Just found a cockroach crawling down from air vent in bathroom

another_casualty

Congratulations to me.

I’ve recently moved into my new flat . It is an old house circa 1900 split into 4 flats . Wooden floorboards , stud walls etc.
I moved into an empty shell , but had the bathroom gutted out and a new one installed . Kitchen revamped except tiling and cupboards.
The bathroom has new laminate flooring , the kitchen new vinyl flooring and the rest new carpeting .
There are no windows in the bathroom or kitchen .
I’ve had the odd spider.

I have one of those plugs which are supposed to deter insects & rodents. To an extent , it actually works . If I see a spider it’s normally cowering in the bathroom or high up the walls because of the plug in.

This morning was the first cockroach I saw . Hopefully the only one . It was sticking out of the vent . It looked unsure whether to come in.
I tried the dyson . Not strong enough. So I put brown tape on the vents. Vents need a clean . Not doing that now.

Living on my own , I don’t know if I really. Need the extractor on as I always have bathroom door open anyway .

Is there a chance I’ve nipped this in the bud ?
Could I be getting an infestation ?
Please advise

Hedgehog99

There is no such thing as a single cockroach.

Yes, you definitely do need a working extractor fan in a windowless bathroom other wise you're asking for damp and mould.

Local council pest control should be free of charge - ring them and see what they say. For all you know, they've been called out to other properties in the same building.

When it comes to pest control and dwellings in the same block, I do think there's a "civic duty" element to it, of working together to nip problems in the bud instead of leaving it to become a much bigger problem.

firefox1956

If you have seen one there will be lots more.
I would advise getting in a local independent pest control firm.
NOT Rentokil or those types.
They will use chemicals that are unavailable to the general public & will soon sort your problem out.
You will probably need to get together with you neighbours on this as the whole house will be infected.
P.S.
I hate the damn things.................

another_casualty

Thanks for the help , please keep it coming .

Last week ,,I saw about a dozen ants , but they disappeared .
That was on my previous thread here . I killed by spray and shoe .
Apart from the extractor this morning, there are no other cockroaches to be seen .. so far .

Regarding the rest of the building . The flat above has been empty for just over a fortnight . It was advertised to let, but got withdrawn from market after about a week .
The Sri Lankan family above don’t speak much English and keep,themselves to them selves( apart from parking a child’s bike and pram in the communal area & the kids running around at the weeekend).
Not sure if it’s worth having a word with the managing agents regarding the cockroach ?
I am wondering if it indeed was a cockroach I saw ,or a large beetle type insect. It seemed quite large and had two “antlers “ sticking out . It was a dark colour like a spider.
At first I thought it was a spider.

another_casualty

Just given the flat it’s usual weekly clean . Nothing else anywhere .
In a way, that’s good .

firefox1956

Picture of a cockroach below.
Obviously you would need evidence of one before contacting the managing agents.
https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/cockroaches-sketch-vector-color-drawing-569477857?src=O5mdewAcp8fyJ1ILtsjtPA-1-3

Might have been one of these ??

https://www.shutterstock.com/image-vector/black-large-beetle-icon-vector-illustration-476463421?src=4R__x8pu6R2PqC4672K6PA-1-0

Risteard

If it was a cockcroach it would have emitted a musky smell.

sevenhills

another_casualty wrote: »

Last week ,,I saw about a dozen ants , but they disappeared .

If you have more than one type of pest, perhaps you should think about how they are surviving.
If you can stop them getting food and shelter, that will be their demise.

What could they be eating, crumbs, rotten wood .......

peachyprice

another_casualty wrote: »

The Sri Lankan family above don’t speak much English

One of the common causes of cockroaches is from large sacks of rice imported direct from asia.

Being a converted building there are hundreds of ways for pests hide and to move around from one flat to another. If it was a cockroach the whole building will have to be treated.

bertiewhite

Hedgehog99 wrote: »

Local council pest control should be free of charge - ring them and see what they say.

I think that depends on the council? I rang ours about a rat problem from the field next door and they wanted £50 just to come out.

another_casualty

Thanks again for the help,.
Looking at those pictures, it may well have been a large beetle .
I had a large black beetle a couple of months ago in my bedroom when I left the window open . I introduced it to the toilet via a tissue.
Where I live there are plants / bushes outside my windoews .

Thing that’s baffling me is that I keep everything tidy . Being here only a couple of months from an empty shell, it looks like I’ve still kept the place spotless .
As I say, this beetle/ cockroach was found in the vent in the bathroom but there’s not a sign of anything else.