How to Get Rid of German Cockroaches

German cockroaches are the small light-brown roaches that turn up in kitchens and bathrooms. They are also the hardest species to shake. A single female carries an egg case holding thirty to forty young and a warm kitchen can run several generations in a year, so a few become hundreds fast. Getting rid of German cockroaches means hitting them faster than they breed. (And no, most kitchen roaches are not the flying kind: Can cockroaches fly?)

Why German cockroaches keep coming back

German cockroaches live indoors, close to food, water and warmth, then squeeze into the tightest cracks: cabinet hinges, the motor housing of the fridge, the gaps behind the dishwasher. They breed year-round, and the females keep the egg cases on them until the young are ready, so spraying the adults barely touches the next wave waiting in the harborage. (The full timeline: What is the life cycle of a German cockroach?)

How to get rid of German cockroaches

Reach the harborage they hide in. Puff a thin, even layer of Dust to Dust into cabinet cracks and hinges, the gaps behind and under the fridge, dishwasher and stove and the warm voids they nest in, using the Insect Buster to get deep. The plant-powered powder works like diatomaceous earth but kills up to three times faster, so it keeps working as roaches track back and forth. Knock down the ones in the open with a mist of Six Feet Under on hard surfaces. Then cut off what keeps them indoors: fix leaks and drips, store food sealed, clean grease from the stove and behind it and take the trash out nightly. With German roaches, persistence is the whole game: keep the powder in place and stay ahead of the breeding.

Clear German cockroaches for good

• Dust the nest sites: puff Dust to Dust into cabinet cracks, hinges and the gaps behind the fridge and dishwasher with the Insect Buster.
• Spray what you see: mist Six Feet Under on roaches and the surfaces they cross, then wipe.
• Cut the water: fix leaks, dry the sink at night and wipe up condensation, since they cannot last long without moisture.
• Starve and seal: store food sealed, degrease the stove and seal the cracks they hide in.

Related: How to kill cockroaches and How to get rid of cockroaches in the kitchen.

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