'They were coming from everywhere' - cockroach home infestations on the rise

Pest controllers have reported a rise in callouts to cockroach infestations in Cardiff, with one company regularly getting five or six reports a week.

Cardiff council reported a 9% increase in cockroach reports at domestic properties between 2024 and 2025.

Experts say warmer temperatures and higher density living in flats and apartments are behind the increased reports.

Sumesh Geevarghese, who lives in Cardiff with his family, described having a cockroach infestation at his rented apartment as "very stressful", adding: "They started coming from everywhere."

The German cockroach is the most common of five main cockroach pests in the UK.

Contrary to the name, German cockroaches originate from South East Asia and are completely dependent on humans for survival in the UK.

They are known to carry organisms which cause food poisoning to humans and other bacteria, including salmonella, staphylococcus and streptococcus, according to the British Pest Control Association (BPCA).

Cardiff council had 86 reports to domestic properties in 2025, while Newport council had 31 reports, and Swansea council had 13.

By contrast, local authorities and pest control companies in rural areas of Wales cited little to no cockroach reports when approached by BBC News.

Geevarghese, 45, said he first noticed cockroaches at his apartment when one of his neighbours moved out.

"They had kept a lot of their stuff outside - their clothes, their kitchen things, everything, before vacating," he said. "I could see cockroaches outside."

Geevarghese said soon afterwards, as he fetched a glass of water one evening, he realised the pests had entered his home.

"I turned on the light and I could see a cockroach running, two or three were running."

He said he tried treating them with sprays bought from the supermarket but that did not help and the problem got worse.

"They started coming from everywhere, from the wi-fi router, under the kettle, the toaster and all the switchboards. We would cook and they would keep coming from the sockets, from under the microwave."

Geevarghese said Cardiff council told him they had a "backlog" and could not attend every case, after which his letting agent agreed to cover the cost of hiring private pest controllers who worked on his apartment over four visits.

He said the situation was "OK now".

A spokesperson for Cardiff council said: "Treatment of cockroaches is not a statutory service, and the council does not currently provide this service for private residents."

Chris Corbett, from Aderyn Pest Control, a private pest control company in Caerphilly, said the callouts to cockroaches had grown "every year" since he received his first in 1981.

"Five years ago, we were getting probably one or two [calls] a week," he said.

"At the moment we're getting around five or six a week coming in."

Dr George Beccaloni is an entomologist and cockroach expert.

He worked in London's Natural History Museum for more than 20 years, where he curated collections of the insects.

"We know that lots of species are moving northwards and colonising Britain for the first time," he said.

"The German cockroach needs warmth, food and water during the winter to survive.

"Now we're having milder winters, populations of the cockroach in ducts and drains which would normally be killed by the cold, are probably able to survive the winter."

The BPCA said rising reports of cockroach infestations could also be due to more people living in flats and apartment complexes.

"With apartments, they are naturally warmer, because [there's] obviously lots of heating," said Niall Gallagher of the BPCA.

"You have more people living in a closer proximity, which then allows that potential to spread there as well.

"We might be seeing an increase because we generally have more people around, we have more people living closer together.

"They can do naturally well in usual room temperature, because they'll seek out those additional sources of heat, such as your fridge motors and your, sort of, your humid areas."

"The first thing to do, as soon as you find a cockroach, is contact professional pest control, ideally a BPCA member, to come out, do a survey [and] give you the right treatment plan," said Gallagher.

"We don't recommend DIY pest control because it can also spread between multiple properties as well."

Gallagher said admitting the presence of cockroaches, or any pests, was difficult for some.

"Sometimes people can get very embarrassed by pests because there is an inclination that maybe they're dirty, which actually isn't always the case," he said.

"Sometimes you are just unfortunate.

"There are companies out there with a royal warrant. Why is there a royal warrant? Because the royals will get pests.

"[Pests] really will affect everyone at some point in their life."

Gallagher said, contrary to popular belief, cockroach infestations could be controlled - though he admitted they could be "harder to treat" than other pests.

"With the right treatment, with the right engagement, every cockroach infestation can be controlled," he said.

"Humans, unfortunately, can make treatment difficult, especially if you're working, in multiple occupancy, or you work in an apartment, and actually you might need to get into five or six apartments, you know, it can make it difficult, but it can absolutely be done.

"With the right preparation, and with the right pest controller, any pest can be solved."