Gel bait rather than spray, placed where they actually are, and repeated across the egg-case cycle. Here is why that is the method.
Inspection and species identification, gel bait and residual treatment at the harbourage, repeat visits through the egg-case cycle, and monitoring to confirm.
£190 for a flat, £240 for a house, follow-ups included. Typically three to four weeks from first visit to clear.
The single biggest difference between professional treatment and a supermarket aerosol.
Spraying a cockroach you can see is the pest control equivalent of mopping the floor while the tap is still running.
| Stage | What happens |
|---|---|
| Inspect | Kitchen, appliances, plinth voids, bathroom, boiler, utility, and any riser or duct access. |
| Identify | Species matters — it changes bait choice and where we look. |
| Place | Gel bait into cracks, hinges and voids. Residual treatment to runs and harbourage. |
| Monitor | Sticky monitors where useful, to measure rather than to control. |
| Return | Bait checked and replenished. Placement adjusted to actual activity. |
| Repeat | Through the egg-case cycle until activity ceases. |
| Confirm | Monitoring to verify, and advice on the conditions that allowed it. |
See our full cockroach control service, published prices and what treatment involves.
View Cockroach Control Edgware →Not academic — it changes the approach.
| German cockroach | Oriental cockroach | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | 12–15mm | 20–30mm |
| Colour | Light brown, two dark stripes behind the head | Very dark brown to black |
| Climbing | Climbs smooth surfaces well | Poor climber |
| Typical location | Kitchens, warm areas, high up | Cooler, damper, lower — drains, basements, yards |
| Breeding rate | Very fast | Slower |
| Usual origin | Carried in; spreads through a building | Often from drains or externally |
German cockroaches are the ones that spread rapidly through a block. Oriental cockroaches more often point to a drainage or external source, which changes what needs fixing.
Read nextHow Do You Get Rid of Cockroaches in an Edgware Flat? →We will tell you if what we find suggests the source is outside your unit — a riser, a communal area, or a commercial kitchen below.
No. Egg cases survive the first treatment, so the programme has to outlast them.
Sometimes, as harbourage is disturbed. It is not a bad sign.
Residual treatment has its place alongside gel at runs and harbourage. What we do not do is spray visible insects and call it a treatment.
One job that genuinely is a single visit: a wasp nest. £90 fixed in Edgware, guaranteed.
Inspection and species identification, gel bait and residual treatment at the harbourage, repeat visits through the egg-case cycle, and monitoring to confirm.
Cockroaches carry bait back into the harbourage and it passes through the population. A spray only kills what it hits and can drive them deeper into voids.
Typically three to four weeks, driven by the egg-case cycle rather than the treatment.
An egg case is a hard capsule holding 16 to 40 eggs that treatment does not penetrate. They hatch afterwards, so the treatment must still be active.
Yes. German cockroaches spread rapidly through a building; Oriental cockroaches more often point to a drainage or external source.
No. It disperses the population and works against the bait.
Yes. Gel goes into cracks, hinges and voids, never on food surfaces, and placement is adjusted for anywhere reachable.
We tell you in writing, which is what a managing agent or freeholder needs in order to act. A coordinated treatment is what resolves it.
£190 flat, £240 house, follow-ups included. Send a photo first if you are not certain what you have.
Prefer to talk? Call 0203 151 6640 or WhatsApp us.
