This time of year, it’s nice to be outdoors and see birds, wildlife and flowers. It’s also a great time to look ahead to next autumn. Not in terms of the eventual winter, perhaps, but some inexpensive home improvements made now can save you from sharing your home with some furry pests when the beauty of spring and summer is just a memory.

I’m talking rodents – little pests that can squeeze through holes as small as a 5p piece, or their larger counterparts, the rats – a space the size of a 10p piece is all they need to gain access to your home.

So, now, while the weather is pretty nice, and the bugs haven’t yet descended upon our area in force, is a great time to go on the offensive and seal up all the little nooks and crannies.

Rodents can cause some pretty nasty infections in humans, so eliminating them from our living spaces is critical. A professional can help if the infestation is severe, but trapping is often the safest option for the homeowner if there are children or pets in the home.

Once an area is cleared of rodents, however, it’s important to keep them from gaining access again. Homeowners should especially check the following spaces for evidence of cracks or crevices where rodents could gain entry:

• Inside, under, and behind kitchen cabinets, refrigerators and stoves.
• Inside closets near the floor corners.
• Around the fireplace.
• Around doors.
• Around the pipes under sinks and washing machines.
• Around the pipes going to hot water heaters and furnaces.
• Around floor vents and dryer vents.
• Inside the attic.
• In the basement or crawl space.
• In the basement and laundry room floor drains.
• Between the floor and wall juncture.

Where to look for gaps or holes outside your home:

• In the roof among the rafters, gables, and eaves.
• Around windows.
• Around doors.
• Around the foundation.
• Attic vents and crawl space vents.
• Under doors.
• Around holes for electrical, plumbing, cable, and gas lines.

Do not use expandable sealants to fill spaces. While those have insulating properties, rodents will easily gnaw through. Instead, you can try stuffing the spaces with steel wool, or copper mesh wool, using sealant to keep the wool in place. Use hardware cloths or sheet metal to fill larger spaces.

It’s critical to remove incentives for  mice to get in and set up house, which means keeping a clean home and removing as much of their potential food and water supply as possible.

Transfer foods such as cereals, grains, seeds and nuts to airtight glass containers, rather than leaving them in easily gnawed cardboard or plastic. Common jars that you can find at the supermarket or grocery store work, or you can find glass storage jars in other retail shops.

Don’t leave pet foods out all day. Have a meal time for pets, and take the food up after about 20 minutes if it wasn’t consumed. That teaches animals to eat on a schedule, which is easier for house training, and also for noticing when the pet is really “off its feed” and may need to see the vet, plus it reduces the likelihood that mice will be finding an easy food supply, or contaminating the pet’s food.

Water bowls should be taken up from the floor each night at bedtime, as that is when rodents are more active. Put a fresh bowl down each morning for your pet and leave it down for the day.

As we head toward warmer weather, rodents may exit our homes, too, but they may decide to become unwelcome guests again in the autumn, unless we take some steps now to stop them.

One of the most hated human parasites. The Bed Bug (cimex lectularius) is essentially a nocturnal insect that feeds on human blood. Normally, bed bugs are active prior to dawn and generally found living either on, or close to a bed or human sleeping place.. For effective bed bug control, to eradicate a bed bug infestation, we thoroughly inspect the property to achieve control. Firstly we identify areas of infestation. Check all bedrooms. Strip down beds where possible and check every crevice, in particular the back of the headboard, the joints where legs and frame sections are attached, the seams and buttons of the mattress plus skirtings, wallpaper joints and any furniture near the bed. You will find black “blood spots” near where the bed bugs are hiding and possibly adults and eggs (opaque and pearly white 1mm x 0.5mm).

When we commence treatment we strip and launder all bedding, spray the complete mattress lightly with a proven pesticide and spray where evidence of activity exists. We dismantle the bed and any affected furniture and spray all. Lightly spray wall and floor surfaces around the bed. Re-treat after 15 days , then again after 30 days.

Pestcatcher are experts in the field of Bed bug erradication and have treated domestic homes, hotels, bed and breakfast property’s. If you require our expert service please call 07852 449528.

Adult Flea pictured in the photo

Adult Flea

Pestcatcher carry out treatments for fleas throughout Swindon, Wiltshire and Oxford. The  treatment is normally completed in one visit but we include three follow up visits in the price. A single visit is normally all is required to erradicate this pest. For our domestic clients we charge £45.00 for the treatment and commercial clients the charge is £60.00. Before our arrivial at the property all floors must be clear of debris and obstruction. All clothes must be bagged in bin bags and washed. If you require more information please feel free to call 07852 449528 or 01793 324982

Pestcatcher provide a first rate service to clients throughout Swindon and Wiltshire. Our technicians are highly trained and we offer a comprehensive pest prevention and erradication service for all pest types including Vermin, Rats, Mice, insects and woodworm. Also this time of year we offer a very quick wasp control service and at a price which may supprise compared to other large pest control companies. Please call 07852 449528 for a quick 24/7 reponse to your pest problems. Also feel free to visit our website at www.pestcatcher.co.uk

In the pest control industry an increasing number of call centre type businesses have been cropping up. These call centre’s can now be found filling up Yellow pages and google sponsored links. The problems with these companies are that they have 0800 numbers and claim to be UK wide the fact is that they are call centre’s who outsource to local pest businesses and take a commision for fielding a call typically these companies can be as much as twice as expensive than a local pest control business. If you are looking to deal directly with a company face to face then look for a local number/dialing code and a local address, this should be on there website. For a local technician and deal with the comapny face to face choose a local buiness such as ourselves on 01793 324982 if we do not cover your area we would be happy to pass you details on a pest control business local to you.

Woodworm is usually only noticed once the damage has already been done. There is likely to be a number of elongated holes that appear in timber in the late spring or early summer. These are usually about the size of a pinhead and can be round or elongated in shape. It is quite common for holes made by darts to be mistaken for woodworm.

There are two things to be thought about in identifying woodworm as a problem.
The timber may have already been treated and all that is visible is the holes left by the woodworm. In these cases no further action should be necessary.
If the holes are new, they are bright and clean and quite often some wood dust is
visible in the holes. In these circumstances treatment is usually necessary.

When woodworm is suspected in any timber within the property, (except your own furniture), please ring our repairs call centre on 01793 324982 and they will arrange an appointment for an technician to visit.

A side-opening rodent bait station that blends into the surrounding landscape, ideal for when discretion is key. This bait station accomodates Snap Traps and Bait. Pestcatcher can supply these boxes with or without contracts. Please email sales@pestcatcher.co.uk or call 01793 324982 for more information.

Ants are well know as a pest and can cause damage to your property if the ants nest is located near to buildings. Ants will thrive on sugary foods left on the floor and sides. At pestcatcher we will get to the source of the problem and remove any ant infestation safely and effectively. Pestcatcher eliminates any ant problem you may have. Call Pestcatcher on 07852 449528 for more information

Our Ant control services are available 24 hours a day 365 days a year with no call out charge. We provide a 60-90 minute response with free written estimates and quotes and all work is fully guaranteed.

Pestcatcher offer a wasp control service, we remove and deal with your wasp problem professionally and quickly. A wasp sting is painful and dealing with wasps without full protective equipment is not recommeded. At pestcatcher we have years of experience dealing with the treatment and dealing of nests in the home and also in office and industrial environments. If you find a wasp nest then give pestcatcher a call. We cover Swindon, Oxford, Bath, marlborough, chippenham, shrivenham, faringdon, cricklade, brinkworth, malmesbury, devizes, oxfordshire, wiltshire and oxfordshire.

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The grey squirrel was introduced from the USA into approximately 30 sites across the UK from 1876–1930. Grey squirrels can cause serious damage through their gnawing of cables, building structures and other vulnerable materials such as insulation as they search for food or nesting material. Pestcatcher pest control are experts in eliminating these pests and provide a very quick and professional service