At present we are dealing with an increasing number of calls regarding how to deal with a swarm of bees. Swarming is predominantly a spring or early Summer phenomenon in the UK. Garages, sheds and chimneys are all favourite locations for swarming bees. While mostly harmless, the possible numbers involved can be unnerving due to …
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As the weather warms, are ants entering your home? It’s that time of the year again whereby ants become more prevalent in and around the home. With the colder winter months behind us, all manner of creatures awaken on the lookout for food and harbourage. There are over three dozen species of ants in the …
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Now is the ant ‘season’. Ants are well out of hibernation and the population of the nests is expanding, and now is the time people start encountering ant problems. Black Ants The majority of problems encountered in domestic situations are the common garden or black ant. These ants generally live outside or around the foundations …
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Some people like to leave a wasp nest alone as they don’t like killing other creatures. In some cases this may be possible but if the nest is in a house it is not something I would recommend as they can be a danger and every year there are deaths due to wasp stings, either …
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Removing Wasp or Bee swarms or nests in a chimney can be difficult. Most pest control companies will not tackle these difficult jobs, it can be dangerous, more expensive to insure and takes 2 people with long ladders and roof ladders. In the case of bee swarms it may be that they can be treated …
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Pigeon Netting is the best way to cover large areas that need protecting from Pigeons and Seagulls. These birds can cause damage and foul areas with droppings and in the case of pigeons, their droppings can spread Psittacosis which can be fatal to humans. Because of these factors it is essential that areas that have …
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Like Bumble Bees, Honey Bees have been making a come back in the past few years. The increase has not been as dramatic as the increase in Bumble Bee nests but they have been increasing. This may be down to the increase in people keeping Honey Bees. The way new nests are formed is different …
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At PEST UK we have done (so far at the time of writing on 30/6/14) 134 wasp nests. Last June we did 163. Our turnover was much higher this year than last year this is due to the increase in Bee and other jobs. We posted a video of Rick Pellen who is PEST UK’s …
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During the late 90’s and early 2000’s Bumble Bees were in decline. In the past three years pest control companies have been dealing with an increasing (this year was a record for Bumble Bees at PEST UK) number of Bumble Bee enquiries. I believe that this is due to the White Tailed Bumble Bee filling …
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Ant Infestations: This past month have been our busiest April ever at PEST UK. Ants, especially in the latter part of the month have been the pest that has increased the most. As ants come out of hibernation they will forage inside as it is warmer. They may come out of hibernation early if the …
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Bees Nests: Most of the calls we are getting at the moment are for bees. The warm weather had meant an influx of jobs, the majority of them being bees. For the first time this year we took over 25 jobs (yesterday) in a day.All of the wasp nest reported have been Mason Bees except …
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This is the most important time of the year for the Queen Wasp and Bumble Bees. The weather in the next 12 weeks will decide on the population levels of these insects in the Summer ahead. This factor can make or break pest control companies as the financial implications are enormous. The life cycles of …
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Sewer Valves, Wasps & Bees: One of the questions we get asked at PEST UK concerning rat infestations in houses is: Where are they getting in? How do I stop them in the future? If the house is part of a terrace or a block then this makes finding the entry point(s) difficult. Rats may …
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Ants, Pests & Flooding: Most of the pests we deal with are not affected by the recent flooding. The main pests that we deal with at PEST UK that will be effected are will be rats and mice. They can swim ad flooding may encourage them to move into buildings and as long as the …
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Hibernating Wasps & Bees: Soon PEST UK will be selling more pest control products to the public. We don’t really like to do this as we believe that, in most cases it is better that pest control is left to professionally trained people. The reason for this is that we see many so many DIY …
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Wasps & Hibernation: Mel (she is our only lady pest control technician) got us to write to one of her customers, she had told them verbally and written on the pest control report (that we leave with every contract customer) but she was so concerned about this issue that she wanted a letter as well. …
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Bees & Wasps in Lofts: On Saturday I saw a Queen Bumble Bee flying about at Tilehurst Station. This is very early even for Bumble Bees and not good news for Bumble Bees unless the weather stays mild and the rain stops! The daly emergence from hibernate is often triggered by lid weather. Temperature is …
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Bed Bugs & Squirrels: Hello to Customers Past and Presentand Future! The winter season at Pest UK is traditionally quieter than the rest of the year, however we have found ourselves very busy dealing with rats and squirrels which try to come inside houses at this time of year. The only way to get …
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DIY Pest Control, Wasps & Rodenticides : Many people try and carry out pest control themselves, some succeed but many don’t. I will tell a few instances. I was called out to a house in Caversham, Reading to deal with a wasp nest. When I arrived I was directed to the garden where there was …
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Bed Bugs & Multiple Occupancy Premises: I have just booked up a Bed Bug job for a multiple occupancy house in Reading, Berkshire. There are five occupied bed sit type rooms. We have treated this house several times for Bed Bugs before, twice in November 2011, twice in February 2013 and once in September 2013. …
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Bed Bugs, Who Pays? Should Landlords Pay? Some Landlords will pay for Bed Bug treatments especially if the tenants have just moved in but many won’t using the excuse that the new tenants might have bought the Bed Bug infestation with them. Either way it is difficult to prove. We have just had a case …
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Rabbit Gassing & Wasps: Yesterday we did a quote for Rabbit Gassing. Fifteen years ago a high percentage of our time in the Winter and Spring was spent gassing rabbits. Not any more this work has become quite rare. I don’t really understand this, there seem to be as may rabbits around although this does …
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Bees, Wasps & Hornets: It won’t be long before we start getting calls about bees and wasps. This normally starts with customers saying that they have got hornets when in fact they usually turn out to be Queen wasps emerging from hibernation. Their function is to find a nest site, build a nest, lay eggs, …
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German, Australian & American Cockroaches: I was lucky to be on holiday in Tenerife over Christmas but was unlucky enough to be met with a cockroach infestation in my accommodation – German, Australian and American species. The larger Australian and American variety were less of a problem and were probably casual intruders from outside areas. …
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Fox Deterrents: BBC article: Foxes are in the news again, see: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-24563919 The article goes into the history of foxes first moving into towns, this was in the 1940’s and first recorded in Bristol. It also looks at why culling foxes may be a waste of time due to the fact that once a territory …
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Harlequin Ladybirds & Cluster Flies: At PEST UK we have experienced more calls concerning Harlequin ladybirds in the past 8-9 years. This is because mainly due to their hibernation habits. This species tends to be more numerous than the native ladybird and hibernated in greater numbers similar to Cluster Flies. We used to get calls …
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Bed Bugs: Success at PEST UK: Bed Bugs are one of, if not the the most difficult insect pest to treat. There are many ways to treat them but in our experience at PEST UK only insecticide treatments work. The reason for this is residuality. The other two methods of treatment involve the use of …
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Student Accommodation and Bed Bugs Bed bugs are on the increase, and students need to know how best to protect their student houses and halls against them. As students settle into the new academic year, it is useful to know what bedbugs are, and what you can do about them What you need to know …
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Wasps & Nature: The question is often asked – What good do wasps do? Wasps are one of the most hated creatures in the animal kingdom along with rats, snakes and spiders. They do do a lot of good in the Spring and early to mid Summer as the workers are feeding the grubs (which …
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Queen Wasps & Hibernation: The Queen wasps have already been produced by the wasp nests. The Queens, which are retile females and the Drones, which are males are the last wasps to be be produced by a wasp nest as it starts its decline. The number of wasp nest this year from PEST UK’s point …
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