District 2 today: three wards, and where we take cockroach surveys
Ho Chi Minh City stopped using districts on 1 July 2025. The ward is now its basic administrative unit, and Resolution 1685/NQ-UBTVQH15 turned the old District 2 into three of them: An Khanh, Binh Trung and Cat Lai. People still say District 2, so tell us the building, the estate or the street and we work out the rest.
Our office is at 72 Nguyen Co Thach, in the Sala urban area of An Khanh ward. Cockroach surveys are taken in all three wards, from 07:00 to 20:00, seven days a week; the time is confirmed when you book.
- An Khanh ward
- Thao Dien, Thu Thiem, An Loi Dong, the old An Khanh and part of An Phu: the Sala blocks, Empire City, The Metropole Thu Thiem, Masteri Thao Dien, Xi Riverview Palace; and, low-rise, Saroma, SariTown, the garden villas of Nguyen Van Huong and Quoc Huong streets and Thao Dien's gated compounds.
- Binh Trung ward
- Binh Trung Dong, Binh Trung Tay and the rest of An Phu, east of Mai Chi Tho: Diamond Island, Estella Heights, Lakeview City, Palm City and the SOHO townhouses of The Global City.
- Cat Lai ward
- The old Thanh My Loi and Cat Lai wards, on the river: Vista Verde, Feliz en Vista and several neighbourhoods of townhouses and garden homes.
Why a well-kept apartment in Thu Thiem, Sala or Thao Dien still gets cockroaches
Service shafts, refuse chutes and pipework run from floor to floor in a tower, and cockroaches follow them from one unit to the next, so a kitchen that is wiped down every day can still have them when a neighbour or a common area does. At Empire City, The Metropole Thu Thiem, the Sala blocks or Masteri Thao Dien, our survey therefore takes in the floor drains and the service-shaft doors.
They also arrive with cardboard boxes, shopping bags and second-hand appliances. Many apartments around Thao Dien and An Phu are let furnished and change hands with each lease, and in Thu Thiem and The Global City many households have just taken handover. Both are good moments for a survey, while the cabinets are empty. Send us a photo if you notice:
- Cockroaches scattering when the kitchen light goes on at night; young ones in a drawer.
- Droppings like ground pepper, or small black smears, on cabinet hinges, in drawer corners or behind the microwave.
- Small brown egg cases inside cupboards or behind the fridge, or cockroaches out in daylight, which usually means the hiding places are full.
German cockroaches in the cabinets, American cockroaches from the drains
Two species account for most cockroaches in homes here. They differ in size, in where they live and in how they get in, so the survey begins by naming the one you have.
- German cockroach
- Small and light brown, with two dark stripes along its back. It lives almost wholly indoors, somewhere warm and close to food: cabinet hinges, behind the microwave, the fridge motor, the dishwasher. It breeds quickly, so once you see young ones the population may already be large.
- American cockroach
- Large and reddish brown, often called the sewer cockroach. It lives mainly in sewers, drain pits and basements and comes up through floor drains and waste pipes into bathrooms and laundry areas; it is common on the ground floors of townhouses and villas, or where a floor-drain grate leaves a gap.
- Garden villas in Thao Dien
- Tuoi Tre (June 2025) reports that Thao Dien, Quoc Huong and Nguyen Van Huong streets lie low and drain through an old system: heavy rain on a high tide can leave 0.15–0.3 m of water on the road for one to two hours. In houses on these streets we check the drain pits in the grounds, the basement, the floor drains of ground-floor bathrooms and the laundry area first.
Restaurant and café kitchens in Thao Dien and the shophouses of Sala and Thu Thiem
A commercial kitchen cooks hard, runs many appliances that give off heat and takes in goods all the time, so cockroaches return easily after a single treatment. For restaurants, cafés and bakeries we recommend a scheduled control plan in place of one-off visits. In Thao Dien, a good number of townhouses in the lanes and on the main streets have become cafés, showrooms or small offices; Sala, Thu Thiem and The Global City have rows of shophouses with a business at street level and a home above.
- Dry stores, wash-up areas, bar counters and the spaces under cooking equipment are surveyed zone by zone.
- Treatment and follow-up checks are set for a closing day or a quiet hour, between 07:00 and 20:00.
- Where a family lives above the business, both kitchens go into one plan and one quote.
- We take restaurants, cafés and bakeries in shophouses, and offices; we do not take on factories or industrial parks.
On the visit: the kitchen is cleaned first, then the bait goes in
Bait only works when cockroaches have no easier food, so cleaning is part of the visit. The technicians decide the method once they have seen the kitchen; their products carry a valid registration number in Vietnam.
- Before treatment
- Your Up specialist empties the cupboards, vacuums out crumbs, wipes grease from the inside of doors and from drawer runners, and cleans under the fridge and the sink. Food, dishes, children's things and pet bowls are shut away.
- Gel bait
- Small drops placed in cracks, on hinges and under shelves. Cockroaches feed, go back to where they hide, and the effect passes to others. There is little odour and no broad spraying, which suits a kitchen in daily use; the bait is topped up at follow-up visits.
- Residual spraying
- Product applied to wall gaps, under cabinets and round floor drains, where cockroaches travel; mostly for American cockroaches from the drains or for heavy numbers. The household keeps away for the re-entry time, the period the technicians ask you to stay out of a treated area.
- Afterwards
- Worktops, the dining table and dish racks are wiped as the technicians direct; hinges and cracks holding bait are left alone. Your Up Report lists the bait points, with photos and the follow-up dates.
What a cockroach-control quote in District 2 depends on
We do not publish a rate: one apartment cabinet with a few cockroaches and a restaurant kitchen with young ones in both the wash-up area and the store are different plans altogether. The survey costs nothing. The written all-inclusive quote lists the method, the areas to be treated, the return visits, the scope of cleaning and the warranty terms; afterwards nothing changes without your written agreement.
- Species and severity: a few individuals in one cabinet, or young cockroaches throughout the kitchen and bathrooms.
- The premises: apartment, townhouse, villa or commercial kitchen, and how many kitchens, stores and bathrooms need treating.
- The method, the follow-up visits and bait top-ups, the kitchen cleaning involved, and any special hours a business or building requires.
- Warranty: its period and scope depend on the method and are written into the quote.
International residents: English, building registration, keys, payment
Enquiries, the written plan, the quote, the booking confirmation and the Up Report can all be in English. If you would like an English speaker in the home, say so when you book; if we cannot arrange one, we tell you beforehand and help by phone or message.
- Registering with the building
- Most apartment buildings in District 2 ask outside service staff to register with building management in advance, show identity papers at the lobby, use the service lift and keep to set hours. We send your Up specialist's name and photo with our technicians' details for that purpose.
- When you are not at home
- Nobody has to wait in. A key can stay with building management, reception or a relative; only the specialist assigned to you handles it, the times are noted and no copy is made. For a smart lock a temporary code is better, and the closing walk-through can be a video call.
- Paying
- After the walk-through, by bank transfer or in cash; a larger job may carry a deposit, which the quote states. Uptech Technology Solution Company Limited issues VAT invoices on request.
After treatment, and how to book a survey
With gel bait, numbers fall over a few weeks, not overnight, and at first you may see more cockroaches than before. Tell us at the survey about young children or pets: the technicians place bait out of their reach.
- Wipe worktops and the table as usual, but neither wipe nor spray hinges, cracks or the undersides of shelves where bait sits; household insect spray there can make cockroaches avoid the bait.
- To book, send photos of the cockroaches or their droppings to 0968 726 135 on WhatsApp or Zalo, with your building or street name; the written plan and price follow the free survey.
- If your specialist arrives more than 15 minutes after the confirmed time, that visit's invoice is reduced by 10%. Changing or cancelling is free with 24 hours' notice; later than that, the cancellation fee is 30%.
- Guide: German cockroaches and how to get rid of them
- How to tell them from the large ones, where they hide and why spraying alone fails.
What does UpClean's cockroach control include?
- Free survey to identify the species and where it hides
- Deep clean of the kitchen before treatment: grease, crumbs, under the fridge and sink
- Food, dishes, children's items and pet bowls stored or covered
- Gel bait placed in cracks, hinges and service ducts, and harbourages treated as planned
- An Up specialist on site throughout, recording every treated point
- Food-contact surfaces wiped afterwards, leaving bait points untouched
- Up Report with bait locations, before-and-after photos and the follow-up schedule
Written by the UpClean technical team, reviewed by Trần Nguyễn Hữu Nhật — Founder of UpClean.
