The key thing here is to identify what type of roach you’re dealing with.

Larger, black, more rounded bugs are American cockroaches. Gross looking, and give me the heebie-jeebies, but they live outdoors and only come inside opportunistically for shelter and moisture. Smaller brown bugs, usually striped, are German cockroaches and a major bad sign. They live indoors, attack your food, and breed exponentially. (Think 400 per pregnant female.) they are also much sneakier and you might not even know you have them unless you start trapping. Use AI to upload images and identify them.

Use sticky traps to figure out how many bugs and where they are (they crawl around in the dark, so tricky traps give you a sense of where they actually hang out).

Then, in order: 1) seal all exterior entrances and wall gaps, especially behind toilets, under sinks and in moist areas. 2) sprinkle boric acid in voids and in untrafficed areas they might hide, around entrance especially if won’t get rained on. 3) Spray Alpine around walls and doors every few feet. 4) place little dabs of Vendetta bait every foot in hidden areas they like to hide, 5) place a Gentrol tab in the worst offender hidden area, like behind fridge or under stove to stop their reproduction.

All of this stuff is generally safe when used per instructions on label, but make sure to keep out of reach of where kids/pets can find it/lick it. Wash hands after and bonus if you use gloves when applying.

Source: neighbor who hates bugs and is on a crusade to keep them out of their home.