Seasonal Tips

Pests and their infestations are often seasonal, such as mosquitoes and wasps in the summer and rats and mice in the autumn and winter. With our seasonal tips, we will be alerting you to possible pest problems ahead of the critical time so that you can prepare your defence. It is always preferable for you, your family, pets and the environment to prevent a pest problem rather control one that has already become established.

As well as seasonal tips we will also be sharing further information on our FAQ page.

Remember, you can always check out Richard's regular advice as "The Exterminator" in the Sunday Times Home Section. These articles are usually about a specific pest in response to a reader's question. Find these by clicking here and searching for "The Exterminator"

Current Tip: Barbeques and Picnics

Pests and Barbecues and Picnics Warm summer nights on the patio, enjoying a glass of chilled Sauvignon blanc with a barbecue steak and salad, or laying lazily under the sun on the grass after a pleasant picnic by the lake. Sounds idyllic but the reality usually falls far short of this. It’s as if all those bugs and insects know it’s picnic time for them too when they see us coming. Ants march up the table or onto the picnic rug in search of all those sweet things intended for the kids. When they find them they literally tell their mates and bring them along for the party. Flies, usually very adept at avoiding our attempts to swat them, commit suicide by drowning themselves in the wine or turn their attention to what is about to go on the barbecue and walk all over it and sample it. Wasps check out what’s on offer noisily and persistently. 

As afternoon turns to evening the night shift comes on duty. Dusk brings out midges, gnats, mosquitoes and other bugs often in hoards! Even if they don’t bite they still get into your food. Those that do bite are usually subtle about it. They have no desire to be squashed so they try and make sure that you don’t know you’re being bitten. They do so by injecting an anaesthetic when they first bite, before enjoying their meal at your expense. It is only when this wears off some time later that you realise that you have been bitten, often by several different mozzies. 

How can PestFreeHome.co.uk help you enjoy that barbeque or picnic without the hassle of bugs and insects. A good idea is to start with an Insect Pen. Use this to draw an insect barrier at the lower end of each of your patio table legs. This will stop ants from climbing it. If flies are a problem during the day then you will need a Zap Bat. Looking like a tennis racquet only the strings are an electrified grid. Powered by 2 AA batteries, this is enough to generate sufficient voltage to kill those nuisance flies and wasps but not be a danger to children and pets. Now to tame those pesky wasps. A ‘Waspinator’ is a great idea. This is a new concept and is simply a special bag designed to look like a wasp nest you hang it from your patio parasol and Wasps think it is a competing colony and stay away. The makers claim that it will deter wasps within a radius of 12 metres. Alternatively hang a wasp trap with a little fruit juice or squah to attract them into the "No Return" entry funnel.

As night falls and the night insects appear then Personal mosquito repellers are useful. These emit an ultrasonic sound that keeps mosquitoes away. There is also the tried and tested Mosquito repelling creams containing DEET, such as Swamp Gel, citronella or other natural oils. Finally a patio insect light trap, emitting ultra violet light that attracts flying insects to an electrified grid or glue board to complete the control. All of the items are available from PestFreeHome.co.uk, along with tips from Richard our pest professional to provide you with an essential kit that will see you right through the summer. Maybe that dream of a pest free barbecue is realisable after all! 

Previous Tips

• Spring: Moths
  • SEASONAL TIP - MOTHS
    
    At last the winter is over and it is time to bring out the spring tops and put the jumpers away, but will they still be wearable next winter? Clothes moths can wreak havoc while you are not looking and when you get your favourite jumper out next winter you find it full of holes.
    
    Contrary to popular belief it is not the adult moths that do the damage, it is their caterpillars which remain hidden in the dark of your wardrobes and drawers seeking out and eating animal fibres – wool, felt, fur and feathers.
    
    As ever in life, protection is better than cure. Before packing away your winter clothes wash them at the highest temperature recommended for the garment, or have them dry cleaned (check the washing instructions). Then store the items in self seal plastic bags, preferably one garment per bag so that if some moth eggs survived the wash on one garment the ensuing damage would be limited to that item.
    
    Beyond these measures PestFreeHome offers a number of products which will help.
    
    • Strong smelling natural oils such as cedar-wood oil, are believed to repel moths in the same way that old fashioned mothballs (no longer available) used to, but without that tell-tale odour instantly recalled by everyone over 50! PestFreeHome offers a range of cedar-wood products that you can place in your drawers amongst your clothes or hang in your wardrobes.
    
    • If you want to monitor for clothes moths we have traps designed to do just this. These traps will also catch the adult moths hopefully before they have the chance to lay their eggs, giving you the opportunity of doing something about the problem before any damage is done.
    
    • If you have a problem with clothes moths PestFreeHome offers a product that hangs in the wardrobe and slowly gives off an insecticide vapour that kills both the adults and the caterpillars.
• October/November: “A mouse can fit through a gap of 6mm -7mm”
  • Autumn – “A mouse can fit through a gap of 6mm -7mm”  
    
    Rats and Mice
    
    As the vegetation dies back, rats and mice that have quite happily lived outside during the summer, lose both their food source and much of their protective cover. This, coupled with the onset of colder weather, drives them towards the food and shelter that our homes offer them. It is at this time of year that the majority of rat or mouse problems start. Deal with them early, once they have settled into your house or garage they will breed and it will become harder to eradicate them. Think about proofing your home to stop them getting in, in the first place. Prevention is always better than cure. A mouse can fit through a gap of 6mm -7mm.
    
    Pest Free Home offers a full range of products to proof against and to control rats and mice.
    
    Our range of MouseMesh screens are ideal in preventing mice getting into your home through airbricks:
    
    http://www.pestfreehome.co.uk/mousemesh-grilles-1_details.htm
    
     Fleas and Bed Bugs With the end of summer and the onset of autumn, the insect pests that have bugged us during warmer days have all but disappeared. They will overwinter hidden away and protected from the cold. The exceptions are those insects that live close to us and in our homes – fleas, bed bugs and cockroaches. PestFreeHome offers guidance and a range of products to deal with these insect problems, visit our 'Crawling Insects' section:
    
    http://www.pestfreehome.co.uk/crawling-insects.htm
    
     Cluster Flies One insect problem that hits a small number of homes in the autumn is something called the cluster fly. This particular fly overwinters in large numbers in roof spaces. If, during the coming months, you are experiencing flies, resembling house flies, maybe 3 or 4 flying around your living rooms or bedrooms on a regular basis; you may well have cluster flies in your roof space. Do not be alarmed they won’t cause any damage, but it is a good idea to get rid of them. This is not difficult or expensive. Use our ‘Contact Us’ service for advice and guidance:
    
    http://www.pestfreehome.co.uk/contact-us.htm
    
     
• Spring/Early Summer: Controlling Ants - Indoors and Outside
  • From April, Garden ants – the common black ant - can become an irritating indoor pest. Any room can be affected, living rooms, in particular in the vicinity of garden doors and fireplaces, utility rooms close to floor mounted boilers and in kitchens where they seem to find any spilled food within the hour and be taking it back to their nest piece by piece, giving you a long trail of ants across your worktop. If only a few ants are in evidence, the problem might be solved by getting rid of their food source. Clean down food preparation surfaces regularly and store sweet food in snap-shut plastic containers. Look for open jars of honey, jam etc., wash the outside of the jars and the storage shelf they were on.  Flying ants appear in mid July and look so different from the normal black ants that they are often assumed to be an entirely different species.  Flying ants are, in fact, young queens and males. Their occurrence indoors can be alarming as they suddenly appear in large numbers, attended by very many worker ants as well. The good news is that this is a passing phase and the problem will subside in a day or so. Smaller flushes of flying ants may then occur from time to time during July and August. Treat them early before they become a problem. Use OA2Ki dust or Agrothrin dust puffing it into entrances to the nest. These products will be particularly effective against flying ants before they take to the wing.Garden ants, as their name suggests, prefer a life outdoors and usually only stray indoors in search of food or when their nests are built in the foundations of our houses. You can create an insecticide barrier using insecticide dusts. We recommend the use of Oa2Ki dust - based on naturally occurring diatomaceous earth or Agrothrin dust based on natural pyrethrum from chrysanthemum flowers. Judicious use around the outside of door and window frames will often provide such a barrier that ants cannot cross. Both products when used as directed on the label do not pose a threat to pets or wild life.Unpleasant as garden ants are, unlike species in other countries, they do not cause structural damage to our homes and are not thought to be carriers of disease. They can sting, but this does not often happen and is not particularly painful.
• Late Summer: Are Your Pet’s Fleas Transferring Their Affection To You?
  •  Return from late summer holidays finds many homes suffering with fleas. Although these will be cat fleas they are prevalent on dogs too and are the cause of most flea complaints on humans. The fleas lay their eggs off pets in their bedding, on carpets and soft furnishings. The flea larvae go through the life stages and can suspend the final change to adulthood until there is a ‘warm-blooded being’ nearby for their first meal - the cat, the dog, mother, father or the kids!  
    
    This explains why we suffer from fleas in the home despite equipping our pets with flea collars or subjecting them to special injections, tablets etc. It also explains why many families, returning from their summer holidays, find their homes infested with fleas and are bitten almost the moment they walk through the door, even though the pets may have been in kennels.  
    
    A ForteFog aerosol is handy if you see fleas hopping on the carpet, but if you are concerned about using pesticides in the home, buy an Electric Flea Trap. These traps attract fleas to a sticky pad and, first and foremost, will tell you if it is indeed fleas that are biting you rather than the midges in the garden. The traps are then very effective at removing fleas from a particular area. They are safe to use close to cat and dog sleeping baskets.  
• May - July: Garden Ants
  • Spring/Summer Tip – Garden Ants From May garden ants – the common black ant - can become an irritating indoor pest. Any room can be affected, living rooms, in particular in the vicinity of garden doors and fireplaces, utility rooms close to floor mounted boilers and in kitchens where they seem to find any spilled food within the hour and then to be taking it back to their nest piece by piece, giving you a long trail of ants across your worktop! 
    
    Flying ants appear in mid July and look so different from the normal black ants that they are often assumed to be an entirely different species.  Flying ants are, in fact, young queens and males, their occurrence indoors can be alarming as they suddenly appear in large numbers, attended by very many worker ants as well. The good news is that this is a passing phase and the problem will subside in a day or so. Smaller flushes of flying ants may then occur from time to time during July and August. It's best to treat them early before they become a problem.
    
    Garden ants, as their name suggests, prefer a life outdoors and usually only stray indoors when their nests are built in the foundations of our houses. Once there, though, they are very difficult to shift. Whilst it is possible to kill the worker ants with insecticide dusts and sprays, this is not going to destroy the nest. The queen never leaves the protection of the nest and continually lays eggs that will quickly replace the ants that have been killed. Unless it is possible to introduce the insecticide into the heart of the nest, the colony will continue.
    
    PestFreeHome recommends a gel bait to control garden ants indoors. This is formulated to be attractive to ants and is slow acting. The ants take it back to the nest and distribute it to the colony, including the queen before the poison starts to work. By this method it is possible to eradicate the colony.  We have put together a kit consisting of a tube of Gourmet Bait together with 5 bait stations specially designed to allow access to ants, but not other animals. These are small enough to tuck away into tight spaces. The kit comes with a pair of protective gloves and adhesive pads for the bait stations.
    
    We also sell ‘Ant Only’ traps, the ideal receptacle if you want to use Gourmet bait outdoors. These come equipped with a detachable ground spike to keep the traps in position in flower beds and lawns.
    
    For dealing with ants in cracks and crevices around the home, inside and out, we recommend the use of Oa2Ki dust. This is based on naturally occurring diatomaceous earth and is unlikely to pose a threat to pets etc.
    
    Unpleasant as ants are, unlike species in other countries, they do not cause structural damage to our homes and are not thought to be carriers of disease. They can sting, but this does not often happen.
• March - May: Honey Bee Swarms
  • Insects are dependent on warmth to develop. Except for insects, such as cockroaches, that have adapted to life indoors, this means that they must hibernate to survive winter. Their problem is when to come out of hibernation. If this was determined by temperature alone a warm spell in February may leave insects victim to a cold snap in March. To overcome this, insects time their emergence by day length which they can measure very accurately and during March and April day length is increasing by as much as 4 or 5 minutes per day. Even though spring temperatures may vary greatly from year to year the timing of the reappearance of most insects is much more predictable. The first insects to show are likely to be garden ants, so don’t forget to add ant baits and the ant stations in which to place the bait, to your order to be ready. Be ready also for house flies to become a nuisance again.
    
    Towards the end of April and throughout May honey bee colonies swing into action. At this time of year the population in a typical beehive will increase rapidly. This is likely to lead to the colony splitting with one half leaving the hive in search of a new home. This is a honey bee swarm. Bee swarms are often mistaken for wasps’ nests. Wasp colonies reach their peak much later in the summer – July through to September, so if you see large numbers of insects that you think are wasps in April or May, they are undoubtedly honey bees. Leave the swarm alone and call a bee keeper. Advice on how to find a bee keeper can be found on our links page
• January to March: Beat the Freeze! (Rats and Mice)
  • January through to March are normally quiet months for pests. Watch for mice finding their way into garages, sheds and greenhouses in search of food and shelter. Look out also for rats in compost heaps and under sheds also looking for shelter from the cold weather and foraging for scraps put out for birds.