Recent hot weather has created a perfect breeding ground for cockroaches and experts warn the coming cool weather is going to bring them indoors.
Owen Stobart from ACES Pest Control said he has "just recently" seen an increase in cockroaches around Auckland.
"On one hand... we've seen them more because they reproduce more when it's hotter, but then you'll see them more inside houses when the houses cool down to the same temperatures as the gardens."
He explained there are two common types of cockroaches in New Zealand: the German cockroach and the Bush cockroach.
Bush cockroaches which normally live outside and are blind and deaf. They are the critters New Zealanders are seeing more of at this time of year.
"They live in bark gardens and moist environments and this sort of warm climate we have been getting, essentially allows them to reproduce quicker and you get higher numbers and they sort of come inside the house as well you see.
"People often call me because they think they've got an infestation when in fact they have just got these cockroaches wandering in by accident."
The other type are German cockroaches, which actually come from Africa, and prefer warmer conditions. He said they only get into houses if they "get given to you", for example, if they are in a parcel or flowers that you bring inside.
Stobart had some advice for homeowners to keep cockroaches down to a minimum.
He recommended making sure all foliage, trees and bushes are placed at least five centimetres from your house as this is normally the route the cockroaches use at night to get in.
"They can actually cut down them on (to the house) by putting a gap between the plants and the house. Without using chemicals they will reduce the number getting on the house and getting in the house."
