Australian summers bring beautiful weather and offer more opportunities to enjoy the outdoors more freely. Unfortunately, summertime also brings an influx of pests which can also be described as invasions. Many insects and four-legged creatures welcome the warmer weather as a breeding season and this is when infestations can occur. So what can you do to prevent a full pest invasion at your home or business this summer?
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Inspect Your Property
Most Common Pests Encountered In Summer
Preventative Measures
Eliminating Pests
Inspect Your Property
Take a complete look around the property with an eye to identifying specific areas where pests can ingress including as rotted walls and manage attractants including improperly stored food staples and pet foods. Bushes and trees around your property should be pruned or removed if they are close to your home and offer good hiding spaces for pests.
Most Common Pests Encountered In Summer
Many Australians are familiar with one or more types of pests, but those pests tend to become extremely populous in the heat of the summer. It is incumbent on the homeowner or business owner to identify and deal with pests at their first arrival. This is because if early pests are not dispatched quickly, they will multiply and become an infestation. That being said, the most common pests that Australians encounter in the hottest months of the summer include:
- Mosquitoes – which are known to s
pread diseases such as Zika virus, Malaria and Dengue fever. Mosquitoes lay eggs and then hibernate over the cooler months. This results in a seeming explosion in the population of mosquitoes. Female mosquitoes bite to obtain blood to nourish the eggs that they lay. - Possums – although these
furry critters look really cute, they pose so many problems when they move into your home. Possums are noisy and can make a really big mess. They tend to defecate all around the yard and can also attack the homeowner’s pets. Possums also have fleas and ticks which can be transferred to your pets and your home. - Fleas – tend to have a host, but can also be found in grass and bushes awaiting a suitable host.
When you and your pet spend more time outside you can be exposed to flea bites. Although fleas are small, they can cause a lot of damage with the bites they inflict. Some people and animals have allergies and skin sensitivities to those bites and this can cause a lot of problems. - Rodents – rats and mice can cause substantial damage and contamination. One of the main ways that mice get
around is by leaving and following urine trails and this is completely unsanitary. Since their teeth are constantly growing, rodents have an incessant need to gnaw and will chew through plumbing pipes, electrical wiring, furniture, building structures and many other things, cause a great deal of destruction. Rodents can also carry fleas and ticks and can reproduce extremely quickly. Female rats can produce up to 2,000 offspring in a single year. - Ants – most ants do not bite
but they can cause a lot of damage to food and lifestock supplies. Once an ant colony has been established, ants are programmed to return to the same colony and will go through any obstacle to access it. If you happen to have built a home on top of a colony, ants will march right through your home to access their nest. - Flies – opportunists that feed on whatever they find including garbage or something dead. Flies are part of nature’s clean-up crew but
at the same time if there is something dead or decaying they will tend to lay their eggs in that location and use that food source as a way to reproduce quickly. Flies carry and spread disease because of the various items that they land on including excrement and rotten flesh. They don’t wash their feet before they land on your dinner, so this can be not only disgusting but also risky.
Preventative Measures
Pests are always going to be around, so it is up to you to control them by preventing them where possible. Preventative measures include:
- Keeping garbage secured in bins that cannot be easily accessed;
- Sealing gaps or holes that pests can use to access your home;
- Mow your lawn regularly and keep your bushes trimmed.
- Trim tree branches to ensure nothing is touching your house (possums and rodents use these as a bridge);
- Wash your pet and treat them for fleas and ticks;
- Discourage wildlife from gathering on your property because they can carry fleas and ticks;
- Store all sources of food in tightly sealed containers;
- Vacuum carpets on a regular basis to pick up eggs and adult fleas;
- Repair any leaky plumbing since rodents seek out water sources;
- Quickly clean up any excrement that you may find in your yard from your pets or otherwise;
- If you are eating outside, cover your food with food tents and clean up any food in covered containers;
- Clean your barbecue grill that can be attractive to pests;
- Clean your kitchen and clean the dishes so they do not collect in the sink;
- Remove pet’s food after they have eaten;
- Place screens over windows and doors and keep windows and doors closed if they do not have a screen;
- Use deterrent devices such as items that move and make noise;
- Drain standing water sources which can be used as a breeding medium for mosquitoes;
- Add screens over openings including vents, chimneys, crawlspace access and attic access;
Eliminating Pests
One great way to save money on the cost of pest elimination is to take care of it yourself. Pestrol has plenty of products to deal with any type of pest that you encounter. Their wide range of products include live traps, repellers, peppermint oil, a special insect repellent clothing line, traps, steel wool, motion activated products and pesticides. Pestrol carries pest specific products so that you will be able to find exactly what you need so that your pest problem can be dealt with quickly.
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