Manchester & Trafford Pest Control

Posts Tagged ‘pests’

Harrier Pest Control on Radio Lancashire

Harrier Pest Control on Radio Lancashire – Our principal Ken Chadwick now appears regularly on Radio Lancashire to talk about pests and pest control throughout the Lancashire & Manchester areas.

If you have a question about pest control or pest matters, be it bed bugs, mice, rats, flease or any other pest problem then tune in next on December 16th at around 1- 3 pm and email in your question.

Ken is an acknowledged pest control expert appearing on TV, The Radio and in Local & National Press.

For a more immediate answer to your problems why not give Harrier Pest Prevention & Control a ring now on 01257 230637

Hear a recording of one of Ken’s earlier broadcasts.

Pest control in Manchester, Lancashire & Cheshire 2009

Pest Control in Manchester and surrounding areas has seen a lively start in 2009.

Pest controllers were kept busy with the usual city centre rat problems throughout the winter of course, but the relatively early spring has seen ant infestation call outs a month earlier than usual.

The wet summers of 2007 & 2008 were not to the liking of the hymenoptera (sawflies, wasps, ants & bees) but 2009 looks like being a busy year for ant infestation work.

Frequently ants nest under the floors of houses and inside cavity walls causing a large number of foraging ants to visit kitchens & food cupboards.

However it is at mating time when they can be most distressing as they produce winged queens and males which then mate in flight.

The emergence of several thousand of these ‘flying ants’ inside houses can by traumatic indeed.

A relatively new pest has been especially troublesome this year, the Varied Carpet Beetle (Anthrenus verbasci).

It was rare for pest controllers in Manchester, Lancashire and Cheshire to encounter these pests until recent times but they seemed to arrive from nowhere in 2008 and already this spring has seen reports of varied carpet beetle in unprecedented numbers.

Having a similar life cycle to moths their larvae, known as ‘woolly bears’ can eat natural fibres and can do substantial damage to carpets and natural fabrics. They can be a difficult and persistent pest.

Bed bugs are continuing their resurgence in the Manchester area, frequently arriving as unwanted guests in the suitcases of returning holiday makers.

Often the first reaction of unfortunates who realise that they are infested with these blood-sucking insects is to destroy the old beds and buy new.

Fleas In Manchester, Lancashire & Cheshire

Fleas are very important pests. It is estimated pet owners alone spend over £1 billion each year controlling fleas.

Adult fleas are not only a nuisance to humans and their pets, but can cause medical problems including flea allergy dermatitis (FAD), tapeworms, secondary skin irritations and, in extreme cases, anaemia. Although bites are rarely felt, it is the resulting irritation caused by the flea salivary secretions that varies among individuals. Some may witness a severe reaction (general rash or inflammation) resulting in secondary infections caused by scratching the irritated skin area. Others may show no reaction or irritation acquired after repeated bites over several weeks or months. Most bites usually found on the ankles and legs may cause pain lasting a few minutes, hours or days depending on one’s sensitivity. The typical reaction to the bite is the formation of a small, hard, red, slightly-raised (swollen) itching spot. There is a single puncture point in the centre of each spot.  Mosquitoes, bees, wasps and bedbugs cause a large swelling or welt). Also, fleas may transmit bubonic plague from rodent to rodent and from rodent to humans in countries where it is endemic. Oriental rat fleas can transmit murine typhus (endemic typhus) fever among rats and from rats to humans. Tapeworms normally infest dogs and cats but may appear in children if parts of infested fleas are accidentally consumed.

Identification

Squirrels In Manchester, Lancashire & Cheshire

The squirrel population in Manchester, Lancashire & Cheshire has rocketed over the last 20 years to the extent that they are now a major pest species.

The grey squirrels which we see in our gardens (Sciurus carolinensis) is not native to Britain, having been introduced here less than 200 years ago.

Like many members of the family Sciuridae, the Grey Squirrel is a scatter-hoarder; it hoards food in numerous small caches for later recovery. Some caches are temporary, especially those made near the site of a sudden surplus of food.

Others are more permanent and are not retrieved until months later. It has been estimated that each squirrel makes several thousand caches each season. The squirrels have very accurate spatial memory for the locations of these caches, and use distant and nearby landmarks to retrieve them. Smell is used once the squirrel is within a few centimeters of the cache.

The nest of the grey squirrel is called a dray (or drey) and it is normal for the female to have two litters per year, each of two to four young.

They are minor pests in the garden, digging up bulbs and stealing food intended for birds but become major pests when they enter our homes.

It is increasingly common for pest controllers to be called out to homes where a dray has been constructed in a loft or attic space.

Squirrels are true rodents and as such have continually growing teeth; the word rodent comes from the Latin ‘rodere’ meaning ‘to gnaw’ and this they do extremely well.

It is rare to enter a roof space where a dray has been constructed and find that they have not chewed electrical wiring, indeed it is estimated that forty percent of fires without an obviously attributable cause may be started by rodents chewing wiring.

Get Rid Of Ants In Your House Permanently – Spring Special Offer

Get Rid Of Ants In Your House Permanently – spring is here and with it comes the annual scourge of ants which for many people can be nothing short of a nightmare.

In North West England the summers of 2007 & 2008 were very poor and the ants did not thrive, a respite for those who suffer ants in the house on an annual basis but already 2009 looks like it will be the summer of the ant as calls are being received already.

Those that suffer know that flying ants in the house can be a nightmare, almost impossible to cure as the nests are hidden in cavity walls and beneath floors, and the only way to destroy the nest is to kill the queen. This is all but impossible using powders and potions from hardware stores.

There are a variety of new techniques available to pest controllers now which are highly effective in dealing with ant infestations.

These range from using micro-encapsulated insecticides which stick to the worker ants’ bodies and are taken back into the nest and a special technique which effectively puts an impenetrable barrier around the house which the ants cannot cross.

This involved drilling tiny holes into the cavity walls from the outside of the property and blowing in an insecticidal powder under pressure which forms a barrier that the ants cannot cross.

This will effectively prevent the ants inside from foraging outside and dooms the colony.

We are able to give a three year guarantee which is then extendable indefinitely in periods of three years by topping up the powder.