Where the idea comes from
Cockroaches feed on crumbs, grease and rubbish, and big infestations are often found where those are plentiful, so the link is an easy one to make. But the insects need very little food, and a hidden line of crumbs or the grease inside an oven can keep them going. Whether they turn up has far more to do with how they travel than with how a home is kept.
How cockroaches reach clean homes
They come in with deliveries, cardboard boxes, second-hand appliances and bags from affected properties, or they move through the building from a neighbour. None of those routes has anything to do with how often you clean. The details are in how cockroaches get into properties and can cockroaches spread between flats.
What cleanliness does change
Once cockroaches are inside, food and water decide how fast the population grows. Crumbs behind appliances, food left out overnight, dirty dishes, open bins and damp under the sink all help them breed and make treatment harder. So keeping a kitchen clean matters — not as proof that nobody is to blame, but because it keeps the problem smaller and easier to clear.
Warmth and moisture matter as much
German cockroaches want heat, which a modern kitchen supplies through the motors of fridges, dishwashers and ovens. Oriental cockroaches want damp. A new-build flat with warm service ducts, or an immaculate house with a cracked drain, can suit them perfectly well. Hot water pipes boxed in behind a bath panel, a boiler cupboard that is never opened, or a slow leak under a spotless sink all create the conditions cockroaches look for, however often the surfaces above are wiped.
Clean homes that end up with cockroaches
Think of a family who buy a second-hand fridge, a couple who move into a flat that had cockroaches before them, or a household whose neighbour below has a problem nobody has mentioned. Moving home in Cricklewood and renovation work in Queen’s Park are two more everyday situations that can bring cockroaches into view. None of these has anything to do with dirt, and all of them can happen to anyone.
Is there a health concern?
Cockroaches can contaminate food and the surfaces it is prepared on, and their droppings can aggravate asthma in some people. Throw away any food they may have reached, and wash worktops, crockery and utensils before use. If you are worried about symptoms, speak to a pharmacist or GP, and call 999 if someone shows signs of a severe allergic reaction.
Tenants, landlords and embarrassment
Embarrassment can make people put off reporting cockroaches, and every week of delay gives them time to spread. If you rent, tell your landlord or housing association promptly. In shared houses and HMOs, like those in Kilburn, one kitchen serves several households, so trying to work out whose habits are responsible rarely helps. Landlords preparing a home between tenancies in Kenton should deal with any sign of cockroaches before the next tenants move in.
Businesses are not immune
A food business with high standards still takes in deliveries every day, and any one of them can bring cockroaches along. Food hygiene law requires food businesses to keep pests under control, so a sighting should be acted on straight away. Commercial premises, including those in Park Royal, are quoted per site.
What to do if you find them
Clean up, seal food away and avoid shop sprays, which can scatter cockroaches without reaching their egg cases. Work out how far they have spread using the signs of a cockroach infestation. For a home, cockroach control in Brent is £190 for a flat and £240 for a house — book cockroach control without worrying about what anyone will think.
