Notification requirement: are cockroaches notifiable in the apartment?

Roaches in your own four walls are never a pleasant situation. When the cockroaches roam your home, reproducing rapidly and using up your food supplies, you need to take action. The health hazard posed by the cockroach alone requires action. Before you take action against the insects, you should know whether a cockroach infestation is notifiable in Germany.

Cockroaches in the house: notifiable?

Many people wonder whether or not they have to report cockroaches to the public order office. This question is very important as there are different answers that depend on the particular case. A cockroach infestation does not have to be reported if you manage it yourself as a private person get or contact an exterminator who does not have to rely exclusively on the chemical club to combat. This is especially the case if you are the owner of the property, as you have to bear all of the costs yourself. If you are a tenant, things get a bit complicated because you are not the owner of the premises yourself. In this case, the following points are used:

1. As soon as you notice an infestation, it is imperative that you contact your landlord or the responsible property management company. You should do this as soon as possible as cockroaches reproduce extremely quickly throughout the year.
2. The landlord must now initiate the pest control. This is done either through your own measures or by a professional.
3. If the landlord does not comply with the fight, you as the tenant should contact the public order office. Because cockroaches can transmit disease and spread throughout the building, something needs to be done about it as soon as possible.

The cost of fighting is borne by either the landlord or the tenant. The tenant bears the costs if it is clearly established that the infestation has started in this apartment. If, on the other hand, several apartments are populated, it is not possible to identify a landlord as the cause. In this case the landlord pays the costs.
Note: The best way to prevent cockroach infestation is to keep your home clean and to dispose of food trays that are rotting. It can help if you keep all your food well sealed so that the cockroach does not have a chance to pick up a "trail" that will lead it into your four walls.

Special case Berlin

If you live in Berlin, there is a legal obligation to report any cockroach infestation. This obligation is integrated in the "Ordinance on Combating Health Pests" (Pest Control Ordinance) of the Senate Department for Health, Environment and Consumer Protection in Berlin. After this you must like the appearance of cockroaches and other health pests Rats Report to the responsible health department. It doesn't matter whether you own a house or rent it.

Note: There is a similar obligation in the Austrian capital Vienna. In Vienna there is a legal obligation to register for businesses and private individuals, and if this is neglected, the responsible person can do so Magistrate initiate the pest control and the owner or subtenant of the living space must then bear the costs.

Obligation to register in trade

Nowadays, many people use their own apartment for their own job. They receive customers, manufacture products that reach consumers, or teach children in subjects such as music or tutoring. At first glance, it would appear that it would be necessary to report the infestation immediately when doing this type of work. However, this is only the case if you have a hospitality business. This means that if you have a small pastry shop in your house, the infestation is legally notifiable. This also applies if you offer your apartment as a holiday home. Every hospitality industry must draw attention to the infestation as soon as a cockroach is discovered so that you will not face any legal consequences.

Note: The cockroach infestation does not need to be reported if you work from home and have no real customer contact. Even if you have registered the business, you do not have to contact the public order office here, as you do not operate a hotel and restaurant business.

Notification requirement: type decisive

Before you pick up the phone and contact the local public order office, you need to be sure about the type of cockroach that you have discovered in your home. There are numerous species within the order of the cockroaches (Blattodea) and of these only five are deliberately kept in human dwellings. Of these five, there are three that represent a particular danger, as they feel very comfortable in your home within a short period of time and multiply rapidly. These are:

• German cockroach (Blattella germanica)
• Oriental cockroach (Blatta orientalis)
• American cockroach (Periplaneta americana)
• Australian cockroach (Periplaneta australasiae)
• Furniture or brown banded cockroach (Supella longipalpa)

The German, Oriental and American cockroaches are the largest stored pests among cockroaches. They are among the species most commonly referred to as the cockroach. The other two species also behave in a damaging way, but are not as common as the others. Only the species mentioned in the list are notifiable, as these cockroaches see your home as an ideal habitat. Other species such as the Lapland cockroach (Ectobius lapponicus) or the real forest cockroach (Ectobius sylvestris) accidentally get lost in your premises and try to get out of them again escape. You can recognize the above-mentioned taxa by the following characteristics:

• several specimens to whole colony
• Traces of eating on food
• Dirt and excretions can be found
• Oothecae (egg packets) can be found

At such points you can tell that a settlement is taking place. The other cockroaches don't actually stay around humans and get their food mainly from nature. In addition, these rarely occur in groups in your home. However, you should always check whether other cockroaches or entire nests can be found in your premises as soon as you become aware of cockroaches.