Confirm what you are seeing
Cockroaches hide by day, so evidence usually turns up before the insect does: droppings like ground pepper, shed skins, a faint musty smell in a warm cupboard. After dark, when they're most active, run a torch behind the cooker, under the sink, and into cupboard corners and door hinges, whether that's near Chelsea, where high-value townhouses and squares stretching down towards the King's Road and the river, or elsewhere in the borough.
In your own kitchen
Work through the warm, enclosed spots methodically: the plinth beneath fitted units, round the boiler, and any gap where pipework passes through a party wall. In a basement or lower-ground kitchen, a damp spot that never quite dries can matter as much as anything left out on a worktop.
Mansion blocks and shared pipework
In the mansion blocks around Earl's Court and Kensington, cockroaches move along warm, shared pipe runs from flat to flat, so a problem on one floor can easily have started on another. A sink left unused for a spell is worth topping up so its trap doesn't dry out and open a route.
If you run a restaurant or hotel
Food businesses along Kensington High Street and the King's Road have legal duties to keep pests out. Note down what you see and when, keep deliveries off the floor and inspect boxes as they arrive. Get in touch with the size and type of premises; commercial jobs are quoted per site.
What to avoid while you wait
- Spraying at cockroaches you can see, which scatters the rest into walls and next door
- Moving boxes, appliances or furniture from an affected kitchen into clean rooms
- Leaving pet food, dirty dishes or standing water out overnight
- Bringing in second-hand appliances without checking them first
Booking cockroach control in Kensington and Chelsea
Cockroach control in Kensington and Chelsea is £190 for a flat and £240 for a house (business premises quoted separately); since around Earl's Court, where large mansion blocks and converted terraces, telling us whether you are in a home or a business, and whether neighbouring premises might be affected, when you book cockroach control saves time, and the Kensington and Chelsea cockroach control page has the rest.
