If you're seeing cockroaches in a Despatch home, the most useful thing you can do is look closely at one. Is it big, reddish-brown and coming in from outside? Or small, light brown and living in the kitchen? The answer tells us almost everything about where they're coming from and how to get rid of them.
Two cockroaches, two very different problems
The big ones: American cockroaches
These are the large, reddish-brown cockroaches, the length of your thumb or more, that can fly short distances. They live in sewers, drains, gullies and manholes, and in damp, sheltered spots outside like compost and leaf litter. They come into the house at night, often through floor drains, the bath plughole or a gap under the kitchen door.
In Despatch, with older drainage on many properties and big gardens with plenty of leaf litter and damp corners, these are the ones we're called about most in summer.
The small ones: German cockroaches
Small, light brown, with two dark stripes behind the head. They live indoors, mainly in kitchens, and breed fast. In a quieter town like Despatch, where homes are mostly freestanding and don't share walls, a German cockroach problem usually starts with something brought in: a second-hand fridge or microwave, a box of groceries from a storeroom, furniture from a relative's house.
Signs to look for
- Cockroaches running when you switch the kitchen light on at night
- Small dark droppings like ground pepper in drawers, on shelves and behind appliances
- Brown egg cases tucked into corners and hinges
- A musty, oily smell in cupboards when the infestation is bigger
- Large cockroaches in the bath or near floor drains in the morning
How we treat them
For German cockroaches, gel bait is the main tool. We place small spots of bait in cracks, hinges and gaps where they hide: behind the fridge and stove, in the motor housing of appliances, under the sink and inside cupboard frames. Cockroaches eat it, return to their hiding spot and pass it to others. A follow-up visit catches the young that hatch from egg cases after the first treatment.
For American cockroaches, we treat at the source: drains, gullies, manholes, the base of outside walls and damp spots in the garden, using an odourless, non-staining residual spray. Then we tell you which drains need covers or grids so they can't climb in.
You don't need to leave home for either treatment. Keep children and pets off sprayed areas until they're dry.
Pet food, water bowls and cockroaches
Many Despatch homes have dogs and cats, and that changes the picture a little. A bowl of pellets left on the kitchen floor overnight, a water bowl by the back door and crumbs around the pet feeding spot are a reliable food and water source for cockroaches. Feed pets at set times and pick the bowl up afterwards, rinse it, and store the bag of food in a sealed container. Dog kennels, wendy houses and outside storerooms with pet food in them are also worth checking, because American cockroaches will happily shelter there between visits to the house.
A mistake we see all the time
Using a household spray on German cockroaches. It kills the ones you hit and drives the rest deeper into the walls and appliances, where they keep breeding. It can also stop them taking gel bait later. If you've got the small ones, stop spraying and let us bait them properly.
A local tip
Check your outside gully traps. On a lot of Despatch homes, the grid over the gully where the kitchen and bath water drains outside has rusted, broken or gone missing. That open pipe is a highway for American cockroaches. A new grid costs very little and makes an immediate difference.
What does cockroach control cost?
It depends on which species you have, how established it is and the size of the house. A few American cockroaches coming in from the drains can be sorted with a single targeted treatment. A kitchen with a German cockroach infestation needs careful baiting and usually a follow-up. If you're only seeing the odd big one in summer, covering the drains yourself might be enough, and we'll tell you if that's the case.
More about cockroaches
Our guide to cockroaches explains the life cycle and why sprays alone don't clear an infestation. For other areas, see cockroach control in Port Elizabeth, or cockroach treatment in Kariega if you're nearer the Kariega side. If ants are also raiding your kitchen, have a look at our ant treatments for Despatch homes, and for a wider view of local pests, our Despatch pest control page.
Call 087 012 5550, or WhatsApp us a photo of the cockroach and we'll tell you which one it is.
Questions we get asked
Why do I see big cockroaches in the bath?
American cockroaches climb up through drains and plugholes at night. Treating the drains outside and keeping plugs in at night helps a lot.
Where do German cockroaches come from in a freestanding house?
Usually they're carried in, in second-hand appliances, furniture or boxes. They then breed in the warmth of the kitchen.
Is gel bait safe with pets in the house?
Yes. It's placed in small amounts inside cracks and crevices where pets can't get to it.
Why am I seeing more cockroaches after treatment?
Bait and spray bring them out of hiding for a few days. Activity drops sharply after that.
Do you need to come back?
For German cockroaches, usually yes. A follow-up catches the young that hatch from protected egg cases after the first visit.