TICKS
Ticks
feed exclusively on the blood of vertebrates. Up to 10,000 eggs can be
laid by a single female.
Treatment of these
pests is performed by a registered Bugman Pest Controller Specialist with a
residual spray of suitable pesticides
FLEAS
Fleas
attack warm blooded animals including humans, dogs, cats and rodents.
They feed on blood immediately after they hatch out of eggs. A flea can
jump up to 40cm horizontally. A female lays up to 1000 eggs in her life
time and lays eggs after each blood meal. An adult flea is up to 3mm
long. A bite is very irritating and causes red bumps on the host.
Tapeworms can be transmitted by infected fleas and also murine typhus and
tularoemia.
A registered
Bugman Pest Control Specialist will suggest use of SABS approved pesticides
to eradicate fleas including fumigation and residual sprays
combined.
FLIES AND
MAGGOTS
Flies
reach a length of up to 12mm. An adult female lays about 5 batches of
eggs each hatch being about 140 eggs. A fly lives for about 3
months. Maggots are fly larvae that live in decaying matter.
Common house flies can travel up to 8km per day to forage. They are a
serious health hazard as they spread intestinal worms, and can cause
dysentery, gastroenteritis, typhoid, cholera and tuberculosis. Flies
liquefy food by regurgitating digestive juices onto the food they eat.
They then suck this matter up.
A registered
Bugman Pest Control Specialist will use a combination of residual
insecticide sprays, space fumigation
sprays, UV Light electronic electrocuters and fly bait attractants to
control flies.
MOSQUITOES
More
than 2 million people die yearly due to Malaria contracted from mosquitoes.
The most common mosquitoes are the Malaria, yellow fever and common house
mosquito. Only females suck blood as a meal. A female eats her own
bodyweight in blood at each feed. The well-known buzz sound at night is
only made by females in search of a blood meal.
A
Registered Bugman Pest Control Specialist will use larvacides as well as
residual sprays of insecticides and space spray fumigation to
control mosquitoes.
COCKROACHES
More
than 3600 species of cockroaches live worldwide. We deal mainly with 3
species: In South Africa there are the German Cockroach, Oriental
Cockroach and the American Cockroach. The female produces 4 – 8
egg capsules in her lifetime each containing 16 to 40 eggs. They
incubate normally in 21 to 28 days. Adults live for 4 – 8
months.
Cockroaches can
transmit dysentery, gastroenteritis, typhoid and poliomyelitis.
Cockroaches feed on any type of decaying matter including faeces and then
carry this filth into dwellings.
Generally 2
treatments are necessary due to the fact that juveniles need to be
exterminated 30-35 days after the initial treatment.
A registered
Bugman Pest Control Specialist will use residual sprays of insecticide,
flushing agents, pheremone gel baits, and fumigation to
effectively control cockroaches.
SCORPIONS
Scorpions are well known in South
Africa. Some are dangerous because they have a large poisonous
sting. They have large stings and small pincers. Scorpions are resistant
to drought and can survive long periods without food. They live in
gardens under rocks and tree stumps near houses. They pose a danger to
small children and pets because of their sting.
A registered
Bugman Pest Controller will treat the entire area with a residual spray of
the suitable insecticide for scorpions.
FISHMOTHS OR
SILVERFISH
Fishmoths are thin, wingless, and
covered with silvery greyish scales. They are about 12mm long with three long
tails. They are destructive because they eat materials. They are
active at night and live in damp cool places such as behind skirting boards
and in garages and basements.
A registered
Bugman Pest Control Specialist will generally use a residual spray to
control those pests. Most insecticides do not destroy eggs, so a
second treatment may be necessary about 30 days later to destroy newly
hatched juveniles.
BEDBUGS
Bedbugs are flat oval insects and
live exclusively by sucking blood. Where low standards of hygiene are
present, bedbugs are prevalent. A female lays about 250 eggs in her
lifetime. Bedbugs hide in beds, bedding, skirtings, behind wallpaper,
and wherever their human hosts sleep. The bed bug bite leaves a very
itchy large whitish lump on the skin.
To eradicate
bedbugs a registered Bugman Pest Control Specialist will use a suitable
insecticide on all bedding and affected areas..
Beds are extensively wet and need to dry
for 2 days before being slept in again.
MITES
The
most common mite in the house is the dust mite. Many people are allergic
to the faeces and excretions of dust mites. Mites feed on humans dead
skin called dander. Mites are found in bedding, curtains carpets and
most fabrics.
Mites are treated
with a residual spray of insecticide by a registered Bugman Pest Control
Specialist.
CRICKETS AND
PARKTOWN PRAWNS
Crickets are nocturnal and cause
damage to any type of fabric. The chirping sounds are irritating to some
persons in a residential environment. Their faeces discolour some
surfaces.
Generally a
residual spray of insecticide will be used by a registered Bugman Pest
Control Specialist to eradicate crickets.
PIGEONS AND OTHER
BIRDS
Pigeons usually choose one mate for
life. Two adult birds produce about twelve young every year. They are social
and tend to live in flocks. They cause serious damage due to defecation on
buildings. They harbour at least 7 ectoparasites that bite humans. 8 diseases
are spread by pigeons, including encephalitis.
Sparrows, starlings,
seagulls, Indian mynahs and other birds are controlled in a similar
manner.
A registered Bugman Pest Control
Operator will control pigeons and other birds by exclusion, barrier
methods, sticky bird repellents, or spikes.
RODENTS (RATS AND
MICE)
Depending on the species, rats can be
up to 20cm in length with a tail of 20cm and can weigh up to 500 grams.
A female will product up to 10 litters per year with an average of 8 per
litter. An adult rat eats about 30g of food and drinks 30g of water
daily. Rats can enter a bathroom through the water seal in a toilet or
through roofs, doors and windows. Rats are active and forage at
sunset. Mice on the other hand choose to forage and are active just
before sunrise. Rats and mice knaw, burrow and climb as well as swim
across water.
Rats and mice are a
major health hazard as they may transmit Murine typhus fever, bubonic plague,
Weils disease, ratbite fever, Salmonellosis and infection due to bites.
Control is mainly
needed for Norway rats, roof rats and house mice.
A registered
Bugman Pest Control Specialist will normally use a rodenticide bait to
control rats and mice. Activity should cease in roofs etc. in
approximately 5 to 21 days. Occasionally, break back traps and glue
boards may have to be used but only as a last resort.