than I'd expected.

The exterminator, David, determined that they were German Roaches. The kind you don't want. I suppose that assumes that there is a kind of roach that you don't mind having...but whatever. He said that is was a good sign that we haven't seen any more living roaches since Tuesday night. Although he didn't feel a treatment was warranted today (for a variety of reasons, which if anyone cares to know, I'll be happy to share), he told me to call immediately if we see any more.

He confirmed that the tripod should be wrapped in a garbage bag and thrown away. This was never in question for me, but Mark had been insisting that we treat it and keep it. In fact, he thought I was being a bit extreme in my determination to get rid of it. After David opened up one of the latches of the tripod and showed Mark that there were, in fact, still roaches living in the tripod, Mark changed his tune.

The Tumi rollerboard bag is another issue. David suggested that we take it to a dry cleaners, spray it town with whatever roach killer we could find, or throw it away. Whatever we do, he said that there were so many nooks and crannies in which to hide in a bag like that, that it'd be almost impossible to know if we'd killed them all. He said that if it were him, he'd throw it away.

I am letting Mark wrestle with the $300 price tag of an old (likely roach infested) bag versus the $160 initial treatment plus $80/month maintenance fee for the treatment and prevention of future baby roaches being brought to life within the confines of our walls.

Personally, I'm with David. Right now, the suitcase in wrapped in a garbage bag and sitting in our driveway.