Cockroach control in Brooklyn

To get rid of cockroaches in a Brooklyn kitchen, office or food outlet, you need to know which species you're dealing with and where it's breeding, then use gel baits placed exactly where it hides. Most of the cockroach work we do in Brooklyn involves two species, and they live completely different lives.

The two Brooklyn cockroaches

German cockroaches: the indoor breeders

These are small, light brown and fast, with two dark stripes behind the head. They live entirely indoors, in warm, tight spaces close to food and water: behind fridge motors, inside kettle bases and microwaves, under sinks and in the hinges of cupboard doors. They breed quickly, and they travel in boxes, grocery bags and secondhand appliances.

In Brooklyn we find them mostly in shared kitchens, the staff tea rooms in converted homes now used as offices, flats near the university, and food outlets in the area around the mall. Anywhere lots of people prepare food in a small space, and nobody owns the cleaning, German cockroaches tend to settle in.

American cockroaches: the drain dwellers

These are big, reddish-brown and able to fly short distances on warm nights. They live in sewer lines, manholes, stormwater drains and damp outbuildings, and they come into the house through floor drains, bath and shower wastes and gaps around pipes. Brooklyn's older plumbing, with cracked pipes, missing drain covers and outside gullies, gives them plenty of ways up.

Signs of a cockroach problem

• Cockroaches running when you switch on the kitchen light at night
• Small black specks, like ground pepper, in cupboard corners and hinges
• Brown egg cases tucked into cracks
• An oily, musty smell in a cupboard or under the sink
• Large cockroaches near floor drains, in the bath or in the garage after a warm, humid evening

How we treat cockroaches

The inspection matters more than the product. We look at where the activity is concentrated, how cockroaches are getting in and what's keeping them going: grease build-up behind appliances, a leak under the sink, food stored in open packets, or a drain without a trap.

For German cockroaches, we use gel baits placed in small dots inside the cracks and voids where they hide. The cockroaches eat it, go back to their hiding places and pass it to others. For American cockroaches, we treat drains, entry points and outside harbourage with an odourless, non-staining residual spray, and point out the plumbing gaps that need fixing. Heavy infestations get a follow-up visit, because eggs hatch after the first treatment.

For offices and food businesses in Brooklyn, a scheduled monitoring contract keeps an eye on the problem with regular visits and a record of each one.

The mistake that makes it worse

Setting off a bug bomb or fogger. It drives German cockroaches deeper into walls and appliances and into the neighbouring flat or office, and it can contaminate the bait we later need them to eat. Spraying surface insecticide over gel bait does the same thing. If you've already fogged, tell us before we treat.

A Brooklyn tip: check the old floor drains

In older houses, laundry and bathroom floor drains often dry out when they're not used, because the water seal in the trap evaporates. That leaves an open pipe straight from the sewer into your house. Pour a jug of water into seldom-used drains every week or two, and fit a drain cover where one is missing.

What does cockroach control cost?

The main factors are the species, how widespread the infestation is, the number of kitchens or units involved, and whether a follow-up is needed. A house with a few American cockroaches coming in from a drain is a quick job. A German cockroach infestation in a shared office kitchen, or in several flats in one building, takes more time and usually needs a second visit. For the odd cockroach you see once a season, a good gel bait from a hardware store may be enough.

Our cockroach control across Pretoria explains the methods in more detail, and we do the same work in Lynnwood, where office kitchens see similar trouble. Cockroaches and flies often share the same bins and drains, so see fly control for Brooklyn if both are a problem. The full list of what we treat here is on our Brooklyn page.

We're SAPCA registered and have 25 years of experience. If cockroaches come back within 3 months, we'll come back and treat again under our guarantee. To book, call 012 012 5526, or WhatsApp us a picture of the cockroach so we know which one it is.