Cockroaches
Which Cockroach Is in Your Flat?
Two kinds turn up in buildings like these, and they behave differently. The German cockroach is small, light brown with two dark stripes behind the head, and lives almost entirely indoors in warm places close to food: behind ovens, under fridges, inside the motors of kitchen equipment. It is the one that climbs pipework into the flats above a commercial kitchen. The Oriental cockroach is larger, dark and slower, prefers cooler, damp places and is more often found at ground level, in a basement or near drains. German and Oriental cockroaches shows how to tell them apart, and it matters because they are found in different parts of a building.
Where to Look in a Flat Above a Kitchen
Start where the pipes come up. In the kitchen that is the cupboard under the sink, the space behind the fridge and cooker, and the kickboards. In the bathroom it is behind the bath panel, around the base of the toilet and inside any boxing that hides the pipes. The boiler cupboard is another warm spot. Check at night: switch the light on in a dark kitchen and watch for movement at the edges.
- Small dark droppings like ground pepper along shelf edges and in the backs of cupboards
- Brown, purse-shaped egg cases in tight corners
- Shed skins behind appliances
- A stale, oily smell in a closed cupboard
- Cockroaches seen in daylight, which can mean a large number nearby
The signs of cockroaches covers each of these in more detail.
What to Do Now
- Keep food in sealed containers and do not leave dishes or pet food out overnight
- Wipe up grease and crumbs behind the cooker, where they are easy to miss
- Tell your landlord or managing agent, and let the business below know
- Do not spray shop insecticides into the gaps, which can scatter them further into the building
- Do not assume it is your fault; a clean flat can still have them if the source is below
Whether cockroaches mean a property is dirty answers that worry directly.
Around the Visit
When you book cockroach treatment, tell us which floor you are on, what business is below, which rooms have signs and whether neighbours have seen them too. Before the visit, empty the cupboard under the sink and pull appliances out a little if you can. The technician will explain what they found and what to expect. How long it takes depends on the flat and on whether the source below is being dealt with, and how long cockroach treatment takes explains why. If you still see live cockroaches some time after treatment, get back in touch.
The Business Below
A restaurant, bakery or food shop arranges its own treatment and is quoted per site. If you run one, treating the flats above at the same time, with the landlord's agreement, gives a far better result than treating the kitchen alone. How cockroaches spread between flats explains why they move.
Cockroaches in an Edwardian House
In the self-contained Edwardian houses away from the parade, cockroaches are rarely a problem. A house with its own kitchen and no business below has no warm shared route for them. When one does turn up, it has usually come in with a second-hand appliance or a box from somewhere that has them, or is an Oriental cockroach from a drain. If you are not sure what you have found, a photo helps. Other insects in a kitchen may be ants in Golders Green, and droppings of a different size could be mice. For cockroaches elsewhere in the borough, see Cockroach Control Barnet.
