RATS
Rats often cause electrical fires in buildings by gnawing through plastic electrical junction boxes. Rats must constantly gnaw on hard objects to cut back their constantly growing incisor teeth. In addition, they live in the most unsanitary places, and are carriers of serious health risks to humans from their droppings and constant incontinence (they use urine trails to find their way in the dark).
There are two pest species of rats commonly found in domestic and commercial premises - the brown rat and the black rat.
Where do they live and breed? Rats and mice live in drains, under concrete, in sub-floors and in garbage refuse areas, kitchens, roof voids and other areas where a potential food and moisture source is available.
Rodents Control:
Rodents habits is essential to eradicate a problem, for example, rats avoid bait touched by human hand - they have an acute sense of smell "cunning as a rat".
Pest control options may include the use of sticky straps, mechanical traps and the selective use of latest generation rat baits. Any rat baiting program should use safety dispensers placed in areas and is secure from access by children and pets - such as in a roof void and sealed sub-floor and/or storage rooms.
ANTS
Ants may travel large distances in search of food. Even the cleanest of homes can provide a ready food source for ants which once found can invade in large numbers, such that professional help is required.
Some do-it-yourself products may provide short term relief, but may in fact, make a problem worse. Ants are easily repelled by some common residual remedies and, without finding the colony, their repeated use can often cause a colony to move or even split into multiple colonies. And simply killing foraging ants will not eliminate the colony since the queen remains in the colony and her sole purpose is to lay more eggs to ensure the survivability of the colony.
Ants are now the number one pest problem for which homeowners rely on professional advice and remediation, Since an interior infestation is likely to have resulted from outdoor populations, you should expect your pest management professional to perform a thorough inspection of the surrounding environment and develop a strategy to prevent re-infestation of the building.
BED BUGS
Bed Bugs are blood-suckers commonly found in motels, hostels or boarding houses where itinerant travelers stay overnight. Bed bugs are often found in buildings used to store second-hand furniture or clothing.
Bed Bugs do bite at night. Next morning you may see dots of blood in a line on bed linen. The blood has a sickly sweet odor. Also look for dried blood deposits around cracks in the bed, bed-head, flooring, bedside furniture and mattress.
Some people have an adverse skin reaction to the bite of bed bugs. The bed bug injects an anti-coagulant chemical into the bloodstream of its host which prevents the blood from clotting. This allows the bed bug to suck out the blood until it is fully engorged.
A professional pest controller should be engaged to ensure safe effective control of a bed bug infestation.
COCKROACHES
Cockroaches are known carriers of serious diseases, such as, salmonella, dysentery, gastroenteritis and other stomach complaint organisms. They adulterate food and spread pathogenic organisms with their feces and defensive secretions.
Asthmatic reactions: Cockroaches must molt regularly throughout their life-cycle. The discarded skin becomes airborne and can cause severe asthmatic reactions, particularly to children, the elderly and people with bronchial ailments.
Even the cleanest homes are infected: Cockroach pests and their eggs are spread throughout the community in food and other packaging. Although sanitation and hygiene are important deterrents, even the cleanest homes become infested with cockroaches due to minute deposits of grease, sugar and other food deposits in difficult to get at places, such as, in drains, behind refrigerators and dishwashers, inside cracks and crevices in kitchen cupboards.
Omnivorous by nature: Cockroaches will eat almost any organic matter no matter how rancid. Once inside the home, they will seek out food scraps, unsealed food containers, sugar and grease deposits, pet food, rancid meat, glue and even book bindings. They eat each other’s feces, to feed the young "nymphs" and extract all nourishment from an organic food source. If you see a clump of pepper-like specs in your kitchen cupboards, it is likely cockroach feces marking their courtship and nearby nesting territory.
Cockroaches rest during daylight hours in dark warm secure harborages in your home, such as, in wall cavities, the sub-floor, roof void, cracks and crevices in the kitchen and bathroom, electrical appliances and foodstuffs. They will emerge from these harborages in the still of the night. Cockroaches have an array of acute sensory and survival instincts. If you see cockroaches in your home during the day, you have a serious problem.
If left unchecked a cockroach infestation can rapidly expand its numbers in a few weeks or months to become major risk to health and safety.
Modern science has the answer. Cockroach food bait has a delayed lethal effect. Ensuring enough time for the bait to be transferred to other cockroaches by each other’s feces.
DO’s and DON’T’s
Selecting a Professional Pest Control Company
- The safer, more effective pest control products cost more.
- The level of training and experience of the service technician may vary greatly.
- The warranties offered by various companies may differ and indeed be worthless if the company subsequently goes out of business.
- BE CAREFUL: Unrealistic price cutting and resultant inadequate servicing is more likely to occur with some companies operating from a rented residence using a temporary phone number. Here today - gone tomorrow. Such low pricing may only be achieved by providing a sub-standard service using trainee operators and the cheaper old style highly toxic pesticides - a hazard to themselves and the general public. The modern technology products are far safer but much more expensive and require a higher level of skill to ensure an effective result.
What to expect from a Pest Control Company?
- Options: In most cases, a serious termite infestation will require the use of some chemicals, in order to minimize the risk of severe timber damage to a building. However, there are modern products and technologies available to suit environmentally sensitive situations.
- Inspection Report: After a thorough inspection and detailed written report on the premises, your pest professional should recommend pest control methods suited to your particular circumstances, with an emphasis on safety and effective protection of the premises.
Ensuring a reliable Pest Control Company
One of the most common consumer complaints is that the Company has NOT done the job properly "the termites are back causing major damage" and the Company has disappeared, leaving the home-owner to pay for retreatment and repairs.
Your enquiries should focus on whether the business is a solid company in case a problem arises in the future, the level of expertise, and the safety aspects employed.
- First inquire as to how long the business has been established. Do they have a good reputation in the market-place?
- Ask questions about termites and the different treatment options the company employs, the materials used, and their application techniques.
- Be present during the termite inspection. Study the general presentation of the inspector, such as, was the inspector in company uniform, with proper identification, arrive in a tidy motor vehicle and use quality equipment, was a thorough inspection carried out, and were you presented with informative documentation regarding the inspection findings and treatment proposals? Did the inspector adequately explain the alternatives so you are confident they knew the subject matter?
- Enquire as to the qualifications and experience of the termite inspector. Does he/she have a current Pest Control Operator License and Pest Applicator License?
- Enquire as to whether the company uses employees or sub-contractors. Be wary of companies with sub-contractors as problems often occur in the market place where sub-contractors are obliged to pay for the supply of chemical and other costs but do not assume responsibility if the service proves to be inadequate at a later date.
