2013 - PEST UK

Providing pest control services in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Kent, London, Middlesex, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire, Surrey, West Midlands, West Sussex, Wiltshire. Est. 1985.

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Operation Smile & PEST UK

PEST UK are proud to support Operation Smile with a percentage of all profits being donated to help put a smile on the face of a child somewhere in the world. Operation Smile is an international children’s medical charity, working with a team of dedicated medical volunteers who provide safe, effective reconstructive surgery for children

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Pest Control in December

Pest Control in December: Last week Rick Pellen completed a pigeon netting job on a balcony on a flat on the Oxford Rd, Reading, Berkshire. Unfortunately the pictures don’t do the job justice as it was nearly dark by the time he had finished. The pleasing thing about this job was that we initially quoted

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Pests in Lofts

Pests in Lofts: Lofts are the source of many pest problems. At this time of year a common complaint is that people go into the loft to get the Christmas decorations down and they then discover mice have been gnawing or shredding paper. Squirrel infestations 90% of the time originate in lofts. In fact the

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Rats and Mice in Winter

Rats and Mice in Winter: As the vegetation dies back and the availability of fruits and nuts gets less, the weather gets colder rodents will look for new homes and food sources. With the cold weather people start feeding birds tempting rodents nearer to houses and in turn rodents may get into the house living

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Bird Free Fire Gel

Bird Free Fire Gel:   Things have slowed down a little for the winter at PEST UK now, however we are still busy with all of the winter pests and birdwork.Winter brings a different type of pest, more rodent the insect related, some insects such as bed bus and cockroaches are steady throughout the year

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Moths & False Widow Spiders

Geeks, Moths & False Widow SpidersYesterday (27/11/13) we had a call from an existing pest control contract customer. The company is called JV Foods. They are an importer of specialised foreign foods. They started off importing and distributing Mexican foods but have expanded from a farm unit to a large modern warehouse and now import

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Dead Cluster Flies & Trapping for Rats

Dead Cluster Flies & Trapping for Rats Yesterday we had the job of removing dead cluster flies from the loft of a large manor house on an estate just south of Basingstoke. The large loft space was covered by about a four inch layer of dead cluster flies. This build up had happened over a

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Bed Bugs & DIY Insecticides

Snails, Bed Bugs & DIY Insecticides: Below are a couple of pictures of snails using our bait boxes for a hibernation site for the Winter. We have had Rats, Mice, Wasp, Bumble Bees, Frogs, Toads even Grass Snakes using bait boxes as cover or nesting sites. Because the poison bait the box contains takes up

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Cold Weather & Pest Control Contract

Cold Weather & Pest Control Contract: This coming week at PEST UK will see a further reduction in the seasonal insect pests such as Cluster Flies, ‘other Flies, and Wasps (& Wasp Nests, requests for removal). This will be due to the cold spell we expecting this week that will kill off or send into

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Pest Services During Winter

Pest Services During Winter: This December (2015) has been the warmest on record and this does effect pests. It means we are still carrying out pest control treatments for many insect pests that we would not be doing in late December such as Cluster Flies, House Flies, Blue Bottles, Wasps and Ants. This bonus for

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Wasps in Winter

Wasps in Winter: Even now in December we are still taking calls and treating live wasp nests. Some are still flying and others are  found where either Queens and Drones are present (mainly Queens) in the house. The Queens are ready to leave the nest and hibernate for the Winter while the workers and Drones

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False Widow Spiders

False Widow Spiders, Pest Control Contract & Thorid Flies: Recently we have had numerous enquiries regarding Steatoda nobilisvor False Widow Spiders. Most of these calls are just people panicking due to the media coverage. A few customers actually book up a treatment. Spider treatments are not unusual. Even though spiders are actually good to have

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Pigeon Spiking & Fire Gel

Pigeon Spiking & Fire Gel: We have recently carried out more bird proofing at Mercerdes Garage Bracknell using spikes as opposed to netting that we did under the ceilings of the car wash bays. This recent work was done on girders and tops of pillars. The spikes prevent perching and roosting by pigeons. Some of

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The Small Yellow Cluster Fly

The Small Yellow Cluster Fly: We were called to a regular fly problem in Bracknell. These files acted like Cluster Flies but looked very similar to fruit flies by their size and appearance. This year the number was at the highest we have ever seen, measuring in the hundreds of thousands. They were in stairwells

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Fleas in a Derelict House

Fleas in a Derelict House: A Housing Association called us out to deal with a flea problem in Swindon. As you can see from the pictures this house was truly derelict. The problem was that fleas were biting the people sent in to clear the house. There are many problems dealing with fleas and other

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Pigeon Netting in Ascot Berkshire

Pigeon Netting in Ascot Berkshire: PEST UK is carrying out pigeon spiking on pillars and girders at the front of a prestigious Mercedes garage in Ascot. Pigeons are perching and roosting on the tops of the pillars are girders that support the roof. These will be spiked using metal pigeon spikes to prevent them from

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Hornets & False Widow Spiders

Hornets & False Widow Spiders: At PEST UK we like Hornets they are interesting insects and much less aggressive than wasps. The sting is meant to be more painful than a wasp sting due to the large amount of acetylcholine (5%). Like wasps and unlike bees, they can sting multiple times. They use their sting

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Fox Deterrents: BBC article

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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Ladybirds & Cluster Flies

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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False Widow Spiders in Berkshire and Hampshire

The recent spate of false widow spider reports in the news has raised concerns about what they are and where they’re found.   What Do They Look Like? “False widow” is a general term for any one of up to about 120 species of spider that resemble the notorious black widow spider. Steatoda nobilis, is

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Rat, Mouse & Poisons

Rat, Mouse & Poisons: It is a common mistake for people to believe that stronger poisons (rodenticides) are better. First poisons with lower toxicity protect other wildlife that may eat a poisoned rodent. Birds of prey, foxes and badgers may be susceptible to this type of what is called ‘secondary’ poisoning. The strength of the

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Wasp Problems in Winter

Wasp Problems in Winter: At PEST UK we are getting calls concerning wasps crawling about inside houses in a dopey state. Several customers this week have said that they have been stung. The problem for us and our customers is that the actual nest may be difficult to locate at this time of year. In

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Woodlice and Spiders

Woodlice and Spiders: It is not only rats, mice and squirrels that invade domestic premises in search of warmth and shelter. Some insect pests do this as well. A common call in our catchment area: (Berkshire (Berks), North Hampshire (Hants), South Buckinghamshire (Bucks), South Oxfordshire (Oxon), NE Surrey & West Middlesex) are spiders. These creatures

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Squirrels & Cluster Flies

Grey Squirrels & Cluster Flies: Now the Autumn is here we should be getting more enquiries about Cluster Flies and Grey Squirrels. Cluster Flies will be gradually moving into their hibernation sites while Grey Squirrels will favour ‘indoor’ sites such lofts to rest. They do not properly hibernate but rest up and sleep for long

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Bed Bugs: Success at PEST UK

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

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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Moles & Grass Snakes

Bird Proofing, Moles & Grass Snakes:   Well its been a busy few weeks at PestUK, but I have managed to find the time this weekend to update the blog. The grass snake eggs I found have all now hatched and been put back into the wild in a more suitable location. And the hamster

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Badgers: Friend or Foe

Badgers: Friend or Foe: Badger culling is a highly emotive topic, and one surrounded by controversy. Do they cause TB, and should they be culled – you get very different answers depending on who you ask! One thing we do know for sure about badgers, is that they can increase the presence of wasps at this

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Moth and Carpet Beetle Problems in Hampshire and Berkshire

Homes throughout the country are affected by moths and carpet beetles. The problem can be worse at the beginning of autumn, particularly in the south of England where although the days are getting shorter, the evenings can still be relatively warm and doors and windows are left open. Moths are attracted to light and will

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Cluster Flies Autumn

Cluster Flies Autumn Autumn is the time when PEST UK start receiving enquiries about  Cluster Fly Removal. Cluster Flies are amazing creatures because of the genetic memory they are meant to possess – this also makes them difficult to eradicate. Cluster Flies pick a hibernation site. The exact criteria for this choice is unknown but

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