Confirm what you're seeing
Cockroaches hiding by day means the evidence usually comes first: droppings resembling ground pepper, a musty smell, and shed skins tucked in cupboard corners, much as it does near Soho, where dense mixed-use streets of restaurants. Run a torch behind the cooker, under the sink and along cupboard hinges after dark, when activity is highest, whether that's near Pimlico, where stucco-fronted terraces and squares close to the river, or elsewhere in the borough.
Soho's restaurant and bar cellars
Basements and cellars beneath Soho's restaurants and bars share walls, drains and sometimes service corridors with the buildings either side, giving cockroaches a route that has nothing to do with how clean any single kitchen is kept.
Flats above ground-floor premises
Where a flat sits directly above a restaurant, cafe or bar, which is common throughout central Westminster, cockroaches seen indoors are frequently arriving from the business below via a shared service riser or an unused drain trap that's dried out.
If you run a food business
A business has a legal duty under food hygiene law to keep proper pest-control procedures running, just as near Bayswater, where large converted terraces and mansion blocks close to the park and the tube. Record what you find and when, keep incoming stock clear of the floor, and inspect boxes on arrival, true near Victoria too, where mixed commercial and residential streets close to the station and the coach terminal. Tell us the type and rough size of the premises - when you contact us, mention the type and rough size of the site, commercial premises are always quoted separately, as anyone near Marylebone will recognise, where georgian terraces and mansion blocks around the high street and the park.
What to avoid while you wait
- Spraying at cockroaches you can see, which scatters the rest into walls and next door
- Moving boxes or appliances from an affected kitchen into a clean room
- Leaving pet food or dirty dishes out overnight
- Bringing second-hand appliances in without checking them first
Booking cockroach control in Westminster
Cockroach control in Westminster is £190 for a flat and £240 for a house (business premises quoted separately); since around Marylebone, where georgian terraces and mansion blocks around the high street and the park, 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 Westminster cockroach control page has the rest.
