Pests in London | Cockroaches
Cockroaches
The two main species of Cockroach found in the UK are the German Cockroach (Blattella Germanica) and Oriental Cockroach (Blatta Orientalis). They cannot survive outdoors in the UK climate but thrive indoors spreading a range of serious diseases.
Cockroach Facts
The Oriental cockroach (Blatta Orientalis) is dark brown in colour and is the larger of the UK cockroaches at about 30mm long. The German cockroach (Blattella Germanica) is light yellowish brown, and about 15mm long.
Cockroaches are nocturnal and prefer confined, dark and humid spaces making them extremely difficult to spot directly.
Most commonly found in commercial food premises such as restaurants and catering establishments, cockroaches are also found in homes where they live in kitchens and drains. They present a significant public health risk, carrying diseases such as dysentery, gastroenteritis, diarrhoea, typhoid, poliomyelitis and salmonella.
Eating practically anything from human food to leather, wallpaper and even other cockroaches they have no predators in the human environment and breed extremely rapidly with sexual maturity attained in just a few weeks.
Cockroaches (Blatta Orientalis & Blattella Germanica) Image Gallery
How to tell if you have cockroaches
- German cockroaches secrete a range of odorous chemicals leaving an oily, musty smell
- Cockroach faeces can resemble anything from tiny specks of pepper to brown stains to coffee grounds to oval pellets
- Cockroaches shed skins as they mature and they will be visible close to where Cockroaches are hiding
Preventing cockroaches
Ensure strict food hygience and waste clearance particularly in premises handling or storing food.
Store food in tightly sealed plastic or metal containers.
Don't leave standing water - cockroaches need ready access to water.
Empty the bins every day, securely tying bin bags so waste cannot spill out.
How to get rid of cockroaches
Treatment can be extremely difficult as cockroaches are nocturnal and often the scale of the infestation will be underestimated. Glue boards can help determine both the number of cockroaches you are dealing with together with where they are coming from, but treatment is made harder with some cockroaches having developed immunity to many chemical pesticides.
The best method. Call the experts - we can use chemicals not available to the home owner, with discrete treatment plans guaranteed to solve your cockroach problem.