The roach you're seeing is probably German
If it's small (about 1/2 inch), light brown, and you see it run when you turn on the kitchen light at night — it's a German cockroach. They're the #1 cockroach problem in Northeast Philly row homes and Bucks County apartments.
Why store-bought sprays and bombs fail
Sprays kill the roaches you see
Then the colony — usually 100x more roaches hiding inside walls and under appliances — comes right back out.
Bombs scatter the colony deeper
The pesticide fog from foggers triggers a roach defense response. They retreat into wall voids, electrical outlets, and behind appliances where the fog can't reach. You'll see fewer for a week, then a population explosion.
Boric acid is slow but works
If you're going DIY, boric acid powder placed in cracks (behind appliances, under sinks) is your best option. It takes 2–4 weeks.
What actually works
1. Gel baits in the right spots
We place small dots of cockroach gel bait inside the cracks and crevices where they live — not in the open. Workers eat it, carry it back, and pass it to the colony through feces and grooming. One bait point kills 50+ roaches.
2. Insect growth regulators (IGRs)
We apply an IGR alongside the bait. It prevents nymphs from reaching breeding age. Without IGRs, you'll knock the visible population down but a new generation will come back in 4 weeks.
3. Source-level cleanup
We'll walk you through where roaches are hiding (almost always 6 feet from a water source — under the sink, behind the dishwasher, around the fridge). Small cleanup steps speed treatment, but we won't shame you.
4. Two follow-ups, 14 days apart
This is what gets to clear. We come back twice without an extra service charge.
How long until they're gone?
- Light infestation (a few seen at night): 2 weeks to mostly clear, 4 weeks to fully clear.
- Heavy infestation (live roaches in daylight): 4–6 weeks total.
A note for row homes and apartments
German roaches travel through shared walls. If your unit has them, the next-door unit probably does too. We always recommend alerting immediate neighbors and offering them an inspection too — otherwise the roaches just come back from next door in 6 months.
We do German roach treatment across Mayfair, Frankford, Olney, Bensalem, and Levittown. Free inspection, discreet vehicles, family-owned.