Cockroaches
About cockroaches
The German, Oriental and American cockroach species are the three most commonly found in the UK. German cockroaches are the smallest and are excellent climbers, able to scale a vertical sheet of glass or a tiled wall. They prefer warm, humid areas such as laundry rooms. Oriental cockroaches are found in cooler areas such as basements and drains, while American cockroaches are most often found in ports and shipping areas.
Cockroaches eat just about anything including paper, vomit, faeces, nail parings and other cockroaches. They are most active at night and will congregate in hidden places during daylight.
Why are they such a problem?
Cockroaches are well adapted as pests and will thrive in many different conditions in workplaces and homes. They reproduce very quickly and a single female cockroach can produce 900 offspring in her lifetime.
Disease-causing organisms carried by cockroaches include Salmonella and E. coli. These can be transmitted to humans if a cockroach walks over foods or food preparation surfaces. Cockroaches also taint materials with their characteristic smell and they can cause damage to goods by chewing.
What happens during our visit?
- The technician will assess of level of activity and inspect the property for sources of infestation.
- The technician will usually use an insecticidal spray. You should remain out of the area during treatment then wait until the insecticide has dried before returning. The insecticides we use are residual and can remain active for several weeks after treatment. Treated surfaces should not be scrubbed heavily for up to six weeks after treatment to avoid washing away the insecticide. The technician may use gel bait when spraying is not appropriate. This is eaten by the cockroaches and poisons them.
Placement of insect detectors
These are sticky traps used to map where the cockroaches are coming from. They are not used to directly control the cockroaches but can help. They should be left alone. Throwing detectors away means we are less able to pinpoint problems.
We will provide you with advice on the best long-term cockroach prevention. This involves careful inspection of foodstuffs, close attention to food hygiene measures and scrupulous cleaning. The recommended actions should be taken as soon as possible after the first visit.
A period of six weeks is then required before we carry out our second treatment. The second spray is timed to match the breeding cycle of the cockroach; it will get rid of any newly emerged cockroaches before they are mature enough to breed.
You should contact us when your second treatment is due. If the treatment is not carried out at the right time intervals then the cockroach breeding cycle begins again and the treatment has to be restarted from the beginning. If the treatment has to be started again this may result in another charge.
