Unsure what German cockroaches were doing in Wales, I reached out to the experts to learn more, only to uncover a growing problem
16:32, 04 Jan 2026Updated 16:33, 04 Jan 2026
Cockroaches discovered in a flat by pest controller Gareth Davies(Image: Gareth Davies)
After cockroaches infested my flat in Cardiff, I turned to pest control experts — only to learn I was far from alone. When I first spotted a small, brown insect quickly scuttling across my door frame in my student apartment I thought little of it. In a previous flat I had lived in I had spent a month or so with small centipede-like creatures crawling out of the drain every time I went for a shower, so this felt like nothing.
But soon I was finding them everywhere, from the fridge and toaster to the toilet. It got worse and worse, before an internet search revealed the identity of my unwelcome new roommates who would come to be with me for weeks and weeks. German cockroaches.
They were constant, quick and keen to make me lurch for my hastily purchased cockroach spray at a moment’s notice. Unsure what German cockroaches were doing in Wales, I reached out to the experts to learn more, only to uncover a growing problem. For the biggest stories in Wales first, sign up to our daily newsletter
“[At one time] I could probably count on one hand the number of German cockroach problems I’ve had in a five-year period. [But] in the last eight to nine months, I’ve probably had 150 cockroach cases,” said Gareth Davies, a south Wales-based pest control expert who has been in the industry for nearly 40 years.
Pest controller Gareth Davies said he could at one stage count on one hand the amount of German cockroach call-outs he’d attended(Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne)
The problem is “just getting worse”, he told me. Identifiable by their brown striped backs and flightless wings, German cockroaches are the most common type of cockroach in the UK.
Mr Davies’ company has received call-outs for German cockroach infestations across Cardiff, including to social housing, student accommodation, and hotels and restaurants in the city centre. We previously spent a day with him at work which you can read about here.
And he isn’t the only Cardiff-based pest controller who thinks this is a real issue. “We’ve definitely seen an increase in the last two years,” said Werner Starbuck, a pest control expert at Pest Control Cardiff.
Requests made for Cardiff Council’s pest control services to deal with cockroaches paint a similar picture. The past three years have seen the highest number of call-out requests in a decade, with 144 made last year compared to just 80 two years earlier. This 80% increase in Cardiff Council requests is driven by the rising number of call-outs to commercial properties.
The past three years have seen the highest number of call-out requests in a decade, with 144 made last year compared to just 80 two years earlier(Image: Cardiff Council)
In 2020, the owners of Mr Tikka, a cafe on City Road in Roath, were fined over £2,000 after inspectors uncovered a cockroach infestation. The council can prosecute and fine businesses and landlords who fail to meet the legal safety and hygiene standards. A landlord and letting agent were fined earlier this month for a string of housing offences relating to a three-story cockroach-infested property in Riverside.
According to Kristian Nettleship, a member support officer at the British Pest Control Association, the issue is “not unique to Cardiff” but “something we see across the UK, particularly in busy urban areas with a high turnover of people”.
Asked to explain their apparent rise in the species in Cardiff, he said it doesn’t usually come down to a single cause. “We’re seeing a combination of pressures that can make infestations more likely to take hold and spread,” he said.
“Higher-density living is a big factor. Large cities tend to have more houses of multiple occupancy, blocks of flats and shared facilities, which give cockroaches plenty of opportunities to move between properties unnoticed.”
Other less expected factors can also play a role. The cost of living crisis, Mr Nettleship suggested, could also be encouraging people to purchase second-hand appliances that are infested or to bulk-buy and store food items, creating better conditions for cockroaches.
Mr Nettleship added that cockroaches are “very good hitchhikers” and can be brought into the area in the luggage, food packaging or personal belongings of those visiting the city.
German cockroaches can carry diseases such as E. coli and salmonella. They can contaminate food and potentially cause illnesses, including food poisoning, diarrhoea and gastroenteritis.
Gareth says the issue has increased in recent times and can be a real problem to deal with(Image: Jonathon Hill/Media Wales)
They will eat almost anything and – in their hunt for food and water– can contaminate everything they come into contact with. Droppings, egg cases and shed skins are tell-tale signs that a property has an infestation.
The nocturnal insects are not actually from Germany. Travelling to Europe from Asia over 250 years ago, they were instead named after the country where the species was first classified.
Mr Davies said that the milder weather created by climate change also “has got a lot to do with it”, with Mr Starbuck also said can have a bearing. “The warmth, the breeding conditions, the food sources. Ultimately, it just comes down to whether the conditions are favourable,” Mr Starbuck said.
Mr Davies explained that cockroaches love living in warmer areas like “the surrounds of ovens, the backs of fridges, water pipes, all the nooks and crannies, and everywhere that we can’t see basically”. “You can’t just sort of go in and spray once because of the lifecycle of them. Their egg cases, once they hatch, can have anything from six to 12 babies in,” he said.
Female cockroaches produce between four and eight egg cases, called oothecae, in their lifecycle. Typically reaching up to 1.5cm in length, German cockroaches can reproduce faster than any other residential cockroach species.
As with many pests, if cockroaches are found in one apartment, they are very likely to be in the whole block, Mr Davies explained. “Cockroaches never stick to one flat,” Mr Davies said, adding that he recently found the insects “right throughout” a property along Cardiff’s Newport Road that was divided into flats and Airbnbs. “It’s quite horrific, really,” said the veteran exterminator.
Call-outs for rats and mice are actually a lot higher than cockroaches and bedbugs(Image: Cardiff Council)
Pest controllers need to undertake a longer programme when tackling cockroaches, which involves repeated visits and specialist sprays and gels to disrupt their lifecycle. “Everywhere we can’t spray we gel, like in microwave ovens and toasters, where they love to breed,” said Mr Davies.
While the necessary treatments for a small flat can cost up to £450, the price for larger properties such as tower blocks and student accommodations can be in the thousands.
A spokesperson for Cardiff Council said cockroaches are an “extremely difficult pest to eradicate from a property”. “Treatment does work, but the issue often returns a few months later, often requiring multiple treatments at the same address,” they added.
Cockroach call-outs, however, still pale in comparison to those for rats and mice. They make up only around two per cent of call-out requests to the council’s pest control team, while rats and mice make up 58% and 20% respectively.
Rat call-outs to the council last year alone were three times higher than the total number of cockroach requests since 2015. Cardiff Council could not confirm whether there had been more German cockroaches in the city than in years prior.
Mr Nettleship added that “cockroaches are under-reported”. “Many infestations go on for months before a professional is called, which can make it look like there’s a sudden spike when the issue has actually been building for some time.”
The BPCA recommends that those suffering from a German cockroach infestation keep areas where they are likely to be clean and ensure gaps around doors and windows are sealed to prevent entry.
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