Pest problems?... Some tips

No panic, do not be scared, do not worry.

Pest infestation is always seasonal, subject to weather changes, changes in temperature and how you maintain your property. There are other external factors that can contribute to an unwanted infestation in your house/property or business.

Being curious helps to identify a pest, an issue, or a problem. Always look, listen, touch and even smell. If you are still unsure or you don’t know what problem you have then, feel free to contact Mountaniwide Pest Control. It is very helpful to take pictures of the issue that you have; this can make things easier to identify the problem and organise the right booking for you. If there is an insect that you don’t recognise, place your fingers or hand next to the insect and take a picture. This is to visualise the scale of the insect.

Quick tips to easily recognise some pest problems…

Possums:

-        As we know, possums are nocturnal animals. They sleep during the day and they are active during the night.

-        During the day, they don’t run around your roof cavity. Once they find a safe, secure, and comfortable place/spot, they will build a nest and the noises that you could hear is when they are tossing around and doing some scratching; similar to rat scratching.

-        When they are in season (mating), the male chases the female. The female noises can be very loud inside the roof cavity. This applies to rats as well, but the noise is much lower.

-        They don’t always sleep in the same spot so eventually you will hear similar noises in another spot inside the roof cavity.

Bush Rats:

-        Like possums, rats are nocturnal animals but they can be active on and off during the day. This could happen mostly when the house is very quiet or the house is empty.

-         If you see some stains coming through the ceiling then, it is more likely that you have rat problems and they are leaving/nesting under the insulation.

-        Do you have a ducting system in place? Is there a bad smell coming out of one of the vents? You probably have a dead rat already inside the ducting or they are urinating inside the ducting. Every time you start running the system to heat the house, you will be burning the urine and the smell will stream out of the vent.

-        Are your power points/switches not working property? You might have rats that have chewed the cables or you might have ants inside the switches that are causing a short circuit.

Cockroaches: In the Blue Mountains, there are two most common cockroaches.

Bush cockroaches:

They are Australian natives and harmless. They are not a pest that live in house. They live in the bush. They generally live outside in leaf litter, in gardens with dense mulch, rotten wood or rotten timber and rockeries providing sheltered habitat for native cockroaches.

What happens is that depending on weather conditions like excess rain or changes in temperature, they end up inside the house wandering around, unable to get back to the bush (trapped inside).

-        If you find some tiny, dark droppings like sand, you are more likely to have a native cockroach trapped in your cabinets or draws. If you find it, don’t kill it, put it back into the bush. They will be more than grateful. It could be one or two that are lost inside your house. Again, they are not a pest.

German cockroaches:

This is a pest and it can spread badly if ignored; in your bedrooms, bathrooms, electricals, utensils. They could damage brand new fridges, microwaves, power points, modems, and any electrical equipment.

I have  heard from customers saying… I have never had cockroaches in my house/business and now I have a problem?... things to consider:

-        Did you buy a house and are you moving to the mountains?

-        Are you moving from  somewhere at  the bottom of the mountains, city areas, central coast, inner west, south Sydney…?

-        Check every piece of furniture, specially from the kitchen/dinning area. Make sure they are pest-free before you move to your new house.

-        Check your boxes, plastic bags, cardboards. They (cockroaches) could have a free trip to your new house.

-        Did you find a piece of furniture on the street? Did you check it before you put it in inside your house?

-        Is any of your family, flat mates or friends moving into your house with electricals white goods (fridges, microwaves, dishwashers, etc)? Did you check them before they moved in?

-        If you run a business and you have constant deliveries of food from stores/food warehouse? They might be delivering your goods with cockroaches. They normally come inside the boxes, bags and packages. Set up a place/area where you can check them before you move them into your store room because the next place to find those cockroaches will be in the kitchen.

For all the above: