As the majority of ant species prefer sunny climates, our environment is perfect for ants to thrive in.

Although black or garden ants aren’t thought to carry diseases, they can be a particular nuisance when they get into your home. Considering that ants frequently travel through unsanitary areas before they end up on your countertops, you won’t want them marching through your food cupboards.

Did you Spot the following Signs of Ants?

Ants will travel widely in search for food, following trails they have established and clustering around the source of food, becoming a nuisance in homes, organisations and businesses.

Small piles of earth around holes in soil and at the base of exterior walls indicate their origin.

Think you might have an ant infestation? See what signs to look out for.

FACT: Some birds spread their wings on an ant’s nest to get ants in their feathers. It is thought that this is because the ants squirt formic acid that gets rid of bird parasites.

Dealing with Ant Infestations

Tips for dealing with ant infestations:

Track down ants’ access points and seal off the entry point

Clear up any sticky residues on work tops, as ants are attracted to sweet things

Cover up any foodstuffs which could be a food source for ants

If you have a larger problem that your usual DIY ant control product or the above mentioned, cannot resolve, you can rely on our experts to clear it up.

Our Pest Control Technicians offer quick and effective methods of ant control that are targeted to specific ant species. Our pest control services and products are perfectly safe to use around your family and pets.

How to identify Bed Bugs

Appearance

Bed bugs are flat, reddish-brown, oval insects up to 4 to 5 mm long or the size of an apple seed. Swollen and reddish after a blood meal. For more information, see What do Bed Bugs Look Like?

Behavior, Diet & Habits

Bed bugs only feed on blood. Under cool conditions, bed bugs have been able to survive up to a year without a meal. They prefer to be more active at night when the host is asleep.

Bed bugs are found in cracks and crevices, including mattress seams, sheets, furniture, behind baseboards, electrical outlet plates and picture frames. Often found in hotels, where they can travel from room to room and in visitors’ luggage or other personal belongings such as purses and briefcases.

Signs of a Bed Bug Infestation

1 Seeing the bugs. Adult bed bugs are about the shape and size of an apple seed.

2 Case skins. As the juvenile bugs grow, they shed their skins, discovery of which can indicate their presence.

3 Defecation. After feeding, bed bugs return to their harborage to hide where they defecate black to brown stains on porous surfaces or black to brown mounds on nonporous surfaces.

4 Bites also may indicate bed bug activity, but further signs will need to be found, since other sources can cause red welts on the skin.

Appearance

Cockroaches can measure over 50 mm (2 in) length, with tropical species tending to be larger than those found in other climates. Cockroaches have six legs, two antennae and some have wings. However, most winged cockroaches are not particularly adept at flying.

Cockroach Facts

Cockroaches belong to Kingdom Animalia, Phylum Arthropoda, Class Insecta and Order Blattaria. Some species invade human dwellings and are considered pests. Others are beneficial to the environment as important recyclers of decaying organic material. The pest cockroaches can be carriers of various diseases because they are commonly found near waste deposits or in the kitchen, where food is present. Restaurants may also experience cockroach infestations.

Cockroaches emit unpleasant odors and may also produce sound. The Madagascar hissing cockroach is the most famous of these vocal cockroaches, although more common species may produce quieter clicking or chirping noises.Cockroaches can wreak havoc on your home. To win the war in cockroach control, here’s what you should know:

Entry: Cockroaches can enter your home in many different ways, from the outside through cracks and crevices, vents, sewer and drain pipes. We even bring them in on products like grocery bags, boxes, purses and on our person!

Ideal environment: Your home is an ideal breeding ground for certain pest species of cockroaches. With plenty of food, warmth, water and nesting sites, they can remain active all year round.

Reproduction: Cockroaches reproduce quickly. For every one you see there can be many, many more hiding and multiplying behind your walls.

Evasiveness: Because cockroaches typically are nocturnal, if you’ve seen one, you probably haven’t seen them all. The few cockroaches you see by day could mean they were likely forced out by overcrowding; a possible sign of severe infestation.

Allergies/Asthma: The debris created by cast-off cockroach skins, dead bodies and droppings can aggravate allergies, especially in children and sensitive individuals.

Do-it-yourself ineffectiveness: Cockroaches are better at hiding than you are at finding them, and their eggs are naturally protected from many over-the-counter insecticides. Without special equipment, materials and know-how, cockroach control can be a losing battle.

Appearance:

•Adults small, wingless, about 2.5 mm long.

•Their bodies are shiny and reddish brown in color.

•Covered with microscopic hair and are compressed to allow for easy movement through animal fur.

Fleas In The House

Fleas depend on a blood meal from a host to survive, so most fleas are introduced into the home via pets or other mammal hosts. On some occasions, fleas may become an inside problem when the host they previously fed on is no longer around. Then fleas focus their feeding activity on other hosts that reside inside the home. An example of such a situation is when a mouse inside the home is trapped and removed, the fleas that previously fed on the mouse are then forced to feed on pets or people.

Employing exclusion practices is important for many pest problems, but exclusion does not have a major, direct benefit for flea control. However, sealing cracks, gaps and holes to help keep rodents or other potential hosts from gaining access into the home is an important indirect way to keep fleas outside. The most effective ways to keep fleas from getting inside the home is to eliminate outdoor flea habitats and outdoor hosts, plus using area-wide flea control chemical products and veterinarian-approved flea control products on pets.

How To Identify and Manage a Flea Problem

Since fleas are relatively easy to see in their adult stage, most of the attention is directed at adult fleas. Adult fleas are usually easy to locate, especially if the homeowner and their pets return to the house after a long vacation or other absence during which the resident flea adults were not able to take a blood meal. Upon returning, the homeowners are often greeted by fleas jumping around and trying to land on them and their pets.

The flea eggs, larvae and pupae are another situation. Since these stages are much more secretive and much less active, they are found in out-of-the-way places like behind, under or in the furniture; in the pet’s bedding; inside cracks and grooves in the floors; and in the carpets. Flea eggs that were deposited by the female adult, fall off your pets as they move, allowing them to be disbursed throughout the environment where a pet spends time. Flea eggs represent about one-half of the entire flea population present in an average home. Larvae make up about 35 percent of the flea population.

If conditions are favorable, the larvae will spin cocoons in about 5-20 days after hatching from their eggs. The cocoons are the flea’s pupal stage and account for about 10 percent of the flea population. This cocoon stage is the last developmental stage before the adult flea emerges. If environmental conditions are not right for emergence, the cocoon can protect the developing flea adult for months or even longer. The adult flea does not emerge until a potential host is detected by vibration, rising levels of carbon dioxide and body heat associated with the host. A pet walking by, or people moving in the house alert the flea to emerge from its cocoon to feed. Once a flea has emerged from the cocoon, it will begin taking a blood meal on a host within 24-48 hours. Shortly after the first meal, adult fleas will mate and the female fleas begin laying eggs on her host within a few days. Female fleas are not able to lay eggs until they obtain a blood meal.

Signs of  Fleas

Many signs can indicate flea activity.  A common indication would be pets that repeatedly scratch and groom themselves. This is caused by the discomfort of the flea activity as the adult fleas feed on the pet’s blood. People also may experience bites which leave behind itchy bite marks (a medical doctor can be consulted, since there are other sources of skin irritation beside fleas). Flea dirt, the adult flea feces, also can indicate activity. Flea dirt looks similar to coarse ground black pepper and may be seen in pet beds, carpets, rugs and other areas where the animal host rests. Read more on flea infestations.

Fleas in bedding?

Fleas are not usually found infesting a homeowner’s beds and bedding. Fleas that are observed in beds and bedding are most likely there only to take a blood meal or were perhaps dislodged from the animal if the pet is allowed to sleep in the same bed as the homeowner. However, if the homeowner does not wash and change the bedding for a long while, it is possible that the immature stages of the fleas could possibly take up residence in a bed or bedding. The more likely situation is that flea eggs, larvae and pupae are living under the bed or, even more likely, are living in the bed and bedding of the household pet(s).

Appearance

Eight legs, two body regions, no wings or antennae.

Behavior, Diet & Habits

Some spiders like moisture and are found in basements, crawl spaces and other damp parts of buildings. Others like dry, warm areas such as subfloor air vents, upper corners of rooms and attics. They hide in dark areas.

They feed on insects, other spiders and any other prey they are able to subdue.

Reproduction

Females produce an egg sac from which emerge spiderlings. Spiderlings undergo a series of molts and eventually become adults. Males of many spider species court the female. For example, male jumping spiders perform elaborate dances to attract the attention of a female. Mating can be a dangerous event for males, since they may become a meal for the female afterwards.

More Information

Tens of thousands of spider species have been identified throughout the world. These arachnids have eight legs and two body segments. Spiders have three or four pair of eyes. Many spiders have poor vision, but some species of spiders, such as the jumping spider, have exceptional vision.

Spiders do not have chewing mouthparts and commonly utilize digestive enzymes in their saliva to break prey down before consuming it. Additionally, the gut of a spider is too narrow to allow for consumption of large food particles. Almost all spider species are predators, although one plant-feeding species has been documented.

Spiders are capable of producing silk that is elastic, adhesive and strong. This silk is used to spin webs as well as to construct egg sacs and line spider dwellings. The size and shape of spider webs vary by species: some are orb-shaped, while others are funnel-shaped; some webs are orderly, while others appear haphazard. Some spider species live in burrows rather than webs, while others are free ranging and take refuge in crevices.

How Do They Get in the Home?

Spiders commonly enter homes in two primary ways: entering through open, poorly screened windows and doors and through cracks and gaps around door and window frames. Most of the time, spiders come inside the home looking for prey. The other common method of entry is accidentally hitchhiking inside boxes, on outdoor items and numerous other things that are brought inside a home or business. Contact your pest management professional if you find spiders in your home. Your pest management profession will conduct an inspection and a create a comprehensive control plan that is based on the inspection findings.

What Can You Do to Help Protect Your Home?

Small steps make a big difference in termite prevention and sustaining an effective termite treatment plan. Start by eliminating moisture conditions and termite food around your home. These simple steps make your home a less attractive target, helping deter termites.

Remove Termite Food Sources

•Keep firewood, lumber or paper away from foundation or crawl space

•Get rid of stumps and debris near house

•Place screens on outside vents

•Check decks and wooden fences for damage

•Wood on your home shouldn’t contact the soil

Termite Warning Signs & Identification

Some indications you may have a termite infestation:

•A temporary swarm of winged insects in your home or from the soil around your home.

•Any cracked or bubbling paint or frass (termite droppings).

•Wood that sounds hollow when tapped.

•Mud tubes on exterior walls, wooden beams or in crawl spaces.

•Discarded wings from swarmers.