General

• Pest Identification

Insects and Spiders

• Ants
  All Ants have the main divisions of the body (head, thorax, abdomen) distinctly separated by very narrow waists and have a sharp elbow joint in their antennae. They are highly organised social insects. It is the foraging worker Ants that invade buildings in search of food. These range from 3 to 5mm in length and are attracted to sweet foodstuffs which they take back to the nest to feed to the larvae and queen.
• Bed Bugs
• Fleas
  Small (2mm) wingless insects, flattened side to side, red-brown with backwardly directed spines and legs designed for jumping. All adult fleas are parasitic on warm-blooded animals. Larval stages live in the nest of the host and feed on skin, feathers and, most importantly, the blood-rich feaces of the adult flea. When fully grown the larvae spin well camouflaged silken cocoons. When fully developed the adult waits within this until it detects the vibrations caused by a potential host. Only then does it emerge.
• Cockroaches
  The adult German cockroach is 10 to 15mm long. The Common or Oriental cockroach is 20 to 24mm long. They are rarely able to survive out of doors in the British climate, but thrive around the heating ducts and boiler rooms of large centrally heated buildings e.g. hospitals, bakeries, hotel and restaurant kitchens, laundries and blocks of flats. They cluster around pipes, stoves, and sinks, especially in humid areas.
• Bees
  They may occasionally cause problems. Unlike honey bees these are solitary insects. They nest in a wide range of cavities some of which they excavate themselves. The nest is constructed of sand grains and other particles glued together with saliva. Masonry bees are normally harmless, their sting seemingly unable to penetrate human skin.
• Wasps
  The queen wasp is larger (20mm) and she hibernates over winter, making a nest in the spring in which to lay her eggs. She feeds the grubs on insects until they develop into worker wasps, three to four weeks later. Workers, all sterile females, forage for over a mile in search of food. One nest may produce 30,000 wasps in a year.
• Flies
  These are dark greyish flies about 8mm long with yellowish hairs on the back and with overlapping wings. In autumn they congregate in large numbers in upper rooms or roof spaces of houses to hibernate. A mass of cluster flies has a characteristic smell. They are sluggish in flight and are a nuisance in the house.
• Beetles
  First sign of woodworm is the appearance of neat round holes, 2mm across, in wooden surfaces, often accompanied by tiny piles of wood dust beneath them. Fresh holes show clean white wood inside. The holes are made by emerging adult beetles, immature grubs may still be tunnelling away inside the wood.
• Moths
  There are several species of clothes moths, all of them characterised by folding their wings tent-wise along their backs. The adult Common Clothes Moth is 6 to 7mm long with pale, plain golden-buff wings fringed with hair. The rarer Case-Bearing Clothes Moth, is duller and has three dark brown spots on each of its wings.
• Mites
  Whether removal is achievable or not, the entrances to the nest site must be sealed off. This will prevent potential robber/other bees from becoming affected by the insecticide. Insects and mites will also thrive on the honey and dead grubs within the nest and may cause problems.
• Psocids
  These fast moving, minute, cream-coloured or light brown insects, only 1mm long, occur in small numbers in many premises. There are several species, known collectively as Psocids. All have soft bodies. Very few species have wings.

Animal Control

• Moles
  In rural areas especially, moles can cause great damage to your garden/land by tunnelling through the soil, up to inches below the surface. With heavy infestations, the ground can become unstable and holes may appear not only damaging the foundations of your land but also creating safety risks.

Bird Control

• Birds
• Gulls
• Pigeons
  Feral pigeons foul buildings, creating unwanted stained windows and architecture. All sorts of pests will migrate from their nests into buildings.

Rodent Control

• Rodents
  Some species prefer to nest underground in abandoned burrows of rodents, while others nest just above the ground in dense grass or leaf-litter. The Queen stocks her nest with pollen and nectar, and lays her first batch of eggs. She incubates them, much as a bird would. Sitting on the eggs while shivering her flight muscles to produce warmth.
• Rats
  The Brown Rat is the commoner species and stays near ground level. The Black Rat still occurs in seaport towns and is a more agile climber, often entering the upper floors of buildings. It is possible to identify the species present from the different shaped droppings, footprints in dust (the Brown Rat is flat footed, the Black Rat runs on its toes) and presence of tail swipes. In towns, Brown Rats often live in sewers but in the countryside there is a constant background population in fields and hedges.
• Squirrels
  Physically blocking gaps and entry holes with wire mesh is the best answer. Various types of trap are available as is a poison based on warfarin, but only to professional technicians. Release of grey squirrels caught in cage traps is illegal.