Dealing with pests
Pests come in various shapes and sizes, from tiny bugs to larger mammals. These creatures tend to be a nuisance – whether they bite, sting or nibble and are often quite difficult to get rid of.
Lots of people believe that if you keep your home clean and tidy you won’t get pests in your home, however they are not fussy, and enjoy both a clean and dirty house.
Falcon Rural Housing unfortunately does not deal with any form of pest, however here is some advice below –
Rats and Mice
You are never far from a rat or a mouse and most complaints are about them living in people’s lofts. They can cause disease through their urine and droppings and can cause havoc to your home by chewing through furnishings and electrical wires.The simplest thing to do is use rat poison or humane traps to see if you can get rid of the problem yourself, if you can find out where they are getting into your property try blocking their holes with concrete. If this does not work you may need to contact a Pest Control Agency or Environmental Health.Ants
Ants will only come into your home if there is a lot of accessible food around, one way to deter them from coming in is to keep a clean Kitchen – mop up any spillages or mess straight away as they are extremely attracted to the smell of sugar and grease.
Establish where the ants are getting in and fill any cracks in walls or use sealant by the windows. Treat with a pesticide (make sure you follow all instructions carefully).
Fleas
Fleas tend to live on cats and dogs and can be picked up at any time, although more likely in the warmer months. Your pet will bring them back into your home and there they will live feeding on anything that has blood in the home, including you.
You will need to treat your pets as well as your home – there is no point in treating one and not the other as you will continue to have a problem. Treat as early as possible as fleas breed quickly and before you know it you will have an infestation. There are many products available for both your pet and your home, again please read the instructions carefully.
Cluster Flies
Historically Cluster Flies would hibernate in hollow trees or loose bark, however our warm, weatherproof homes are now much more inviting. You will often find them in your loft spaces and there could be hundreds at a time. They will normally appear in your home in the autumn and start to leave in the summer where they lay their eggs in the soil.
Whilst they do not bite they can be a nuisance just by the sheer volume that may turn up and no one wants to live with a swarm of flies. Pesticides are readily available to deal with these flies, however please be aware that if you have bats in your loft it is against the law to use pesticides as they are endangered and you will have to contact a Pest Control Agency.
Bed Bugs
Bedbugs can live everywhere in your home including bedding, mattresses, carpets and even in your plug sockets. They feed on blood and can leave nasty bite marks. They can be picked up almost anywhere, however the most common way of getting them is by buying second-hand furniture. Self-treatment of a bed bug infestation is very unlikely to be successful. They are extremely versatile and have built up immunities to a lot of pesticides. The only way to eradicate bed bugs is to employ the services of a Pest Control Agency.
Bees
Bees are an endangered species and whilst they might move in to your eaves or shed they are not to be disturbed or hurt in any way. You will need to contact your local Bee Keeper to come and remove the nest safely and relocate them. Remember that without bees there would be no pollination and therefore most plants would die thus causing a horrific impact on a global scale. Bees are friends.
Wasps
Lots of people hate wasps and believe that they don’t actually do anything other than ruin barbeques and sting people, however they do more good than harm. Thus being said they are not protected like bees and can be disposed of differently. Be extremely careful if you approach a nest as they are likely to swarm and become very aggressive.There are lots of ways of getting rid of wasps, however we do recommend to get a professional in from a Pest Control Agency.