Cockroaches are nocturnal, so seeing them at night is normal for them. Seeing them at all is the point — and seeing them in daylight means considerably more.
There is an established population, not a one-off. Cockroaches are nocturnal and hide by day; the ones you see when the light goes on are a fraction of the total.
Seeing them in daylight is worse — it usually means the harbourage is overcrowded.
Rule of thumb: if you can see them, there are a great many you cannot.
See our full cockroach control service, published prices and what treatment involves.
View Cockroach Control Edgware →| Where it ran to | What is probably behind it |
|---|---|
| Under the fridge | Harbourage under and behind it — the commonest of all |
| Behind the cooker | Warmth and grease |
| Into the unit plinth | The void along the base of the kitchen |
| Behind the washing machine | Warmth and moisture |
| Towards the sink | Water, and often a leaking trap |
| Into a boxed-in pipe run | A route to another room — or another flat |
| Behind the boiler or airing cupboard | Constant warmth |
| Under the entrance door | A communal corridor route |
Where it ran is genuinely useful. Note it rather than chasing it — and if it went into a pipe boxing or under the front door, tell us.
| What you saw | Possibly |
|---|---|
| Flat, oval, fast, long antennae, ran from light | Cockroach |
| Small, dark, rounded, slow, near a window | A beetle — often harmless |
| Shiny black, in a garage or by a door | Ground beetle — harmless |
| Long, flat, many legs, very fast | Centipede — harmless |
| Small, silver, wriggling, in a bathroom | Silverfish — a damp indicator, not a cockroach |
Send us a photograph. We would rather tell you it is a ground beetle than sell you a treatment.
If sightings are concentrated near a shared wall, a riser access panel, or the entrance door onto a communal corridor, the population may not be inside your flat at all.
Very rarely, and it is not the reason to deal with them. The hygiene and allergen aspects are.
They live in the warm motor housing at the back rather than in the cold interior.
No. A heated flat is their ideal environment year-round.
Something buzzing rather than scuttling? Wasp nests are £90 fixed in Edgware, guaranteed.
That there is an established population. They are nocturnal, and the ones you see are a fraction of the total.
Yes. It usually means the harbourage is overcrowded and individuals are being pushed out.
No. A supermarket aerosol scatters the population and makes proper treatment harder.
Yes. If it went into a pipe boxing or under the entrance door, that suggests a route from elsewhere in the building.
Droppings like coarse ground pepper, purse-shaped brown egg cases glued into crevices, shed skins, and a musty oily smell.
Cockroaches are flat, oval and fast with long antennae and run from light. Send a photograph — beetles and silverfish are mistaken for them constantly.
Very rarely. The hygiene and allergen aspects are the reason to deal with them.
No. A heated flat is ideal for them all year round.
Photograph one and note where it ran. We will tell you what it is before you book anything.
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