Cockroaches are just a fact of life in Florida. Only we call them Palmetto Bugs . It turns out that our three-inch variety are the true American Cockroaches, and the little ones you get up north are an import, German cockroaches.

Much as I hate to use poisons, the best solution I know of is the solid bait. It's a pasty kind of stuff that gets applied with a glue gun. You put it behind all the switch plates and electrical outlets, in out-of-the-way corners of all the cabinets, in the attic, under appliances, inside the vents for bathrooms and range hoods, all of those places that roaches come in (and pets and children can't get to).

Some exterminators use solid bait, some don't, so call around. Just recently I've seen this type of bait in home improvement stores, too. The advantage of an exterminator is that they offer a guarantee, and they'll come back for free if you have any more bugs within a year.

My dishwasher door is different from tc1's (Phillips head fasteners, and the gasket is on a different surface. Usually when a manufacturer uses Torx fasteners it's an indication they DON'T want untrained consumers taking them apart.) So yours might be different yet - but I'm not sure how much would be accomplished by taking it apart anyhow, since the roaches would just scatter and go elsewhere (and live for weeks and return to your dishwasher door the minute you got tired of handwashing dishes and put it back together ). What I might try there - just a thought - is tape glue traps up to the dishwasher vents, so the roaches have no other way out, and leave them there any time I wasn't using the dishwasher, particularly at night.

Good luck. And look on the bright side... it could be mice (one of the few things I really don't like about our house in the country)!