How to get rid of German roaches once and for all?
German roach infestations rapidly multiply in kitchens and often survive standard initial spraying, leaving lingering nymphs and medium-sized bugs behind. This persistent survival makes it difficult to completely eradicate them, causing ongoing frustration even after prolonged professional pest control treatments.
What the numbers show
Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count
- People have been saying this in most months since September 2026.
- This comes up 42.0× more often in r/Pestcontrol than across the site as a whole.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Hiring professional exterminators2 people mentionedDid this help you?
- 2using glue traps2 people mentionedDid this help you?
- 3Spraying Raid everywhere to kill adult roachesDid this help you?
- 4Finding and targeting where they have been hidingDid this help you?
- 5Waiting out long-term treatmentsDid this help you?
- 6Trashing appliances and electronics instead of moving themDid this help you?
- 7packaging away food in plastic containersDid this help you?
- 8stopping cooking for a whileDid this help you?
- 9setting up sticky traps in sink cabinetsDid this help you?
- 10putting all dirty dishes in the fridgeDid this help you?
- 11sanitizing the area with vinegar, dish soap, and waterDid this help you?
- 12Using professional-grade pest control equipment following the labelDid this help you?
- 13Doing a room-by-room deep clean starting with laundry, dishes, decluttering, dusting, cleaning surfaces, and floors.Did this help you?
- 14Using basic cleaning products like Dawn dish soap, all-purpose cleaner, and disinfectant instead of expensive specialized supplies.Did this help you?
- 15Using Advion bait and sticky trapsDid this help you?
- 16Doing deep cleaningDid this help you?
- 17Looking for holes and plugging them up with caulking, silicon, and polychloroprene sealDid this help you?
- 18Using diatomaceous earthDid this help you?
- 19Bought advion roach gel, Roach motels, and ordered GentrolDid this help you?
- 20Planning on spraying the outside of the houseDid this help you?
- 21Using advion gel in bb-sized placements where roaches live and hideDid this help you?
- 22Putting out sticky traps by the stoveDid this help you?
- 23Using Advion gel bait along the counter against the wallDid this help you?
- 24Trying other treatment methodsDid this help you?
- 25Keeping the place clean, avoiding leaving food out or dirty dishes in the sink, and plugging the drainsDid this help you?
- 26Cleaning out the entire pantry and kitchen cabinetsDid this help you?
- 27Professional air duct and vent cleaningDid this help you?
- 28Vacuuming multiple times a dayDid this help you?
- 29Professional pest controlDid this help you?
- 30Applying boric acid and diatomaceous earthDid this help you?
- 31Drilling holes into walls and stairs to inspect with a cameraDid this help you?
- 32Using pesticidesDid this help you?
- 33using aerosol treatments like shockwave in cracks and crevicesDid this help you?
- 34deploying sticky traps and dry flowable bait alongside Alpine and an IGRDid this help you?
- 35switching to Alpine and Gentrol applied heavily underneath appliances and racks monthlyDid this help you?
- 36Regular professional pest-control treatments through the apartment communityDid this help you?
- 37Using gel bait and numerous glue monitors or traps throughout the apartmentDid this help you?
- 38Maintenance sealing and caulking baseboard and wall gapsDid this help you?
- 39Cleaning drains and keeping the apartment clean without leaving food outDid this help you?
- 40spraying alpine wsg along exterior baseboardsDid this help you?
- 41baited the bathroomDid this help you?
- 42having an exterminator sprayDid this help you?
- 43Spraying RaidDid this help you?
- 44Cleaning down everything to cut off food supplyDid this help you?
- 45Placing peppermint oil as a deterrentDid this help you?
- 46Using traps that attract and poison themDid this help you?
- 47Asking for alternative or more thorough treatments like gel baitsDid this help you?
- 48Inspecting for cracks and having management fill them inDid this help you?
- 49Waiting patiently through a multi-treatment cycleDid this help you?
- 50realizing the infestation might be unintentionally brought along when moving from place to placeDid this help you?
- 51getting the apartment sprayedDid this help you?
- 52cleaning behind the fridge and stoveDid this help you?
- 53getting rid of cardboard boxesDid this help you?
- 54Using pheromone trapsDid this help you?
- 55Buying parasitic waspsDid this help you?
- 56Swatting them down with ragsDid this help you?
- 57Killing them with hands and stomping on themDid this help you?
- 58Planning to hire an exterminator to spray pesticidesDid this help you?
- 59Kicking out the roommate immediatelyDid this help you?
- 60Using sticky traps to monitor and catch roachesDid this help you?
- 61Throwing out cardboard boxes and personal belongingsDid this help you?
- 62Applying gel baits and nonrepellent spraysDid this help you?
- 63Trying various commercial baits and sprays like combat, bengal, and hot shotDid this help you?
- 64Considering mixing professional-grade products like alpine wsg and gentrol IGR concentrate in a pump sprayerDid this help you?
- 65calling pest control multiple timesDid this help you?
- 66trying to tackle it yourself with gel baits or IGR productsDid this help you?
- 67Hiring a professional pest control company for IGR and insecticide treatmentsDid this help you?
- 68Applying extra DIY pesticides and traps over the professional treatmentDid this help you?
- 69Trashing all cardboard and paper productsDid this help you?
- 70Vacuuming daily and transferring all pantry food into sealed containersDid this help you?
- 71Drying and plugging sinks and showers at night, and emptying pet water bowlsDid this help you?
- 72Hiring professional fumigation companiesDid this help you?
- 73Caulking every crevice in the kitchenDid this help you?
- 74Applying cockroach bait gelsDid this help you?
- 75Sealing vents with foil or plastic wrapDid this help you?
- 76Using residual sprays, gel baits, and glue monitorsDid this help you?
- 77Sealing off all cracks, crevices, and tiny openingsDid this help you?
- 78Adding airborne insect growth regulator discs to supplement liquid sprays in tight spaces.Did this help you?
- 79putting diatomaceous earth around baseboards and under sinks to dry out the pestsDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Bought this because they’ve become immune to everything else. The infestation is so bad and it’s embarrassing to have friends over.”source ↗
“We have been battling them for three months now.”source ↗
“I’m losing my mind and ready to rip up the entire kitchen.”source ↗
“I think this is a baby cockroach stuck in a glue trap, but we're seeing a lot of these in the apartment.”source ↗
“We've called pest control multiple times, but is there anything we can do ourselves? What should we buy besides glue traps?”source ↗
“I did similar thing in my apartment few years ago, but I sealed the vent with plastic wrap cause foil was making weird noise every time the air moved. The caulking part took me two weekends”source ↗
“I live in an apartment and started seeing maybe 1 roach (I’m like 90% sure they’re German?) every few days coming from behind the stove/oven so I put out sticky traps right by each side of the stove with Advion gel bait along the counter against the wall and after a full week, there’s NOTHING in the traps.”source ↗
“this is a brand new apartment ugh, i saw a baby german the other day and i think it is one because of the stripes. i feel like im going crazy, no matter how much i keep clean this has been a problem at every apartment i've had in this town.”source ↗
“I just moved into a monthly rate motel. I already paid for the month, and can't afford to go anywhere else.”source ↗
“I know since the neighbors have them too, I cant get rid of them 100%. But I have to get rid of as many as I can.”source ↗
“They're so bad, i dont see how people live like this. They're american and German cockroaches.”source ↗
“I dont know how or why these German roaches are in my kitchen but its a lot of them and felt like they just started really multiplying the last week or so. I need them out as im getting grossed out now and would love to hear some solutions.”source ↗
“Is there anything I can do to kill them all once and for all?”source ↗
“I’m so so SO scared of taking them with us.”source ↗
“How do I move? Do I take the fridge , washer and dryer, kitchen electronics, tv’s??? I’ve read they can live in all of these, do I need to trash it all????”source ↗
“I f*cked up - saw a live cockroach the size of half my finger (2 inches) and failed to kill it.”source ↗
“Then discovered this dead bug floating in the sink. Checked our sticky traps and found the following.”source ↗
“Just missed it and it got away after crawling under the microwave.”source ↗
“So I just moved into my home in May and it's a brand new build in a subdivision and I have seen and killed 4 German Roaches in my house.”source ↗
“I'm freaking out and I have no idea where they're coming from!”source ↗
“I can't afford a professional right now so I need advice... I really don't want to deal with Cockroaches 😭”source ↗
“The fact that I’m seeing them more than once has been weighing on me to the point I can hardly sleep.”source ↗
“We can’t find where their larvae is :(”source ↗
“cockroaches have been an ongoing issue to some degree, particularly during the warmer/rainier months, but lately the situation has become much more frustrating because I’m seeing live roaches and nymphs despite a lot of treatment and maintenance work.”source ↗
“What I’m struggling with is the repeated pattern, the nymphs, the bathroom exhaust vent, and the consistent activity around certain parts of the apartment.”source ↗
“im stressing tf out and thinking of breaking the lease. i lived in a horribly infested dorm a few years ago and it traumatized me. i cant do that mental warfare again.”source ↗
“Since the 1st treatment, we have still seen quite a few in the kitchen and honestly I'm doubting if its working at all.”source ↗
“As my ENTIRE flat block is infested, I think sprays might not be doing much at all as I haven't seen a decrease in numbers .”source ↗
“I've also seen a few of them lay on their back for a while then completely recover.”source ↗
“recently we’ve been seeing a baby roach or two every few days?”source ↗
“Is it possible that they’re from old eggs that were laid while the adults were still here? Or maybe coming in from a nest in a neighboring apartment?”source ↗
“Lastly, how can we prevent them turning into adults and mating in our apartment?”source ↗
“I have been battling through my entire house for 3 years.”source ↗
“I really don't know what else to do.”source ↗
“I live in an apartment and it’s been a back and forth battle with my German cockroach problem and my landlord won’t do anything since it’s a condo and not an apartment.”source ↗
“I tried using combat baits which didnt work because they avoided it, bengal which doesn’t work because German cockroaches are resistant to pyrethoid insecticides and hot shot baits which didn’t do anything.”source ↗
“If the pest control is simply spraying and putting glue traps, this won’t do anything but slow it down.”source ↗
“Unfortunately a new victim of the German Roach.”source ↗
“I haven't seen any in 10 days but I feel like there is no way this could be resolved that quickly.”source ↗
“I am willing to do literally anything to deal with this as quickly and swiftly as I can.”source ↗
“I’ve fogged the place a few times whenever we cleaned the entire house and we’re still getting roaches!”source ↗
“They are underneath the tile in the kitchen on the counter.”source ↗
“Have seen a few nymphs In my upstairs bath.”source ↗
“I am wondering if it is beneficial for me to add some some Gentrol discs in the bathroom and the kitchen below to make sure these babies don’t reach maturation.”source ↗
“I understand the nygard is an igr, but being sprayed wouldn’t they have to cross the barrier to be affected?”source ↗
“been hiring orkin for almost 2 years, still could found silverfish indoor…..I’m so sick of it now..”source ↗
“ive been having issues with 2 bakery's. Owner is getting upset, ive used Advion Gel Bait, Phantom with Gentrol IGR. Point sources, Advion Gel Bait Arenas, they continue having issues, any other suggestions or products to use???”source ↗
“Professional fumigation companies have come repeatedly with no lasting results. Roaches keep returning.”source ↗
“jesus that's a nightmare scenario. the friend not saying anything for 5 whole days while unpacking roach-infested stuff into your house is just... what was the plan there exactly?”source ↗
“i think infestation just start or low infestation, since i often see 1-2 cockroach every night sometimes i see opened egg and droppings. Thats whyi need to get rid of it ASAP since cockroach infestation worst than mice infestation i encounter....”source ↗
“sadly in my country getting that only for middle to upper class, getting examinators quiete expensive and wouldn't mind spend single penny there unless its very very cheapp”source ↗
“As a middle poor family, iam dealing with these bs cockroach what do i do?”source ↗
“we couldn't afford pest control easily and iam man of the house now, i am only the one who can eliminate and fix these by only myself. What do i do?”source ↗
“i often see cockroach every night since rainy days starts many these annoying cockroach appearing out my sight also many pests appearing in my house too.”source ↗
“I can do pesticides spray but i think it's not enough since they hide in narrow space...”source ↗
Where this came up
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