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Roach Prevention: A Recent Job & Some Homeowner Tips

Name: Wayne's Pest Extermination
Address: 1000 Innovation Dr, Ottawa, ON, K2K 3E7, CA
Telephone: +1 343-459-6272

Category: Holiday

Published: September 01, 2026

By Wayne, Owner, Wayne’s Pest Extermination

What I Walked Into

September is when I start reminding homeowners around the Greater Ottawa area to pay a little more attention to what is happening inside kitchens, basements, bathrooms, and other areas where there is food or moisture.

A few weeks ago, I heard from a homeowner who had started seeing the occasional cockroach in the kitchen at night.

It started with one near the sink. They cleaned the kitchen thoroughly and hoped that was the end of it. A few nights later, they saw another one disappear behind the stove. Then they found one inside the cabinet underneath the sink.

At that point, they knew it probably wasn't just one roach that had somehow wandered inside.

The home itself was clean and well maintained. The homeowner was already wiping the counters every night, taking the garbage out regularly, and keeping food put away.

That's something I always point out with roaches. Having them in your home doesn't automatically mean the house is dirty. They need very little food, water, and space to survive, and once they find the right conditions, they can stay hidden surprisingly well.

The Problem

Cockroaches are good at staying out of sight.

During the day, they usually hide in narrow, dark areas. That can mean behind appliances, inside cabinet gaps, around plumbing, underneath sinks, or along small cracks where people rarely look.

I started in the kitchen because that was where the homeowner had seen the most activity.

Behind the stove and refrigerator, I found signs that confirmed this wasn't just an occasional visitor. There were droppings in a couple of sheltered areas and activity around the plumbing underneath the kitchen sink.

There was also a slow drip under the sink that had kept part of the cabinet slightly damp. It wasn't enough water to cause an obvious plumbing problem, but it was enough to provide a reliable moisture source for roaches.

I checked the nearby cupboards, baseboards, bathroom, basement, and utility areas as well to see whether the activity had spread.

The homeowner's biggest concern was the kitchen. Nobody wants to prepare food while wondering whether roaches have been moving across the same counters or getting into cupboards overnight.

That is why repeated sightings, especially at night, are something I wouldn't ignore.

The Process

I started with a complete inspection of the kitchen and then worked into the surrounding rooms.

Instead of treating every surface, I focused on the areas roaches were actually using. I checked behind the refrigerator and stove, underneath the sink, inside lower cabinets, along baseboards, and around plumbing openings.

The slow leak underneath the sink needed to be corrected. There were also a few crumbs and bits of food underneath the stove that weren't visible during normal cleaning. That's common. You can keep a kitchen clean and still have small amounts of food collected underneath appliances over time.

Once I understood where the activity was concentrated, I used targeted treatment in the areas where the roaches were hiding and travelling. The treatment was kept focused rather than putting products everywhere unnecessarily.

The homeowner cleaned underneath the appliances, dealt with the leak, and started keeping the sink and surrounding area dry overnight.

The important part was doing everything together. Treating the roaches without dealing with the food, moisture, and hiding areas would have made it much easier for the problem to continue.

The Outcome

Over the next few days, the homeowner noticed the activity dropping.

They weren't seeing roaches around the sink every night anymore, and the area underneath the cabinets stayed quiet.

By the end of the week, there had been no new sightings in the kitchen.

I followed up and checked the same areas again, including behind the appliances, underneath the sink, and along the nearby cabinets and baseboards. There was no fresh activity in the areas that had originally been causing concern.

Fixing the small leak made a difference as well. The cabinet underneath the sink was staying dry instead of providing the constant moisture the roaches had been using.

The homeowner told me they had stopped turning the kitchen light on at night expecting to see something run across the floor.

That's usually when you know things are getting back to normal. They're using the kitchen normally again instead of constantly checking for activity.

DIY Advice I Shared

Here are a few things I recommend homeowners do to make their homes less inviting to roaches:

1. Wipe water from counters and around the sink rather than leaving damp areas until morning.

2. Crumbs and grease can collect underneath refrigerators, stoves, and other appliances even when the rest of the kitchen looks spotless.

3. This includes cereal, flour, sugar, snacks, and pet food.

4. Food residue can provide enough of a food source to keep roaches around.

5. .Make sure indoor bins have lids that close properly and clean spills around the bin when they happen.

6. Check underneath sinks, around dishwashers, and near other plumbing for moisture.

These aren't complicated changes, but removing easy access to food, water, and hiding spots makes a real difference.

"It's brighter than before!"

— Megan

Professional Insight

One thing I hear fairly often is, "I only saw one."

Sometimes it really can be an isolated insect. But when roaches start appearing repeatedly in the same room, especially at night, I start looking for where they're hiding rather than focusing only on the ones being seen.

That's also why spraying every roach you see isn't always enough.

You may kill the visible insect while leaving the rest of the activity untouched behind an appliance, inside a cabinet gap, or around plumbing.

When I inspect a roach problem, I want to know where the activity is concentrated, where they're getting food and water, and which hiding areas they're using.

The earlier that is figured out, the easier it usually is to get the situation under control.

Closing Thoughts

September is a good time for homeowners around the Greater Ottawa area to check some of the places that don't get much attention during normal cleaning.

Take a look underneath the kitchen sink, behind appliances when possible, around plumbing, and inside lower cabinets.

If you're seeing roaches repeatedly, finding droppings, or noticing activity when you turn the lights on at night, it's worth looking into instead of waiting to see if it goes away.

A small amount of activity is much easier to deal with before it has time to spread.