Landlord Pest Control: How to Get Rid of Roaches in an Apartment

Landlord pest control involves knowing how to get rid of roaches in an apartment. After all, landlords are responsible for maintaining a habitable and safe environment for tenants, and that includes removing germ-ridden roaches. Learn the basics of landlord responsibilities and remedies to this issue below.

Main Takeaways

• Landlords are responsible for handling pest control issues that arise. Meanwhile, tenants are responsible for maintaining their property to minimize the risk of such issues in the first place, as well as reporting any problems.
• Legally, landlords must get rid of rodents in apartments by hiring professional pest control specialists. They also can accelerate roach removal by using easy DIY fixes like baking soda, essential oils, and vacuuming.

Are Landlords Responsible for Pest Control?

Yes. In general, landlord pest control involves fostering a pest-free space before they lease out the property. Furthermore, if they own a multi-family property, they are responsible for this throughout the entire rental process.

As property management services in Northern Virginia, we know this involves:

1. Routine Actions:

• Make the property habitable and follow and building codes
• Promptly act on pest complaints
• Identify and repair areas where pests could enter
• Work with tenants to communicate about any pest issues, such as severity and areas where pests are especially active
• Give your tenants information on how to deal with and prevent these issues.
• Keeping records of all actions you’ve taken regarding the pest problem.

2. Actions When Hiring a Pest Control Specialist

• If you own a multi-family home with two or more units, you must hire a licensed pest control professional to remove the pests, possibly repeatedly.
• Give your tenants at least 48 hours’ notice before professionals come to use pesticides or other extermination actions.
• Make sure tenants are prepared in case the pest control specialist needs to enter their units.
• Furthermore, let them know about any precautions they need to take to stay safe before and after any actions are taken against the pests. For instance, if pesticides have been placed in the property basement, you should tell them to avoid the basement.

Note that, if the property concerned is a single-family home, landlord pest control responsibilities don’t include handling pest problems after the initial move-in.

Of course, tenants share part of this responsibility in that they must maintain the premises and report any issues that arise in it. In addition, if they don’t do their due diligence to report these issues, they will have to pay the extermination costs.

Other Common Landlord Pest Control Concerns, Answered

Here, we’ll place special focus on other concerns you may have about landlord pest control, such as the signs of an infestation, exterminator costs, supplemental DIY solutions, and more. 

What Are the Signs You Have a Cockroach Infestation?

You can tell you have an infestation brewing if you find droppings, smears of droppings, and general bad smells on surfaces. Another sign is small roach eggs scattered around the nooks and crannies of your property. Most straightforwardly, you will know you have a roach infestation when you see them crawling around in the dark or away from the light.

Is 1 Cockroach a Sign of an Infestation?

If you see one cockroach, that likely means many more are lurking on your walls. After all, cockroaches prefer to hide in any way possible. If they had to branch out into visible, open air, it’s a sign that too many roaches were taking up the prime, hidden spots of your property.

Can Cockroaches Damage My Property?

Cockroaches don’t pose a severe risk to your property. They simply may leave droppings and smears, which you can easily remove.

What Do Cockroach Droppings Look Like?

Cockroach droppings can appear as little flakes, almost like pepper or coffee grinds. Bigger cockroaches will have bigger, ridged droppings.

Are Cockroaches Dangerous?

Unfortunately, cockroaches are dangerous to human health. Similar to apartment tick infestations, roaches can spread all sorts of bacteria and diseases, like salmonella, listeria, and E. coli. As such, for the safety of your tenants, you will want to get rid of them.  

What Attracts Roaches?

To know how to get rid of roaches in an apartment for landlord pest control purposes, you need to know how they got there in the first place. Just like any other creature, roaches are drawn to stable food, water, and shelter. So, you should make sure roaches have to find that someplace else.

• Food: Just like other creatures, roaches need to eat. Your property could look like their personal buffet, so encourage tenants to get rid of all traces of open, unsealed food from the premises.
• Water: Roaches are attracted to damp, moist spaces. So, in your repairs, focus on any way water can leak through your property, from leaky pipes, faucets, windows, or roofs.
• Areas with Dark, Shaded Shelter: Cockroaches often look for dark, covert areas to make their home. What’s more, since they’re so small, the sky is the limit when finding these spaces. If you have a tiny gap in a window or a pile of leaves, for example, they could weasel their way through it. Be sure to remove any subtle nooks and crannies so that they don’t have a place to cling to.

How Expensive is it to Professionally Remove Cockroaches?

The cost of professionally removing cockroaches can range from $100 to $400. Unfortunately, it might take multiple visits to fully eradicate roaches, so you should use your rainy-day fund to pay for landlord pest control costs.

While professional removal is costly, ignoring the issue would be even costlier.

First and foremost, under landlord pest control laws, landlords are responsible for pest control as long as their property has 2 or more units.

Outside of that, not getting help can negatively impact your reputation as a landlord, as well as your property value and the number of tenants there to provide rental income.

So, as inconvenient as it is, removal services are well worth the money.

What Will Happen When Pest Control Professional Comes Over?

Pest control specialists will identify the exact problems and their root causes, choose the most effective, safest method to deal with them, and then apply that method. At the end of it all, you will receive records of their findings and solutions.

How to Get Rid of Roaches in an Apartment: Supplementary Approaches

Knowing how to get rid of roaches in an apartment takes versatility. By relying on multiple approaches, not just an exterminator, you can accelerate roach removal.

Also, when handling landlord pest control, always be sure to use the below methods as directed by manufacturer instructions. In addition, always keep the safety of children in mind, and animals, if you decide to allow pets in your rentals.

• Boric Acid: Boric acid is a stomach poison that kills roaches upon consumption. While it’s effective, it takes a while to work, and it is slow and painful for the roach. Furthermore, it should be used in small doses, as big doses won’t attract roaches, and it could be poisonous to humans. Always follow the package instructions. To make boric acid palatable to roaches, you should mix it with sugar. Then, you can put it in places where roaches on your property often roam.
• Diatomaceous Earth: Diatomaceous earth is a spreadable substance roaches can crawl on. When it gets in contact with roaches, it can slowly dry out their exoskeletons. Again, it can be overused, so be sure to use it in small batches. It’s most effective to lightly dust onto surfaces cockroaches usually populate, like cabinets, drawers, and floors.
• Baking Soda: Conveniently, baking soda can quickly kill roaches. And, what’s more, it’s probably right in your house or nearest grocery store. When roaches ingest it, the gases build up pressure in their stomachs. Furthermore, when you add sugar or another appealing ingredient to the mix, it encourages them to consume it.
• Essential Oils: Essential oils, like citrus and peppermint, are scientifically proven to repel and kill roaches. If you dilute them with water, you can rub them, brush them, or spray them into roach-attracting areas. However, if you have pets, you should consult a veterinarian before using them. Some essential oils can be extremely toxic to animals.
• Vacuuming: It’s also a good idea to vacuum all surfaces for possible roaches. Be sure to empty the contents outside of the property. After all, if you put the roaches in your property’s garbage bin, that’s yet another refuge to stay in.

How Do You Prevent Cockroaches?

Landlord pest control can be made easier through some simple prevention. You can protect your tenants from roaches by locking away all food, taking away the trash, removing all excess moisture, and sealing away gaps in all applicable areas.

Make Landlord Pest Control Effortless with PPM

Landlords are responsible for keeping a healthy, habitable space for their tenants—and that includes knowing how to get rid of roaches in an apartment. Luckily, they can handle such issues through prevention, extermination services, and simple fixes like baking soda, vacuuming, and essential oils.

At Professional Property Management of Northern Virginia, our team of dedicated property managers in Northern Virginia offers comprehensive rental management services to protect every aspect of your business. This includes marketing, leasing, maintenance, accounting, and top-notch customer service, all for a competitive fee. So, if you are looking for a way to maximize your rental property business, give us a call today for a no-obligation home analysis.