Cockroach control in London

The BPCA advice sheet says most cockroach treatments now rely on baits, gels or powders, and residual sprays less. A German cockroach lives in a crack behind a fridge motor; a floor spray never reaches it, while gel in the crack is eaten, carried back and shared.

• Gel bait: professional-use only, dabbed into hinges, voids and tile cracks. The mainstay of German cockroach treatment; nothing is sprayed, so the room stays in use.
• Insecticidal dust: for ducting, risers and dead spaces where gel cannot go, as the BPCA advises.
• Residual spray: for the edges of an infestation only, applied strictly to the HSE-authorised label with the room clear for the stated time.

We rotate gel baits as a matter of practice, since bait aversion is documented in German cockroach research. Oriental cockroaches in basements and bin stores get the same bait-first approach, plus proofing at the gully.

The quote moves with the rooms or flats affected, how heavy the infestation is, how many visits the course needs, and whether proofing or commercial paperwork is included; the visit count, almost always two to three for German cockroaches, is the biggest single factor.

For comparison, Lewisham Council charges £186 for up to three visits and Wandsworth Council £214 for three treatments, both from 1 April 2026; Hammersmith and Fulham lists £208 for three visits and Hounslow £235 for two, at October 2026.

The inspection survey is free, the quote is fixed and written for the whole course, follow-ups included, and there is no call-out fee. Every treatment carries a written six-month guarantee, subject to the site survey.

Before we arrive:

• Clear and clean the cupboards, under the sink and behind any appliance you can move; the BPCA advises a thorough clean and mending broken tiles first
• No shop sprays or foggers beforehand; they scatter cockroaches away from where the gel needs to go
• Put food, pet bowls and the bin away so the bait is the only meal on offer

After the visit:

• Gel work needs no vacate time; where a residual spray is used, keep the room clear for the time the label states, typically two to four hours
• Do not wipe or wash the gel points during the course; cleaning them away is the commonest reason a treatment stalls
• Expect a few small nymphs over the following weeks: egg cases hatch on average 28 days after they form, which is what the follow-up visits are for
• Adults a week after the final visit? Call us; the guarantee covers the return

In a rented home, responsibility follows the cause. Shelter's guidance (updated 1 May 2026) says the landlord must deal with pests let in by a repair they should fix or present at move-in, and keep the home fit to live in, the duty behind the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018; a tenant pays only where their own conduct caused it.

In a council or housing association block, cockroaches are a domestic hygiene hazard under the Housing Act 2004 HHSRS (domestic hygiene, pests and refuse until June 2026), and the council must act on a Category 1 hazard. Awaab's Law covers damp and mould for social landlords now, adds electrical, cold and fall hazards on 30 November 2026, and is due to reach pests in 2027; a consultation on private tenancies closes 18 December 2026. The Prevention of Damage by Pests Act 1949 covers rats and mice only.

Commercial kitchens must have adequate pest procedures under Regulation 852/2004; EHOs can serve enforcement notices without them, and a poor pest score caps the Food Hygiene Rating. See our restaurant pest control page.

A Building Research Establishment survey found every metropolitan council reported cockroaches, that tower blocks and low-rise flats were the only housing where infestations were rated very serious, and that 81% of authorities tied them to ducted services; in one 19-storey block, gaps around pipes let cockroaches move floor to floor.

That is much of our patch: the post-war estates and mansion blocks with communal heating in Westminster and Pimlico, the estates of Camden, and the converted terraces and HMOs of Kilburn and Willesden. Basement kitchens in Soho bring Oriental cockroaches up from the drains, and in Battersea, Hammersmith, Hounslow and the TW postcodes the job is more often a single house or a takeaway.

In a block we ask the managing agent about the neighbours, since the same heated risers carry pharaoh ants.