Having roaches does not mean your apartment is dirty. In an apartment building, pest activity can be sustained by leaks, cracks, openings and conditions in other parts of the building entirely, and spotless apartments get them. Bed bugs have nothing to do with cleanliness either.
Report it first, and report it usefully
What you say determines what happens next. Tell your super or managing agent:
- Where you are seeing them. Under the sink, near the dishwasher, around the base of the toilet, near the radiator.
- How often, and whether you have seen more than one.
- Whether there is a leak or a visible opening nearby. A dripping faucet, a sweating pipe, a gap where the pipes go into the wall.
- A photo, if you can. A clear photo usually settles in seconds what a description argues about for a week.
- If it is bed bugs, say where you are seeing them, and do not start moving bedding, clothing and belongings into other rooms. Moving potentially infested items is how one room becomes three.
Things that help while you wait
- Dry the sink and counter before bed. Roaches forage at night and water is a large part of what they are looking for.
- Use warm water and dish soap on grease. The stove surround, the wall behind it, the range hood filter, and the seam where the counter meets the backsplash are where it collects.
- Break down cardboard the day it arrives.
- Store dry food in hard containers, and keep the trash covered.
What not to do
- Do not use bombs, foggers or store sprays. NYC Health advises against them and favors targeted methods such as gels and baits.
- Do not layer your own products over a professional treatment without asking what was already used. Some products interfere with others.
- Do not disturb visible bait or treated areas unless the instructions say to. If you are unsure whether a spot was treated, ask before cleaning it.
Openings are the whole game
A mouse can fit through an opening about a quarter of an inch, roughly the width of a pencil. Check where pipes enter the wall under the sinks, behind the stove and refrigerator, under the front door, and around radiator pipes.
Photograph the opening and report it. These are better repaired properly by building staff than packed with something from a hardware store, and sealing them is work the city's rules require the building to do.
If the appointment does not work for you
Contact management as soon as you can and offer another time, rather than missing the visit or turning it away at the door. In a shared building, a skipped apartment can leave part of the problem uninspected.
If the reason is that the apartment is not in a state you want anyone to see: technicians who work in apartment buildings are accustomed to homes in every condition. That is a pest control observation, not a judgment about you.
Seeing one after a treatment
Seeing a roach after a treatment does not automatically mean the treatment failed. What tells you more is the trend over time. Rather than asking for another spray, ask what has not been found yet.
Why your building matters. Pest control in an apartment building requires treatment, repairs, access and information working together. A pesticide can kill a pest. It cannot repair a leaking pipe, seal an opening, or notice that three apartments on the same stack are reporting the same thing.