Cockroaches don’t show up politely, and they don’t leave without a fight. If you’ve ever flicked on a kitchen light and watched a dozen brown bodies scatter, you know the feeling. Professional exterminators step into that scene weekly. The work is equal parts science and sleuthing, with a dash of discipline. Speed matters because roaches multiply fast, but speed without thoroughness is wasted effort. The pros combine inspection, sanitation, exclusion, and targeted treatment in a specific sequence, then follow up until the population collapses and stays down.
What follows is the approach seasoned technicians rely on when a client calls a pest control company in a panic. I’ll cover what happens on the first visit, how the product choices shift with species and building type, the details that separate a superficial job from a decisive one, and the maintenance habits that keep kitchens and apartments cockroach-free for the long run. Whether you plan to hire an exterminator service or tackle some steps yourself, understanding the method helps you make better decisions, ask sharper questions, and avoid common traps.
The first 20 minutes decide the next 20 days
Walk into a roach job and you’ll find a story written in droppings, smears, and egg cases. A pro starts with the species, because each one telegraphs different behaviors. German cockroaches prefer tight indoor harborages near water and heat. American cockroaches ride up from drains and steam tunnels, often appearing in basements and boiler rooms. Brown-banded roaches perch higher, stashing oothecae on electronics and picture frames. If a pest control contractor misreads the species, bait placement, product choice, and even follow-up timing can be off by a mile.
I shadowed one technician who could find a German roach nest without opening a cabinet, simply by reading the smudge patterns around the microwave keypad and the drip edge under the sink. He took measurements with a flashlight and a mirror, not a tape measure, then popped the kick plates off the lower cabinets to expose the warm, dusty void roaches love. Before touching any product, he asked the client about housekeeping habits, recent leaks, and whether a previous pest control service had sprayed anything. That last detail matters, because certain repellents push roaches deeper into walls and make baiting less effective for weeks.
The inspection also identifies what needs fixing right away. A slow drip under a sink will defeat almost any baiting program, because moisture draws roaches and dilutes gel baits. Gaps around pipes and wall penetrations act as highways. Crumbs and grease build a buffet. Pros carry a small vacuum, sealant, and a scraper for these reasons. You remove food, water, and shelter first, because chemistry works best when biology is hungry.
Preparation that actually matters, and the steps to skip
Clients hear “prep” and think they need to empty the entire kitchen into the living room. That’s not always necessary, and over-prep can backfire by dislodging hidden roaches into new rooms. The rule of thumb is targeted access. Clear the under-sink cabinet, the drawer under the oven, and the lower two shelves of each base cabinet so a technician can bait the hinges, corner seams, and drawer slides. Pull the refrigerator forward six to twelve inches to expose the compressor area and the warm dust on the floor. Wipe food residue off surfaces, but avoid harsh cleaners on the day of treatment, because some solvents degrade baits.
Don’t fog. Store-bought total-release foggers rarely penetrate harborages and often contaminate surfaces, making bait less attractive. Pros avoid broadcast sprays in sensitive areas for the same reason. They want roaches to walk to the bait and carry it back to the nest.
If you have pets or kids, give the technician a clear plan for rooms that must remain accessible. That conversation guides product selection. A good exterminator company tailors treatment to the home’s rhythms, not the other way around.
Why bait is king for German cockroaches
Ask ten experienced techs for their fastest control tool against German roaches, and nine will say gel bait, strategically placed. The best bait jobs are not heavy-handed. They are surgical. You do not smear thick inch-long ropes on every surface. Instead, you place small rice-grain dots or thin micro-smears in tight seams where antennae will find them: cabinet hinge cups, behind drawer tracks, the underside lip of countertops, the rear corner of a microwave’s feet, and the shallow channel behind the refrigerator gasket. The idea is to make roaches feel safe while feeding, then carry the active ingredients into the nest.
Modern baits rely on actives like indoxacarb, clothianidin, fipronil, or hydramethylnon. Each has a profile. Fipronil tends to kill quickly, which can be satisfying but may limit deep distribution if overused. Indoxacarb and hydramethylnon often allow more secondary kill, as roaches feed on the saliva, feces, and carcasses of poisoned nestmates. This cascading effect, called horizontal transfer, is why bait outperforms sprays inside cabinets.
Rotation matters. Roaches develop aversions to certain bait matrices, especially sweet-based carriers. A pest control company will rotate among carbohydrate-forward and protein-forward baits, and between actives, across follow-ups. If you see roaches ignore a bait they previously devoured, it is not a mystery. Swap to a different formulation rather than doubling the application of the old one.
A disciplined bait job often shows visible reduction within 48 to 72 hours. You still return at 10 to 14 days for a follow-up, because egg cases can hatch into a new wave that needs its own exposure.
When dust beats liquid
In wall voids, behind baseboards, and inside electrical chases, insecticidal dusts shine. Professionals reach for products like boric acid, silica aerogel, or a combination dust. These desiccate roaches, damaging the waxy cuticle and accelerating water loss. The trick is restraint. A light, barely visible application with a bulb duster wins. Overdusting creates clumps that roaches avoid and that homeowners resent.
When I work a multifamily building, I dust the void around kitchen and bathroom pipe penetrations, the void beneath the tub, and the gap under cabinet toe-kicks. In older buildings with shared walls, dust in a few key chases can intercept migrants from a neighbor’s untreated unit. The dust sits and waits. Unlike gels that must be fresh, a good dust barrier maintains effectiveness for months, assuming it stays dry and undisturbed.
Sprays still have a role, but a smaller one
Residual sprays are not the star in German roach kitchens. They are supporting actors for perimeter and knockdown. Applied with a crack-and-crevice straw rather than a fan spray, non-repellent actives like chlorfenapyr or a microencapsulated bifenthrin can control travel routes at the base of walls and behind appliances. Repellent pyrethroids have their place in garages or exterior foundations, but inside, used indiscriminately, they train roaches to hide deeper and feed less, which delays results.
Pros also use insect growth regulators, especially in heavy German roach infestations. Hydroprene or pyriproxyfen disrupt molting and reproduction. You do not see immediate dead bodies, but you prevent the next generation from reaching adulthood. This pays off in weeks two to six, when the initial adult kill has run its course.
American cockroaches and the plumbing problem
American roaches, the large reddish-brown kind often called palmetto bugs, behave differently. They travel long distances, like warm damp spaces, and show up through floor drains, expansion joints, and utility rooms. A job with American roaches often starts in the basement, mechanical room, or beneath a slab. Inspection focuses on floor drains, sump pits, elevator shafts, and expansion joints. I carry drain brushes and a bio-enzymatic cleaner to strip the organic film that roaches feed on inside drains and pipes.
Treatment mixes habitat modification and exclusion. Fix broken drain strainers. Install one-way drain covers with silicone flaps where feasible. Dust the voids around plumbing. Use residuals judiciously along base pest control service plates and expansion joints, leaning non-repellent to avoid pushing them to adjacent units. Baits still work, but locations shift to utility rooms, wall plates behind water heaters, and overhead conduits. Fast results come when you pair sanitation of the plenum space with precise chemistry. If you only spray, they return via the same damp, food-rich routes.
Multifamily buildings add politics to biology
In apartments, one clean unit sandwiched pest control service between two messy ones will suffer constant reinfestation. The best pest control service contracts for multifamily housing include building-wide inspection and scheduled follow-ups, plus cooperation from property management. I’ve knocked on doors with a clipboard and two interpreters, because success depends on access. The schedule needs to cluster treatments vertically and horizontally so roaches do not outrun the work.
Gel baits remain the anchor, but we add more building envelope work: sealing wall plates with fire-rated foam, brushing out trash chutes, and auditing laundry rooms. A roach complaint that pops up only in units facing the sun often points to brown-banded roaches nesting in warm upper cabinets and electronics. That changes bait placement to higher shelves and inside TV stands, and it downgrades reliance on drains.
A good exterminator company will track unit-by-unit metrics: initial count from monitors, bait consumption, follow-up counts at 14 and 30 days. You should see a steep downward curve. If a stack of units plateaus, either access is blocked or a food/water issue is overwhelming the bait. The answer is not heavier product use, it is root-cause correction.
How pros verify progress without guesswork
Cockroach work hides its evidence. You rarely catch the worst of it in the open. That’s why pros set monitors. Simple glue boards with attractant tabs go under the sink, beside the fridge, behind the stove, and in a bathroom vanity. They are not the fix, they are the scorecard. Count the captures per board at baseline, then at each follow-up. A drop from 30 to five in two weeks means you are on track. If the kitchen drops but the bathroom spikes, moisture is driving a secondary harborage that needs attention.
Flashlight inspections tell their own story. Stippled droppings on the underside lip of a counter, fresh gnaw edges on paper goods, and new smears near light switches indicate active traffic. An experienced tech reads those patterns like tire tracks after rain.
The rhythm of follow-up
Gels lose palatability as they dry and collect dust. Even the best bait application peaks in performance during the first week. A disciplined program returns in 10 to 14 days, replenishes bait where it has been consumed, rotates formulations if uptake has slowed, and refreshes monitors. For severe infestations, a third visit at four to six weeks captures late hatchlings and stragglers. That cadence looks slow from the outside, but it mirrors cockroach biology. German roach eggs hatch roughly in three to four weeks, so your schedule must intersect that cycle.
I’ve seen two-visit programs succeed when sanitation is excellent and access is total. I’ve also seen five visits needed in cluttered units with chronic leaks. The difference is often in the homeowner’s willingness to fix moisture and reduce harborage, not the technician’s skill.
Cleaning up without undoing the work
Post-treatment sanitation should be precise. Wipe exposed surfaces that food touches, but leave untouched the deep cracks where bait sits. Avoid bleaching those micro-placements. If a professional used dusts in wall voids, ask where they are. Don’t vacuum those gaps. Focus instead on long-term habits: take trash out nightly, store dry goods in hard plastic containers, and fix drips promptly. Roaches tolerate hunger better than thirst; removing water is your leverage.
Some clients feel compelled to add their own sprays between visits. That can derail the program. Repellent aerosols scattered across cabinet faces teach roaches to avoid those areas and can mask pheromonal trails that lure them to baits. If you must do something between visits, vacuum with a crevice tool at night when roaches are active. Physical removal reduces pressure without contaminating bait.
The parts homeowners can do well, and the parts to leave to pros
Homeowners are excellent at the mechanical pieces. They can seal gaps with silicone around pipes under sinks, trim back cardboard storage, and pull appliances forward to vacuum the warm dust that feeds a kitchen ecosystem. They can maintain dry sinks overnight by placing a towel inside the basin so no condensation pools. They can elevate pet food bowls and remove them before bed. Those changes make the chemistry work faster.
Pros earn their keep in three ways. They identify species accurately and choose the right bait matrix and active. They place product in hidden micro-sites without overapplying. They set a follow-up rhythm and hold everyone accountable to it. The speed you buy from a licensed pest control company comes from that precision, not from access to a single “stronger” chemical. Regulations shape product labels, and many of the best interior tools are available to consumers. The difference is judgment and repetition.
When a roach job points to bigger issues
I once traced a persistent kitchen infestation to a hairline crack in a restaurant’s waste line inside a wall. The roaches were breeding in the void, feeding on the organic ooze. No amount of bait would fix that. Only a plumber could. In apartment towers, steam leaks inside riser chases create roach incubators. In houses on slabs, negative pressure in utility rooms sucks in American roaches from sewer lines. If your infestation shrugs off good bait work and decent sanitation, suspect a structural or plumbing problem. Ask your pest control contractor to smoke-test drains, scope voids with a borescope, or coordinate with a plumber.
In some regions, outdoor cockroach pressure rises after heavy rain, when stormwater pushes insects up through manholes and drains. Your solution may involve exterior grading, drain backflow devices, or sealing weep holes. A full-service exterminator service will talk about the envelope, not just cabinets.
Safety and sensibility
Used correctly, modern baits and non-repellent residuals have excellent safety profiles for humans and pets. Still, respect the labels. Keep baits out of reach of toddlers, who are inventive and persistent. Tell your technician about sensitive individuals in the home, including those with asthma. Request low-odor and reduced-risk formulations. Good companies have these options on hand and will default to them in kitchens and bedrooms.
If you pursue do-it-yourself treatments, skip homemade boric acid slurries. Water deactivates borates. Use a true dust in dry voids or stick to gels. Resist mixing products in the same crack. A space has room for bait or for a residual, not both. Co-locating a repellent residual with a bait is a classic rookie error that slows control.
What sets a strong pest control company apart
From the outside, pest control can look like commodity work. Two techs in similar uniforms, both carrying gel guns and flashlights. The difference shows up in the questions they ask, the time they spend inspecting, and the clarity of their follow-up plan. A reliable exterminator company will:
- Name the species and explain how that changes the plan, including where they will place bait and why. Show the access points they will seal and the sanitation tasks that matter most for your layout. Set a follow-up schedule tied to the cockroach life cycle and commit to rotating bait formulations. Use monitors and share capture counts so you can see progress rather than guess. Coordinate with other trades when plumbing or structural issues feed the problem.
You can feel the professionalism in the first 10 minutes. If the conversation is only about “stronger spray,” keep looking.
Where other pests intersect the roach plan
Pest control rarely happens in isolation. Kitchens that harbor German roaches often attract pharaoh ants, which complicate treatment because certain repellents cause ant colonies to bud. Pros can choose roach baits that ants also accept, or they’ll run a parallel ant program with non-repellents so one fix doesn’t break the other. In older homes, moisture issues that attract American roaches also invite silverfish and, in crawlspaces, termites. A company that also offers termite control services will evaluate wood-to-soil contact, drainage, and ventilation while they are already under the house. It saves time and future headaches.
If you ever wake up with bites and see specks on the mattress seams, don’t conflate that with roaches. Bed bug extermination is its own specialty with very different tools and timelines. The shared skill is inspection, but the materials and guarantees differ. A full-scope pest control service can separate these problems and sequence treatments so they do not interfere.
A realistic timeline, with numbers that hold up
Clients ask for miracles. They want “no roaches by Friday.” In a light German roach infestation, you can see a dramatic reduction within three to five days. In medium infestations, plan on two visits over three weeks to reach near-zero sightings, with a third visit at six weeks to mop up. Heavy infestations with clutter and moisture can take eight to ten weeks to stabilize, especially in multifamily settings. American roach intrusions, once the entry points are addressed and drains cleaned, often quiet down within a week, with occasional stragglers for two to three weeks.
A pro will be candid about this arc. Beware of guarantees that promise instant eradication without conditions. Biology has a clock, and even the best chemistry must ride that clock.
For those who want a DIY-ready, pro-grade playbook
If you cannot get a technician in for a week and want to start right, take these compact, high-leverage steps:
- Remove competing food and water by cleaning grease from the stove sides, drying sinks at night, and storing food in sealed containers. Place small dots of a reputable roach gel bait in concealed seams of lower cabinets, under the countertop lip, and behind the stove and fridge gaskets. Install and label four to six glue monitors in the kitchen and bathroom to track counts every three to four days. Dust dry wall voids at pipe penetrations with a light application of a boric acid or silica dust, keeping it out of exposed areas. Schedule a follow-up in 10 to 14 days to refresh bait and rotate to a different formulation if consumption slows.
These steps mirror what a professional would do, minus some of the specialty gear and the practiced eye for micro-harborages. If at any point you see roaches in broad daylight or you find oothecae clustered in multiple rooms, that’s your sign to bring in an experienced pest control contractor for a faster reset.
The quiet secret: habit beats heroics
Roach control feels dramatic on day one, when a tech squeezes a gel line under a cabinet and you later find a dozen bodies behind the stove. The real secret is boring. It is the drip that never gets fixed or the cereal box that stays open on the counter that keeps a population alive. Pros crush cockroaches fast because they close those loops as part of the treatment, then return before the eggs hatch. They clean the drain film you never see. They dust the voids you never open. They measure, adjust, and measure again. That discipline turns a frantic call into a short story with a quiet ending.
If you’re choosing a provider, look past the headline promises. Favor a pest control company that talks about bait placement rather than spray strength, that shows you the hinge cup and the kick plate void, that circles follow-up dates on a calendar. That is the team that will make your kitchen as uninteresting to roaches as a desert, and keep it that way.
Howie the Bugman Pest Control
Address: 3281 SW 3rd St, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442
Phone: (954) 427-1784