Just moved in and found pests. What do I do first?

It is a horrible start, and it is common. Pests often settle in while a home sits empty or changes hands, and the new people find them. That makes this first week the best time to act. The kitchen is empty, you can see every corner, and nothing you own is in the way yet.

Whatever the last occupant did or did not do, the job in front of you is the same, and it has an order.

Your first week, in order

1. Name the pest. Photograph it, alive or dead, next to something for scale. The plan depends on what it is.
2. Photograph every sign, with dates. Droppings, egg cases, gnaw marks, dead insects, traps left behind. Do it before you clean, and before your things go in.
3. Report it in writing. Renting: email the landlord or agent the same day. Buying: check your purchase paperwork and tell your solicitor or conveyancer. More on both below.
4. Clean before the food goes in. Behind and under the cooker and fridge, inside every cupboard, along the kickboards. Vacuum droppings and egg cases, then wipe.
5. Treat, or book a professional. What that means depends on the pest, below.
6. Put out monitor traps in the kitchen and bathroom and check them weekly. See how to use monitor traps.

Which pest, which plan

Small, tan cockroaches with two dark stripes behind the head are likely German cockroaches. They breed indoors, in the kitchen and bathroom. The standard plan is gel bait in small dots where they hide, an insect growth regulator, and traps to track progress, all used as the label says. Skip the spray: it scatters them and puts them off the bait.

Large, reddish or dark cockroaches in sinks, baths and toilets are more often American or Oriental cockroaches coming up from drains or in from outside. Plug drains at night, fix leaks, seal around pipes. A cockroach keeps coming up my drain has the full plan.

Mice: close the gaps, store food sealed, and use live catch traps checked daily. Rats, especially in numbers, need a professional. The mice and rats guide covers both. We do not recommend poison or glue boards: they cause suffering and can harm pets and wildlife.

Not sure which you have? Our four cockroaches side by side shows the tells.

Kids and pets: place bait and traps out of a child’s or pet’s reach, as the label says, and leave out anything the label says is unsuitable. Unpack toys and pet bowls after the kitchen has been cleaned.

If you rent

Report it in writing in your first days, with the dated photos. Pests found in your first days can point to a problem that was there before you, and an early report puts that on record. Who must pay for treatment depends on your country, your lease and sometimes the pest. Your local housing authority or tenancy board, a tenants’ union, or in the UK Citizens Advice or the council’s environmental health team can tell you where you stand. If the landlord does not act, read my landlord won’t deal with the pests.

If you bought

Deal with the pest first. A serious rat problem needs a professional now, whatever happens about money later. In some areas the local council runs or can recommend a pest service. Keep every report and invoice. Whether you have any claim against the seller depends on your country and what was said during the sale, so talk to your solicitor or conveyancer before you assume either way.

Should I treat on a schedule?

Let the traps decide. If the last tenant had cockroaches and you see one after a quiet spell, put fresh traps out and read them weekly. Catches, especially young ones, mean bait now. Empty traps mean keep watching. Spraying on a calendar when nothing is there adds chemicals to your home without a reason. Our answer on seeing one cockroach walks through what a single sighting can mean.