Austates Pest Equipment will set you up with tried and true pest control equipment that will never fail you. Conquer summer pest control jobs by following this guide and making sure all your gear is in tip-top shape.
Most Common Summer Pests & How To Treat Them
Ants
Nothing loves Christmas scraps more than ant colonies. Stacked dishes in the sink are commonplace around the holidays, but if a family of ants sniffs it out, you may be sharing your Christmas leftovers with thousands of other mouths.
Once ants find a food source in your home, they’ll be a regular nuisance, helping themselves to your cupboards without so much as a thank you card. That’s why many Aussies are quick to call a pest control company after spotting a trail hauling food to their colony.
Removal Equipment – Baits & Sprayers
Professional pest control operators will most often use gel bait insecticides to remove an ant infestation in the home. Because ants have a high reproduction rate, a simple spray of the house isn’t enough. The way to remove them completely is by neutralising the queen.
Gel baits are picked up by worker ants and taken back to the nest to feed the colony, including the queen and young. Ant baits consist of a food matrix and slow-acting insecticide. When the poison takes effect, the whole colony has probably been affected. This way, you cut the problem off at the source. Just remember depending on the type of ant, there could be multiple colonies invading a home, so be sure to search the perimeter and place baits along the travel lines ants take to remove all colonies.
If you’ve located a nest, it’s worth spraying directly with insecticide to neutralise the colony directly. Still, this may not be as effective as baiting since not all nests are apparent, and there may be more hidden around.
Termites
Termites are some of the most harmful pests for structures and homes. Termites are active all year round, but the activity usually increases in the warmer months. Often identified by homeowners as tiny white ants, termites cause some massive damage to Australian homes; that’s why it’s important to get rid of them quickly.
Treatment Equipment – Sprayers, Foamers, Injectors & Baits
There are different types of Termiticides. Some are repellents designed to kill subterranean termites when they contact the treated soil. There are also termiticides that are non-repellent. Non-repellent termiticides work by contaminating the colony as the individual termites come in contact with the termiticide; they then pass it through the colony via their social interactions. The ultimate aim of a non-repellent is to eliminate the nest, which is often impossible to locate.
A shower wand, soil injector, and slab injector are the ideal tools for applying termiticide into the soil around a home that creates a chemically treated zone in the earth that stops the subterranean pests from tunnelling to your home. Both do a similar job but excel in different fields – make sure you know what those differences are to save yourself from looking silly in the future. Read this blog to learn more.
Cockroaches
Out of all the pests Australian houses have to deal with, roaches are by far one of the most hated. They’re ugly and terrifying if they skitter near your feet. The worst part is, they’re sneaky and often only come out at night.
Removal Equipment – Misters, Sprayers, Foamers & Baits
Roaches can repopulate in a snap, and they do it so sneakily that you may not know until you’ve got another infestation. To handle that, baits are a great start, but making their home less hospitable with dusts and other insecticides will help guarantee a pest-free home for much longer.
Fleas & Bed Bugs
On this list, these will be the most painful to deal with because they BITE! Yowch! They also can live anywhere, including on hosts, which leaves a part of the extermination process to the client. Fleas and bed bugs need a total and comprehensive solution, so you may want to pull out all the stops when treating a flea-ridden home.
Removal Equipment – Sprayers, Foamers & Dusters
There are several flea-control methods to eliminate fleas. Insect Growth Regulator may be applied throughout the house to affect the fleas in their development to adulthood. This can be applied around the baseboards and even on carpet to inhibit the growth of mature fleas.
Common insecticides do work well on fleas, as does a duster to spread diatomaceous earth. The best places to focus are around furniture, pet beds, floors, and any other cracks or crevices that could be flea-infested.
Mosquitos
Mosquitos are a concern for several reasons. Sure the buzzing is annoying, but their history of carrying disease is the biggest worry. Because they lay their eggs in stagnant water sources, they become a serious issue in our wet season.
Removal Equipment – Misters
Specialised high-pressure misters are the tool of choice for pest control experts when it comes to mosquito control. It’s also a great method for outdoor pest control for pests like flies, ticks, spiders and gnats – however, because of how widespread it is, it can be harmful to all nearby endemic life.