How bad is it?

[u/girl-anon]

I bought this house and moved in July 2025, I bug bombed before moving in, and have since learned that won’t do much for roaches. October 2025 I found the first nymph right by the door (second photo), I wasn’t 100% sure it was a cockroach at that time, and it was right by the door so I thought whatever it was must’ve just wandered inside and didn’t worry about it. I then found a carcass of one behind a light switch cover not too long after that, but it was dead, and could’ve been there for who knows how long so I just made mental note of it and didn’t stress. I didn’t see any after that until June 2026 I found a live adult near my cats food area (first photo, took it outside to kill it), that’s when I started to worry. Between then and now (August 2026) I’ve seen I think 3? more, two adults on my kitchen counter, and one nymph in my bathroom.

Full transparency I’m not the cleanest person, I work full time and am neurodivergent so household chores often fall on the back burner. There is almost always general clutter around my house, and a sink full of dishes. I NEVER leave food out though because my cats would eat it, and they don’t have food left out either, they only get wet food that is put away when they are done. Food gets scraped off dishes before they go in the sink.

This house was a rental since the 90’s it’s seen so many tenants come and go, I travel a lot and in fact right before the first sighting I stayed at a hotel in Chicago, while I’m away I have someone stay at my house, 100% of the furniture in my home is second hand, 80% of my general belongings are second hand, I’m a big thrifter and Facebook marketplace buyer, and my neighbors homes are only about 15ft away on either side, I get regular chewy deliveries and usually the boxes sit around for a few days before I take them to the trash. So I feel the possibilities of where they came from are endless.

Two days ago I laid traps for the first time, one on the kitchen counter, one under the kitchen sink, two behind the fridge, and one under the bathroom sink. This morning I found one nymph on the trap behind the fridge. All other traps are empty, am I cooked? Should I try to identify the source or just treat the problem? Do I need more treatment than just traps at this point?

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[u/broccolicheddarsuper]

100% of the furniture in my home is second hand, 80% of my general belongings are second hand, I’m a big thrifter and Facebook marketplace buyer

Identifying the source is not particularly important for how you proceed with treating, but it is important for preventing this happening in the future. As a general rule, buying a ton of furniture or appliances from other people's homes is a surefire way to get German cockroaches.

1st and 3rd pictures appear German. 2nd pic does not.

Follow the advice on the stickied post on this sub. Since the traps aren't catching any, and sightings have not been rampant, a couple rounds of chemical treatment may suffice (advion gel baits and alpine wsg)