Cockroach Control in the City Bowl

The City Bowl is the CBD and the older residential suburbs packed into the bowl formed by Table Mountain, Devil's Peak, Lion's Head and Signal Hill.

Cockroach Control by suburb

We cover all 26 suburbs on our City Bowl & Atlantic Seaboard route. Each suburb page covers what we find there and what works for those streets and buildings.

Cockroaches in City Bowl restaurants and flats

German cockroaches are the staple of City Bowl restaurant and hotel kitchens, and they spread into flats through shared plumbing risers and ducts. Kloof Street and the CBD's restaurant strips have dense, connected buildings where a problem in one kitchen soon becomes a problem next door. American cockroaches come up through old floor drains at night.

We use gel baits, dusts and insect growth regulators instead of open spraying, and we offer scheduled restaurant service with written reports for health inspections. Ground-floor flats in older buildings also see the large American cockroaches that live in the old sewers and come up through dry floor drains. Pouring water into floor traps once a week keeps the water seal in place and stops them.

German cockroaches are common in restaurants and flats.

How to tell you have a problem

From the technician

The first thing an experienced technician does is look inside the fridge motor compartment and behind the microwave. Warm electrical spots are cockroach favourites and are often missed with sprays.

A lot of people think cockroaches mean the house is dirty. German cockroaches very often arrive in delivery boxes or second-hand appliances, and a clean house just gives them fewer places to feed.

How we handle cockroach control in City Bowl

Gel bait is the backbone of most cockroach treatments. It is placed in tiny spots inside hinges, cracks and appliance housings where cockroaches feed, and because they feed on each other's droppings, the bait passes through the population. We add an insect growth regulator for German cockroaches so the young cannot mature and breed. For American cockroaches, we treat floor drains, manholes and entry points with a residual product, and use dusts in wall voids and ceiling spaces. We avoid broad spraying of open surfaces because it is less effective and adds unnecessary chemicals to your home.

Want the full step-by-step? See how our cockroach control service works.

Keeping them out afterwards

• Clean behind and under the stove and fridge every few months, since grease build-up there feeds a lot of cockroaches.
• Never leave dirty dishes or pots in the sink overnight.
• Take rubbish out every evening and keep outside bins with tight lids away from doors.
• Keep floor drains covered and run water down little-used drains weekly so the traps stay full.
• Check cardboard boxes, second-hand appliances and furniture before bringing them indoors.

Pricing, honestly

Price depends largely on the species and how big the population is, with German cockroaches in a well-established kitchen taking more time and usually a follow-up visit. The size of the home or business, the number of units involved and the amount of equipment and cupboards to treat all affect the quote. Restaurants and food businesses often go onto a regular contract, which tends to work out better value than repeated once-off treatments, and the quote is free.

For the occasional big American cockroach wandering in from the drain, a drain cover and some sealing will often do the trick. German cockroaches are a different story, and I would say DIY sprays and foggers make most infestations worse by scattering them into the walls and next door. If you are seeing small cockroaches in the kitchen during the day, you need a professional.

Frequently asked questions

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