Small Roaches in the Kitchen? What They Usually Are and What Actually Works

You flip on the kitchen light for a glass of water and a few small roaches dart off the stovetop and disappear behind the backsplash. Small roaches in the kitchen are a different problem from the big ones that wander in after rain. In South Florida they're usually German roaches, which live and breed indoors near warmth, food and water. They won't leave on their own, and the can of spray under the sink tends to make things worse, not better.

Does seeing a few small roaches mean an infestation?

Usually, yes. "Small" is the key word. Tiny roaches are often young ones, and young roaches in your kitchen mean adults are laying eggs somewhere close by. These roaches spend most of their time hidden in cracks, so the few you see at night are the ones that got crowded out or came looking for food.

Seeing them during the day is a stronger sign. It usually means the hiding spots are full.

How did they get in? Most often in a grocery bag, a used appliance, a cardboard box from a storage unit, or through the walls from a neighboring unit if you live in a condo or apartment. If that sounds like your building, our post on why roaches keep coming back to condo units goes into the shared-wall side.

Why store sprays and foggers make it worse

This is the part most people learn the hard way. You spray, you see dead roaches, and two weeks later there are more than before.

Sprays kill the roaches they hit, but most of the colony isn't out in the open. It's in the hinges and wall voids. The spray also repels the rest, so they move deeper into the walls, into the next cabinet over or into another room. Now you have the same roaches in more places.

Sprays also get on bait. Roaches avoid bait that smells like repellent, so if you've sprayed around the sink and then a technician puts bait there, the bait has a harder job.

Bug bombs and foggers are worse. The mist settles on counters, dishes and open surfaces, which is exactly where roaches aren't. It doesn't reach the cracks where they hide.

The kitchen routine that helps the treatment work

You don't need to scrub the house top to bottom. A few habits make a big difference:

• Wash dishes or run the dishwasher before bed. Don't leave a pan soaking in the sink.
• Wipe the stovetop and the counter around it at night. Grease is food for roaches.
• Pick up pet bowls in the evening, or at least the food bowl.
• Keep trash in a can with a lid, and take it out when it's full.
• Get cardboard out of the kitchen. Unpack groceries and deliveries and recycle the boxes.
• Fix drips under the sink and dry the sink basin at night if you can.
• Hold off on the spray. Let the bait do its work.
• Normal wiping of counters and shelves is fine. Right after a visit, just don't scrub or spray cleaners into the treated cracks and bait spots in the cabinets, so you don't wipe away the bait. Ask your technician what to leave alone.

If you rent out a unit, our guide for Airbnb hosts covers turnovers between guests.