Types of pest

What are they?

There are 41 different species of ant living in the UK. The one that causes most problems for people is the garden or black ant (Lasius Niger), which is 3.5 to 5mm long and dark brown to black in colour.

Black ants usually nest outdoors in lawns, flower beds under paving stones, and in walls. Although they are not a health hazard, they can be a nuisance as they can find their way into homes in large numbers. They enter homes in search of sweet foods, getting in through small gaps in masonry, doors and windows.

Ants are not just pests. They also feed off insects and act as scavengers in the garden
The queen ant lays eggs in late spring which hatch into larvae after 3-4 weeks. She rears the larvae for three weeks after which they pupate. From the pupae emerge the first brood of worker ants which forage for food and tend subsequent broods. Winged male and female ants emerge between July and August and mating takes place on the wing during this time, after which the males die. The mated females shed their wings and dig a cell in the soil where they stay until the following Spring.

Can I treat them?

You can treat ants yourself with crawling insect insecticide. Apply a residual insecticide to the entrance of the nest and wherever ants have entered your home. Inside your house, you should put insecticide behind the sink unit, skirting boards, around doors window frames, wastepipes and other pipes, trying to create a band of insecticide over which the ants would have to cross to enter your home. Make sure you also apply the insecticide to small cracks and crevices. Ants can get through very small gaps.
To make sure you get rid of problem ants you will need to find their nest. Follow the ant trails and look for small entrance holes in the ground surrounded by small piles of fine earth. Once you have found the nest, follow the instructions on the insecticide about dealing with ants nests.

Please read the label and follow the instructions on any insecticide you get.
Treatment can also be carried out professionally by Middlesbrough Council's Pest Control Service. See our prices and contact us.

What are they?

Cockroaches can contaminate food with their excrement, give out an unpleasant odour, and many people can get allergic skin reactions to them. For these reasons they need to be effectively controlled.

Cockroaches are large insects with whip like antennae and two pairs of wings. The most common species found in the UK are the Oriental and German cockroaches. They can gather together in large numbers if left unchecked.

Cockroaches like the warm, humid conditions found in a typical home. Domestic conditions also give them a good source of food as well as shelter. They are nocturnal, spending the day in such areas as sinks, drains, the back of cupboards and around fridge motors.

Oriental Cockroach - Oriental cockroaches are often found in cooler and less humid areas such as drains and basements. They thrive in buildings with service ducts and complex plumbing.

The female lays her eggs in a capsule containing up to 16 eggs and carries it to an area where the young can find food.  The eggs hatch into small versions of the adults, or nymphs, after six to twelve weeks. The nymphs, which resemble the adults except for lack of wings, take between ten months and two years to grow to adulthood. Adults live for about 18 weeks.

German Cockroach - The egg capsules of German cockroaches contain up to 32 eggs. The female carries the egg case for some time and drops it when the eggs are close to hatching. The nymphs take approximately 14 weeks to grow into adults and can live for approximately 34 weeks.

How can I treat them?

High standards of hygiene can stop cockroaches from getting food while sealing cracks and crevices, especially in areas where food is prepared, can deny the insects shelter. If you live in a block, treatment needs carrying out on a block basis.

You can treat cockroaches yourself using cockroach killing insecticide, applying it to areas where cockroaches shelter such as cracks, and around refrigerators and washing machines. You must follow the instructions on the product label.

Treatment can also be carried out professionally by Middlesbrough Council's Pest Control Service. See our prices and contact us.

What are they?

Earwigs are dark brown and between 10 and 14 mm long, have wings but never fly. Usually they are active at night, spending the day in moist, shady areas such as beneath stones or in cracks in walls. They eat a variety of things, from flowers, fruit, vegetables to leaves and decaying organic matter. Some earwigs are predatory, feeding on aphids, insects and spiders.

Earwigs spend most of their time outdoors in moist damp places, but if the weather is hot and dry for a long time they may go indoors. They are a garden pest and can cause damage to flowers, fruit and vegetables.

Eggs are laid in the spring by the female some 4 to 7cm beneath the surface of the soil, in batches of around 30. The eggs hatch after a few days and the young nymphs, which are smaller versions of the adults, are tended by the mother until the first moult. After 4 moults, the young adults leave the nest and fend for themselves. Earwigs live through the winter as either adults or eggs.

How can I treat them?

Get rid of damp, moist conditions found in sub floor spaces and along house foundations, for example leaking gutters, drainpipes etc. Sealing gaps around doors, windows, pipes and other points of entry, proofing air vents with insect screening mesh, especially at the ground level, will prevent earwigs getting in your home. Changing the landscape around the house producing a clean, dry border around the foundation walls and using gravel or ornamental stones can make an attractive barrier against earwigs and other pest invaders.

Effective chemical control can be achieved by applying residual insecticide barriers externally around the house.

Treatment can also be carried out professionally by Middlesbrough Council's Pest Control Service. See our prices and contact us.

What are they?

Adult fleas are parasites, living off warm-blooded animals. Different  species of flea live off different animals. Cat fleas are approx. two to three mm in size, brownish in colour, and are responsible for the majority of flea infestations.

Their increase in numbers in recent years has been caused by an increase in the number of people keeping pets and by the tendency for pet owners to neglect cleaning their pet's bedding properly.

Central heating provides the necessary warmth needed for fleas to breed and fitted carpets provide relatively undisturbed environments for flea larvae to develop.
Flea bites appear as a tiny dark red spot surrounded by a reddened area which can be intensely irritating and usually persists for one or two days.

Flea eggs are about half a millimetre long, pearly-white in colour and are laid on the pet or in its bedding. Four to eight eggs are laid after each blood meal, a single female producing between 800-1000 eggs during her lifetime which may be as long as two years.

The eggs hatch in about one week into larvae which live in dark, humid places such as animal bedding and carpet fluff, feeding on debris and adult flea excrement. A cat's bedding may support 8000 immature and 2000 adult fleas.

After 2-3 weeks, the larvae spin cocoons and pupate and may spend winter in this state. The adult flea will then be stimulated to emerge by the vibrations set up by a passing host. Development from egg to adult is normally completed in 4 weeks but at low temperatures will take much longer.

How can I treat them?

Regular cleaning prevents fleas breeding sites and contributes significantly to their control. You should remove accumulations of debris from cracks and crevices such as the cracks between skirting boards and floorboards, and the whole area thoroughly cleaned.

You can use over the counter insecticides to treat your home if it is infested. Before you start treatment you should thoroughly clean your home with a vacuum cleaner. Placing a small quantity of insecticidal dust onto a carpet and vacuuming it up will control fleas, which get sucked into the cleaners bag. After this treatment, avoid vacuuming for between seven and ten days.

Pets such as cats or dogs should be treated using veterinary products which have been specifically formulated and registered for use on pet animals. Always make sure you follow the manufacturers instructions. Pets' bedding must also be thoroughly laundered.
Treatment can also be carried out professionally by Middlesbrough Council's Pest Control Service. See our prices and contact us.

What are they?

House mice can live and breed in houses, buildings and other structures such as garden sheds, which give them protection from the cold and wet weather and which provides them with the three essentials for survival - food, water and shelter. Although an abundant supply of food is preferable, house mice can survive on relatively poor diets, eating between 3 to 4 grams of food a day and can survive without access to free water, obtaining their daily needs from their food.

The ideal environments for house mice are buildings with dead spaces and harbourages free from disturbance and close to food and water. They are extremely good climbers, climbing walls, pipes, cavities and ductings. They have very hard incisor teeth which can penetrate materials such as concrete, lead and aluminium. This can result in expensive damage and even fires when electric cables are damaged.

House mice like to know the area where they live and will familiarise themselves with their home surroundings; in most cases activity will be restricted to a radius of up to 10 m. They use the same familiar pathways. This produces smear marks by the continual rubbing of their fur against surfaces.

In urban areas, house mice are able to breed throughout the year, producing between 5 and 10 litters each of about 4-8 young. They can live for more than two years, though the average life span is about 10 months.

House mice are inquisitive animals with sporadic and unpredictable feeding habits and will feed from numerous different sites each night rather than one or two sites close to their nest. They will feed on almost anything, but generally prefer cereal based foods such as grass and canary seed. In some urban areas they have become unable to digest cereal based food, preferring high protein foods instead. These house mice have been termed 'behaviorally resistant' because their avoidance of normal foods seems to be genetically based.

How to prevent an infestation

• Don't leave open food out in the kitchen overnight
• Don't leave uneaten meals intended for a pet cat or a dog in dishes out overnight 
• Remove all food and waste spillages as they occur 
• Empty food waste bins in the kitchen etc frequently 
• Store food in rodent proof containers 
• Ensure that refuse is not allowed to accumulate in the yard or garden 
• Seal structural defects in the house to prevent mice gaining access to your home (mice can squeeze through gaps in excess of 5mm.)

If signs of infestation are noticed, for example, fresh mouse droppings, gnaw or smear marks, take immediate action to control the infestation.

If treating an infestation of mice yourself, don't leave mouse bait down for extended periods - remove as soon as the infestation has been controlled. If control is difficult to achieve contact Middlesbrough Council's Pest Control Services for further help.
If a baiting programme is to be successful it is vitally important to maintain an uninterrupted supply of bait available for the mice. This can be achieved by ensuring that all revisit appointments made with Pest Control are kept. Do not interfere with or reposition any bait stations laid as part of a treatment programme and keep children and pets away from bait stations at all times.

Treatment can also be carried out professionally by Middlesbrough Council's Pest Control Services. See our prices and contact us.

What are they?

Rats are a hazard to public health. They can transmit a number of diseases which can be potentially fatal to man, such as Weil's disease. They also carry disease organisms such as Salmonella bacteria, viruses and parasites such as worms and fleas.

In an urban environment rats readily find food from a variety of sources such as refuse from commercial kitchens and restaurants, discarded takeaway food in addition to scavenging in domestic refuse or in drains and sewers.

Rats will burrow, especially into soil, compost heaps, under coverings such as paved areas and under sheds. Gas and water pipes are also at risk and rat burrowing can undermine building foundations. They can be frequently found living inside buildings in the cavity between walls and in roof spaces, or beneath piles of rubbish, near water, or in drains and sewers. Due to their agility and ability to squeeze through small openings it is sometimes difficult to keep rats out of buildings without some form of rodent proofing being carried out.

Rats have very hard incisor teeth which can penetrate materials such as concrete, lead and aluminium. This can result in expensive damage and even fires when electric cables are damaged.

Rats can breed quickly, a healthy female can produce five litters a year, each of 8 - 10 young with offspring attaining sexual maturity in 8 - 12 weeks.

It is quite easy for infestations to build up without ever noticing a rat - their nocturnal habit tends to keep them away from the human contact. If a rat is seen during the day, it is usually an indicator of a sizeable infestation. Signs of infestation are droppings, gnaw marks, runs and smears marks produced by the continual rubbing of their fur against surfaces.

How to Prevent an Infestation

• Ensure that all defective drainage to your home is promptly repaired, such as broken drainpipes, and drainage chamber covers 
• Ensure your bin is emptied regularly, and refuse is not allowed to accumulate in the yard or garden 
• Seal structural defects in the house to prevent rats gaining access to your home
• Place food intended for garden birds on a bird table or feeder, do not place food scraps directly on the ground.

Removing easily accessible food and eliminating shelter for rats are among the most basic and important preventative measures.

If signs of infestation are noticed, for example fresh rat droppings, gnaw or smear marks,  take immediate action to control the infestation or contact Middlesbrough Council's Pest Control Services for treatment.

If a baiting programme is to be successful for the control of rats it is vital to maintain an uninterrupted supply of bait. This can be achieved by ensuring that all revisit appointments made with Pest Control are kept.

Do not interfere with or reposition any bait stations laid as part of a treatment programme and keep children and pets away from bait stations at all times.
Fully trained Pest Control Technicians will look at the infestation, and draw up a treatment programme which involves placing poison baits in the most appropriate locations. they will return to your home to make sure the treatment is successful. If you need our help, please contact us.

What are they?

Silverfish are slender, wingless insects, shiny silver in appearance, approximately 10mm long with three, long bristletails at the end of their body.

They can be found in moist places such as kitchens and bathrooms, underneath floors, sinks, in cupboards, and along pipes where they hide during the day and feed during the night. They are extremely fast runners and are sometimes seen trapped in wash hand basins or baths as they are unable to climb out.

Silverfish are scavengers and can cause damage in the home by eating materials such as wallpaper, or books and other starchy materials. They seldom damage fibres of animal origin such as wool or hair. Damage often appears as irregular patches removed from wallpaper or irregular and notched edges on wallpaper or other paper products.
Tell tale sign of silverfish include scales, excrement, or yellowish stains on paper or fabric.

A female will lay less than 100 eggs during her lifetime depositing them in damp and warm places such as cracks and crevices or behind skirting boards.

The eggs hatch after two to eight  weeks depending upon conditions. The lifecycle being completed within 3 - 4 months in warm humid conditions, or within 2-3 years in cooler dryer conditions. Newly hatched insects are about 2mm long and look like miniature adults. They live for between three or four months in warm humid conditions but for between two and three years in cooler, dryer areas.

The insects and their eggs can be brought into the home in cardboard boxes, books, papers, starched and rayon fabrics, and other carbohydrate materials.

Can I treat them?

Prevent silverfish by clearing up areas where wood, cardboard boxes, old papers or books are stored, and where there is evidence of insect activity.

You can treat silverfish with insecticide, applying it to areas such as cracks, crevices, under shelves around sinks, skirting boards, window frames, and where pipes pass through walls.

Treatment can also be carried out professionally by Middlesbrough Council's Pest Control Service.

What are they?

Slugs and snails feed on a variety of plants as well as on decaying plant matter, chewing irregular holes on the leaves of plants. There are around thirty species of slugs in Britain. Slugs and snails move by means of a muscular foot which secretes mucus along which the animal glides. This mucus later dries to form the tell tale silvery slime trails.

Snails lay approximately 80 round white eggs into holes or harbourages in the soil. It takes about two years for snails to mature and about one year for slugs to reach maturity.

Both slugs and snails need moisture and are most active at night or during cloudy and rainy days. On dry, sunny days snails shut themselves into their shells, sealing the entrance to keep moist.

During cold weather slugs and snails hibernate in the topsoil.

Treatment can be carried out professionally by  Middlesbrough Council's Pest Control Services. See our prices and contact us.

What are they?

Wasps (Vespula vulgaris) are beneficial garden insects, collecting insects and larvae etc. to feed to developing wasp larvae in the nest during the summer months. Worker wasps will feed on a variety of foods including fruits such as apples, pears and plums. They collect wood to construct nests and may damage the wooden fences and garden furniture in the process.

By the end of the summer, the queen wasp stops laying eggs and the workers no longer need to collect food for the young in the nest. They become free to search for sweet things such as cakes or sweets and can become a nuisance.

It is the ability of wasps to cause painful stings that concerns people most.

People's reactions to wasp stings can vary considerably from intense pain and swelling round the area of the sting, to a severe allergic reaction (known as anaphylactic shock) which can be life threatening.

The queen wasp lays eggs in the nest and hatch into larvae within a few days. Four to six weeks after the eggs are laid the first generation of workers emerge. These are female wasps which are smaller than the queens and take over responsibility for maintaining the nest and finding food, in particular high protein foodstuffs for the larvae such as flies, caterpillars, or spiders.

The queen then devotes all her time to laying eggs and by the end of the summer the nest may contain 20,000 or more wasps. In the autumn the new queens and males produced from the nest mate and the fertilised queens search for hibernation sites. With the onset of winter weather the nests die out and are never reused

Can I treat them?

Treating wasps nest can be very dangerous. If you do try to treat wasp nests yourself wear bee keeper type protective clothing to prevent being stung.

Nests can be found by looking for foraging wasps flying either towards or away from a nest.

They should only be treated with insecticides when activity around the nest is quiet, ideally in the late evening before dusk.

You can obtain puffer packs from garden centres and hardware stores. You should apply insecticide powder around and into the entrance of the nest.

Workers returning to the nest become contaminated and carry the insecticide into the nest. Control is usually achieved within a few hours.

Treatment can also be carried out professionally by  Middlesbrough Council's Pest Control Service. See our prices and contact us.

What are they?

Adult woodlice are slate grey in colour, have 7 pairs of legs and are between 2.5 to 18mm long. They are crustaceans and are closely related to crabs and lobsters. They evolved to live on land but still need damp conditions.

Woodlice avoid light and are active at night, feeding mainly on dead or decaying plant material. By day, they are usually found hiding under stones, plant debris or damp wood. In autumn however they may enter homes through air vents or under doors in search of shelter for the winter.

Woodlice do not harm people or damage buildings.

The female lays eggs in a pouch underneath her body. After about three weeks, the eggs hatch and young woodlice emerge. The young look like smaller versions of the adults and regularly shed their shells as they grow.

In the UK woodlice breed during the summer months only, producing between six to two hundred young in a season and have a lifespan of between one and four years.

Can I treat them?

Woodlice gather in large numbers in dark, damp places, such as under decaying wood or plant debris. Removing potential sheltering places away from your home can help stop woodlice from entering your house.

You can apply a barrier treatment using a suitable insecticide which has been cleared for use against wood lice or in spray form or a dust applied to the outside walls of your home. Make sure you treat any small cracks and gaps there may be, in particular the gaps around steps, air vents and any damp areas.

Treatment can also be carried out professionally by Environmental Health Services.

Please see our prices and contact us.

In addition to our listed pests, we can deal with others , including

Beetles

Beetles such as carpet beetles and biscuit beetles are commonly found in our homes. Although they pose no risk to health they can be a nuisance and cause damage. We can treat the problem for you. Contact us for details.

Bedbugs

Bedbugs are small insects that are commonly found in beds. They feed off blood and can cause discomfort if they make their home in your bed. We can treat the problem for you. Contact us for details

Squirrels

Squirrels become a pest if they nest in your loft or elsewhere in your home. We can deal with them if they gain access to your house.

Birds

Certain species of birds, for example pigeons, can become pests if they infest your home. We can help to deal with them if that is the case.