Cockroach control for homes and units

Which cockroach is in your kitchen?

Getting rid of cockroaches starts with knowing the species, because the treatment is different for each one.

German cockroach

Small, 12–15mm, light brown, with two dark stripes behind the head. This is the one that infests kitchens, units and cafes. German cockroaches live indoors year-round, breed fast, and hide in warm, tight spots — behind the fridge motor, under the kettle, inside the dishwasher and cupboard hinges. If you're seeing small roaches on the bench at night, or in a unit block, it's almost always German, and it needs a gel-bait program rather than a can of spray.

Australian and American cockroaches

The big ones, 30–40mm, reddish-brown. These are mostly outdoor cockroaches that wander in from the garden, subfloor, roof void or drains, especially in warm weather. They don't usually breed indoors the way German cockroaches do, so treatment focuses on the perimeter, entry points and harbourage outside, backed by a residual barrier to stop them getting back in.

How do you get rid of cockroaches for good?

Supermarket sprays and bombs knock down the roaches you can see and leave the eggs and the hidden population untouched, which is exactly why the problem comes back. A professional program uses gel baits placed where the cockroaches actually harbour and feed — the bait is carried back and passed through the population, including the ones you never see — backed by a residual treatment on the surfaces they travel. For German cockroaches, baiting is what clears an infestation; spray on its own can even scatter them further into a building.

Why cockroaches keep coming back after spraying

Two reasons. First, the egg cycle: a German cockroach carries dozens of eggs in a protective case that surface sprays don't kill, so a fresh generation hatches after you've sprayed. Second, shared walls. In units and apartments, cockroaches move through wall cavities, shared plumbing and service risers between flats, so treating one kitchen while the flat next door is untreated just shuffles them around. That's why a block-wide treatment through strata often works better than unit-by-unit.

What a treatment includes and what it costs

Cockroach treatments start from $189 for a standard home — internal gel baiting and residual treatment of kitchens, wet areas and harbourage points, plus the external perimeter for the larger outdoor species. We match the program to the species we find, so a German cockroach job in a unit looks different to a treatment for the big Australian roaches wandering in from the garden. A bad German cockroach infestation sometimes needs a follow-up visit to break the egg cycle, and we'll tell you up front if yours is one of them. For unit blocks and strata schemes we quote a coordinated program across the affected flats and common areas. Every job is covered by our Return & Re-treat Guarantee: if the cockroaches come back within the warranty period, so do we, free.

Cockroaches in units and apartments

The Shire and St George have a lot of unit stock — Cronulla, Hurstville and Kogarah especially — and German cockroaches thrive in it. Warm, shared, older walk-ups give them everything they need: heat, moisture and easy runs between flats. If you rent or own a unit, treating your own kitchen is the right start, but a persistent infestation usually means the building needs a coordinated approach. We work with residents, owners and strata managers to sort that out.

We treat homes and units across Hurstville, Kogarah and Cronulla. Seeing ants on the same job? We treat them together. And if you're clearing the kitchen before you move out, pair it with end-of-lease pest control and the certificate your agent asks for.