The first step to take if you feel your home is being invaded is to make a close inspection of the inside and outside of your home.  Look for cluttered storage areas, food and water sources, overflowing garbage and leaking taps.  Most pests are searching for food, water and shelter, and once they have found a reliable source, they will settle in and multiply.  Because Sydney and Australia have many termite-prone areas, it may be necessary to have a building inspection done by a professional to determine if invasion exists.

Secondly, eliminate obvious reasons you have pests or rodents. Preventive measures can be taken, such as keeping clutter and garbage to a minimum.  For termites, do not stack items against your house, especially wood. Cockroaches often lay their eggs on grocery bags or in cardboard, so throw these items away as soon as possible after returning from the store.

The third step is to properly identify your pest problem because treatment can depend on the type of bug, cockroach, termites, ants or rodents that are the cause.  Save a specimen, in the event you need to call in a professional pest control service. If you have termites, you may need to have a termite inspection done by a professional to determine the amount of damage and treatment options.

The fourth step is to do an analysis of how the pests are gaining access to your home, food and water.  If you find an access hole, cracks or gaps around plumbing pipes, those need to be sealed to stop the invasion. Termites typically move from the earth to wood that is in contact with the ground.

Fifth, look at the treatment options for the type of pest you have.  Some bait traps may work for rodents, or home pest control chemicals and sprays may reduce the problem.  Eggs may hatch at later intervals, so it is often a process that may require more than one treatment. Many people will choose professionals for this process, to quickly eliminate the issue.

The sixth step will be monitoring the treatment, since eggs may continue to hatch, or baby rodents may leave the nest.  It is important to make sure there is effective treatment to prevent re-infestation.

Lastly, make sure you keep any documents and recommendations of the treatment.  If you have a termite inspection and treatment done by a professional service, you could need these guarantees and assessments if you decide to sell your home. The important thing is to call in a professional if other treatments are not working, as the problem will get continually worse.  In the case of termites, professional treatment will be necessary, and it is better to have inspections and treatments done, sooner than later.

If you’re concerned about any common pests and need some help exterminating them, you can contact Pink Pest Services for assistance with professional pest control in Sydney or call 02 9529 5222 for immediate assistance.

Mice, rats, squirrels and other hairy rodents can do quite a bit of physical damage to your home. Once they find their way into your home, they will chew their way into any area that looks appealing to them. One of the huge dangers of this is the possibility that they will chew threw electrical wiring causing a short.

In addition to chewing holes everywhere, rodents can also ruin your home through the stench of their droppings. They drop as they walk and many times this will be in highly inaccessible areas, like your walls, appliances, and crawl spaces. While it takes a serious infestation to create this problem if you note the insane rapidity with which they breed it does not take that long to become seriously infested.

The danger of rodents in your home extends to the many diseases they carry. Potential diseases that rodents carry include:

Rickettsial Pox- A disease similar to chicken pox transmitted from the mites commonly found on rodents.

Food Poisoning- Specifically salmonella is contracted when food comes into contact with saliva, urine, or droppings of rats and mice.

Parasites- Many parasites can be transmitted to humans, particularly tapeworm and Trichinosis.

Hantavirus – Once thought to be rare this disease is showing up in rodents all over Australia. This serious and potentially fatal disease is spread through inhalation of dust that contains urine, saliva, or droppings. Direct infection from bites is also possible.

Rat bite fever- This is rare disease, generally only transmitted through a bite.

Plague- Another rare and old disease that is re-emerging. It is generally transmitted by fleas that piggyback on an infected rodent.

Now that you know some of the dangers let us look at some possible solutions to keep you and your home safe from the dangers that rodents pose.

The first thing you must do is seal up cracks around pipes, windows, and doors. Even the smallest crack can allow entrance to your home for many rodents. An inexpensive tube of caulking will go a long way toward this end.
One of the best weapons you can have is a natural predator. Cats are a good natural solution to a rodent problem.

Traps, sticky boards, and poisons are also steps that you can take to rid yourself of the danger of rodents in your home. If you have children or pets however care must be taken to ensure that the poison is kept out of their reach. Do not use poisons if you have a cat as the animal may become poisoned through contact with an affected rodent.

If you have seen one or two rodents then you have a minor issue that you should be able to take care of on your own, however if you have a larger infestation or live in an area of Sydney that is prone to other pests like termites you might want to consider seeking professional help and having your house checked for other pests at the same time.

If you’re concerned about rodents and need some help exterminating them, you can contact Pink Pest Services for assistance with professional pest control in Sydney or call 02 9529 5222 for immediate assistance.

If you suspect your home may have been invaded by termites, it’s vitally important to book a qualified pest inspection company to inspect your home. If you’re considering buying or selling a home in the Sydney area, then termite inspection verification is often a condition of sale.

A simple treatment can not only help prevent the infestation spreading further, but also protect against the threat of future infestations.

2. Mice: Mice breed very rapidly in the tiniest of spaces. Not only do they spread disease and bacteria, they’re also capable of gnawing through even the toughest plastics to gain access to food.

A simple mousetrap, bait or poison is often effective to get rid of one or two mice but may pose a risk to children and pets. More serious measures might be needed if the mice have bred to infestation levels somewhere near your home.

3. Fleas: It only takes one flea to lay eggs on your pet or in your carpet and suddenly you have an infestation that is almost impossible to get rid of. They are capable of breeding at an incredible rate, so as quickly as you can kill them, there are thousands more in their place.

Fleas can spread diseases to your pets and cause severe allergic reactions, skin problems, rashes, and in severe cases even anaemia in people and pets alike.

Treating your pet and its bedding is a great start, but if the fleas return a professional treatment may be the simplest, most effective option.

4. Spiders: Spiders are unpopular whenever they pop up unexpectedly in your home.
There are several insecticide sprays available however care needs to be taken when using these.

5. Cockroaches: Nobody likes cockroaches. Not only are they notoriously difficult to kill, they love to breed in warm conditions, such as in your home. They communicate with each other by emitting pheromones, so if one cockroach finds a nice food source they can ‘call’ thousands of other cockroaches, leaving you with a swarm in your home.

Spraying or leaving cockroach traps can be effective but again, if their numbers get out of control, these methods won’t be enough.

6. Ants: Not only are ants annoying, but they’re persistent. When they’ve found a potential food source, they’ll persist and keep coming back even after you’ve sprayed.

Baiting is usually an effective way to handle an ant problem as the bait is taken back to the nest by the worker ants where it may be eaten by the queen ant.

7. Bees: Many people have severe allergic or anaphylactic reactions to bee stings, so disturbing a nest of bees yourself or trying to relocate them could cause them to swarm in self-defence.

Whilst some insect sprays may also work on bees this is not recommended as it may be difficult to ensure that the spray affects the entire hive. The safest option here is to contact a professional. If you have a honey bee infestation a local beekeeper may be willing to remove your bees for free.

Each of these pests is present in or near your home most of the time and normally they live harmoniously with humans. Many options are available to deal with these insects on a small scale, but when nothing you try works to get rid of them, it’s time to call in the professionals to get the job done quickly and safely.

If you’re concerned about any of these common pests and need some help exterminating them, you can contact Pink Pest Services for assistance with professional pest control in Sydney or call 02 9529 5222 for immediate assistance.

There are many tell-tale signs that you have a mouse infestation, and if you notice any of them, it may be time to call in the pest control professionals.

• Burrows dug into the ground, especially around concrete slabs, fences, or materials you have stored out-of-doors. Burrows will generally have hard-packed dirt around the opening.
• Gnawed wood is a common sign of a mouse infestation. Their incisor teeth grow continuously, and they must therefore gnaw on wood to wear them down.
• Shredded material such as paper can be a sign that mice are making nests on your property.

So, what exactly can you do to control rats and mice this summer? Here are a few suggestions:

1. Don’t lay out the welcome mat. If you don’t want rats and mice living in your home, then make sure it doesn’t feel too “homey” to them. Get rid of materials that might encourage nesting, such as building materials stored outside and brush and weeds crowding your foundation. Store firewood up off of the ground, as well.
2. There’s no such thing as a free lunch. You are far more likely to experience a rat infestation if there are food sources available to them. Make sure all of your rubbish is stored with a tight lid on top. Likewise, keep the food in your cupboards stored in air-tight containers to discourage rats and mice from scavenging.
3. If you are unable to avoid a mouse infestation or rat infestation, then it’s time to take more drastic measures. One option is to set snap traps or glue traps near areas that the mice and rats frequent. These need to be laid right across the rodent’s normal path so that it is likely to run directly across the trap. You can also use poisons to kill the unwanted pests. If you are planning to use any of these methods, however, you need to use the utmost care to keep children and pets safe.
4. Hire a pest control professional to get rid of your mouse infestation. This is probably going to be your most effective method for dealing with a persistent mouse or rat infestation that has proved difficult to solve in-house. There are a variety of methods that a professional pest control company can use to eradicate rodents.Hiring a pest control company to deal with a mouse infestation or rat infestation has several advantages. First of all, it saves you a lot of time and frustration that would be spent tracking down and trying to kill these pests. Secondly, a reputable pest control company will be well-trained in safe methods for killing, repelling and removing mice and rats. Finally, a good pest control company will be able to offer you a guarantee on their services.

Pink Pest Services can offer all of the above benefits when eradicating your mouse infestation or rat infestation. We’ll even give you a firm quote on the price of our services before we begin the work! Read more about our rodent control services here.