The Pest Blog

Bit of a fun science lesson today as I came across some interesting news articles this week that claim that new research proposes that the pattern of bold stripes on a zebra reflect light in a way that helps the animals evade disease infested flies. So here is an example of natural pest control at work!

I wonder if we can utilise this research in a new method of preventing insect infestations........

?

You can read the full article here http://www.livescience.com/18386-zebras-stripes-nasty-flies-buzz.html

In this day and age and in the current financial climate everyone is looking to save a bit of money. When it comes to pests many people's first reaction is to go down the DIY route and head to the local hardware shop to arm yourself with sprays and traps.

Unfortunately when pests come to stay they mean to stay for the duration and so you will need to arm yourself with the right product, possibly lots of it and know what you are doing. And with anything, there are pros and cons of both approaches so here are some things to bear in mind....

DIY Pest Control

• You need to gather information on your target pest, whether this is mice, fleas or ants as they all require different approaches
• You will need to invest money in the right products and time to apply them correctly, laying a couple of mouse traps will not be sufficient!
• Remember that you are using chemicals and take the necessary precautions to safeguard yourself, your family and your pets

Sussex Pest Control would like to wish all of its customers a very Happy New Year! We hope that you had a nice festive period and feel ready for the next year ahead. We strive to continue to provide the best service and pride ourselves on our friendly service.

We are still getting many reports of mouse and rat infestations around Sussex. Please do not hesitate to get in touch with us if this is an issue you are faced with as it is a straightforward procedure.

We are being called out to deal with a lot of mice and rats at the moment as people are keen to say goodbye to our little furry friends before the Christmas break. Our prices have remained the same throughout this year and we still charge a competitive rate of £50+vat for the initial visit and £30+vat for the follow up visit.

So if you are hearing noises of scurrying feet don't hesitate to call us! And please remember that we will be closed over the Christmas period.

Craig Davies, Director of Sussex Pest Control attended the European Pest Controllers Academy in Amsterdam this week.

The academy was hosted by Killgerm and presented by international speaker Ross Smith who presented a wide range of different aspects in the running of a pest service company such as website presentation and successful marketing.

Attendees of the Academy came from all parts of Europe including Germany, Spain, France as well as further afield such as Egypt and Cote D'ivoire.

Craig said "the presentation was both useful and meaningful and attention was highlighted to certain areas to maximise customer experience of our brand".

Even when on holiday we still on the look out for pests!

Check out Craig's video of a rat on the New York subway. Now there is somewhere that would benefit from a Sussex Pest Control contract!

Anybody that lives in the countryside or close to playing fields are likely to experience cluster flies in their homes... this can be a bi-yearly problem and we suggest that customers book in there visits now to stop them from returning in the spring.

We only book in cluster fly treatments at the end of the day when dark, to guarantee a high kill number and depending on the type of property we use a combination of methods for successful control, these include:

1. Smoke or ULV treatment within the main attic space
2. Treatment of south facing windows with a powerful oil based insecticide (long lasting)
3. Injection of cracks and crevices in high pressure areas such as velux window entrance points etc.

Now that the sunshine is quickly fading, the nights are drawing in and the weather is colder we are seeing an increase of rat activity in Sussex. This week we have been called to numerous locations in East Sussex and West Sussex to deal with rat infestations.

Now is the perfect time to review and improve your rat control before the main season kicks in and we are here to help you! We offer rat (and mouse!) treatments to domestic and commercial customers which can range from a couple of visits to a yearly contract. So, if rats are causing you trouble please get in touch.

Over the past few weeks we have noticed a growing issue of German Cockroaches within the Lane's of Brighton. Over the past 20+ years of experience working in this area there has always been an issue however recently insect traps within customer premises that have never had issues with roaches in the past have started to find activity... luckily the insect traps are in situ just for these type of reasons and they have quickly been kept under control.

The only question is how many restaurants do not have an established pest control agreement with a contractor and may not have noticed roaches at night???