Start once the problem is cleared
Prevention works best after an infestation has been dealt with. Sealing gaps or reorganising a kitchen while cockroaches are still living there can trap them in voids or drive them somewhere new. If you are still seeing them, read why you might see cockroaches after treatment first.
Take away water
Cockroaches cope with a lack of food far better than a lack of water. Fix dripping taps and weeping waste pipes, dry the sink and draining board last thing at night, and check under the dishwasher and washing machine for slow leaks. Condensation in a boiler cupboard or under the sink is worth sorting out too. In a bathroom or kitchen that stays damp, better ventilation or an extractor fan that actually runs makes the room less comfortable for Oriental cockroaches in particular.
Take away food
- Store dry foods in sealed glass, metal or rigid plastic containers
- Wipe the worktops and hob every evening and sweep along the edges of appliances
- Pull out and clean behind the cooker and fridge every few months
- Use a bin with a close-fitting lid and empty it before bed
- Lift pet food bowls at night
- Rinse food tins and trays before they go in the recycling
Take away shelter
Clutter gives cockroaches places to hide close to food. Keep cardboard boxes, paper bags and stacks of newspapers out of the kitchen, and avoid storing things on top of wall cupboards or in the plinth space. Fill cracked tiles and grouting, and refix loose skirting boards and worktop edges.
Seal the routes between rooms and homes
Gaps around pipes and cables where they pass through walls, floors and the backs of units link your kitchen to voids and, in a flat, to neighbours. Fill them with a suitable sealant or filler, and fit cover plates around pipes where they come through. The technique is much the same as for mice and rats — proofing pipes and utility gaps covers it. In a rented home, ask your landlord first.
Drains and unused sinks
Oriental cockroaches can come up from drains. Run water into rarely used sinks, showers and floor drains regularly so the traps stay full, keep drain covers intact and get damaged drains repaired. Older terraces, such as those in Kensal Green, can have drains that need attention.
Check what comes in
Look over second-hand appliances, furniture and boxes before they come inside, and unpack deliveries straight away. How cockroaches get into properties lists the routes worth watching.
Shared kitchens and food businesses
Where several people use one kitchen, prevention only works if everyone follows the same routine. In the shared houses and HMOs of Kilburn, a simple rota for wiping surfaces, emptying the bin and cleaning behind the cooker helps. Food businesses need a written routine for checking deliveries, cleaning under equipment and recording any sightings, and should act on the first one. Commercial premises are quoted per site.
In blocks of flats
Prevention inside one flat only goes so far if the building has a problem. Report sightings in bin stores, corridors and other communal areas to the managing agent — this applies in the blocks of flats around Wembley as anywhere — and encourage neighbours to report theirs too.
Keep watching
Do a lights-on check late in the evening every so often, and keep a sticky monitor behind the fridge or under the sink. Catching a handful early is far easier than facing an established population. If they do return, cockroach control in Brent costs £190 for a flat and £240 for a house, with commercial kitchens quoted per site; book cockroach control at the first sign.
