How do I move house without taking cockroaches with me?

You can leave them behind. Cockroaches travel as hitchhikers in boxes, appliances and the gaps in furniture, so careful packing and a few checks stop most of them. You do not need to throw out everything you own, and most of this costs time rather than money.

If you are tired and worn down by months of this, start with the steps that matter most: keep treating until you go, pack clean, check the electronics, and put traps out on day one.

Before the move: keep treating

Fewer cockroaches in the old place means fewer chances to hitch a ride. Keep the gel bait and growth regulator going right up to moving day, following the label. Do not switch to spraying in the last week: spray scatters them into the boxes and bags you are packing. If you are unsure what to use, what you need for German cockroaches sets out the order.

Packing checklist

1. Use new boxes or plastic crates. Old cardboard from a shop or a storage room can already hold cockroaches or egg cases. Cardboard itself is a good hiding place: dark, layered, with glue in the folds.
2. Pack in the cleanest room, away from the kitchen and bathroom, and tape every box shut straight away. Do not store packed boxes on the kitchen floor.
3. Shake out and look at everything before it goes in. Books, papers, picture frames and shoes all have gaps.
4. Wash fabrics and seal them. Clothes, bedding and curtains go through the wash and a hot tumble dry, as each care label allows, then straight into sealed bags.
5. Leave the food. Open packets, spices, pet food. Start fresh. Sealed tins can come if you wipe them.
6. Label the risky boxes. Anything from the kitchen gets a mark, so you open it last and check it first.

Electronics and appliances

This is where cockroaches hide most often in a move. They like the warmth inside microwaves, toasters, routers, games consoles and the motor area under a fridge.

• Unplug and inspect. Torch on the vents, seams and the underside. Look for droppings like ground pepper and small brown egg cases. See droppings and egg cases.
• Tap it over a pale sheet to see if anything falls out, then bag it and seal it.
• Never spray inside electronics. It is a fire and damage risk, and it does not reach the hiding spots anyway.
• Consider leaving the cheap ones. A badly affected old toaster or kettle may not be worth the risk. That is a choice about one item, not a rule for everything.

On wiping with alcohol: the strength matters less than you might think. A wipe cleans the outside of a device, and cockroaches hide inside it. The inspection and the sealed bag do more. More in cockroaches in my microwave.

What does not work

Peppermint or lemon oil around the boxes. It is a lovely smell and a natural thing to try. But strong scents do not stop German cockroaches, and they do nothing to any already inside a box. Taping new boxes shut in a clean room is what keeps them out.

Throwing everything out. It feels like the only safe option when you are exhausted. It is not. Clothes and fabrics can be washed, hard furniture can be wiped and checked, electronics can be inspected. Replace only what you cannot check, or what is badly affected. Buying cheap furniture for the months before a move is not needed either: inspect what you have instead. How to check furniture shows where to look.

At the new place

1. Put monitor traps out on day one, before you unpack: kitchen, bathroom, and the room where the boxes go. See how to use monitor traps.
2. Unpack in one room, ideally one with a hard floor, and open the kitchen boxes last. Flatten and remove each box once it is empty.
3. Check the traps weekly for a couple of months. A trap with young ones on it means act now, with bait, before numbers build.

Kids and pets: in the chaos of a move, bait and traps end up in odd places. Keep them up high or locked away, as the label says, and do not leave products in open boxes.