Pest Control

Pests can be a nuisance, be a risk to health and safety or damage your home. If you are a resident of Richmondshire, we can help you find out about some common household pests. We will give you advice on how to deal with them yourself. You can also request a treatment.

The Pest Control Service will undertake treatments for rats, mice inside the home, ants, cluster flies, wasps, bed bugs, moths, beetles and cockroaches in domestic and commercial premises.

How much will it cost?

This depends on the level of service you require

Gold** - Next Day Priority Service

Silver - Treatment within 5 working days

Bronze - Single visit within 5 working days offering an investigation of the problem and advice to the hoseholder as how best to deal with the situation.

Identify the pest

The charges for domestic treatments from the 1 January 2012 are as follows:-

GOLD LEVEL OF SERVICE - CHARGES

Rats Outside	£65 (excluding VAT)	£78 (including VAT)
Rats Inside	£65 (excluding VAT)	£78 (including VAT)
Mice	£65 (excluding VAT)	£78 (including VAT)
Ants	£65 (excluding VAT)	£78 (including VAT)
Fleas	£65 (excluding VAT)	£78 (including VAT)
Cluster Flies	£65 (excluding VAT)	£78 (including VAT)
Wasps	£65 (excluding VAT)	£78 (including VAT)
Bed Bugs*	£30 per hour	£36 per hour
Moths*	£40 per hour	£48 per hour
Beetles*	£40 per hour	£48 per hour
Cockroaches*	£40 per hour	£48 per hour

SILVER LEVEL OF SERVICE - CHARGES

Rats Outside	£45 (excluding VAT)	£54 (including VAT)
Rats Inside	£45 (excluding VAT)	£54 (including VAT)
Mice	£45 (excluding VAT)	£54 (including VAT)
Ants	£45 (excluding VAT)	£54 (including VAT)
Fleas	£50 (excluding VAT)	£60 (including VAT)
Cluster Flies	£50 (excluding VAT)	£60 (including VAT)
Wasps	£50 (excluding VAT)	£60 (including VAT)
Bed Bugs*	£20 per hour	£24 per hour
Moths*	£25 per hour	£30 per hour
Beetles*	£25 per hour	£30 per hour
Cockroaches*	£25 per hour	£30 per hour

BRONZE LEVEL OF SERVICE - CHARGES

Rats Outside	£35 (excluding VAT)	£42 (including VAT)
Rats Inside	£35 (excluding VAT)	£42(including VAT)
Mice	£35 (excluding VAT)	£42 (including VAT)
Ants	£35 (excluding VAT)	£42 (including VAT)
Fleas	N/A	N/A
Cluster Flies	N/A	N/A
Wasps	N/A	N/A
Bed Bugs*	N/A	N/A
Moths*	N/A	N/A
Beetles*	N/A	N/A
Cockroaches*	N/A	N/A

* Minimum charge of 1 hour
** Subject to staffing levels - customers will be advised of the availability of this service when they ring
All charges are subject to VAT at the current rate.

Any residents in receipt of Council Tax Benefit will receive treatments free of charge. The Council Tax Benefit reference number must be given when the treatment is requested. Payment can be made when you request the treatment using a credit or debit card or you can request an invoice which will cost an extra £10 + VAT. Commercial premises will be charged £61 + VAT per hour.

Contact us

If you live in Richmondshire area and your home is troubled by pests of any kind, please contact us on:

When leaving a message or emailing us, please have the following details to hand:

your name
your daytime telephone number
your email address
the address where the pest problem is
what kind of pest it is
your Council Tax Benefit reference number

Frequently asked questions

How do I contact the pest control section?

There several ways to contact Pest Control:

For enquiries and ordering pest treatment, telephone 01748 829100 between 8.45am - 5.15pm Monday to Thursday and 8.45am - 4.45pm on Friday
to find out which pests we treat and how much the treatment will be, have a look at our web pages;
you can also email us at enquiries@richmondshire.gov.uk

Which pests do you treat?

The most common pests we treat are rats, mice, wasps and cluster flies but we can also treat a range of other pests.

Why do I have to pay for the pest control treatments when I pay council tax?

Council tax is a charge for other services like Schools, Libraries, Street Lighting, Police, Fire etc unfortunately it does not cover a Pest Control service. For a full list of prices, and for ordering treatment, please visit our Pest Control pages.

What is a 'Statutory Nuisance' from Insects?

From 6th April 2006, the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 added to the descriptions of Statutory Nuisance listed in section 79(1) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (EPA 1990) to include: "Section 79 (1)(fa) any insects eminating from relevant industrial, trade or business premises and being prejudicial to health or a nuisance".

Please note therefore, that this new provision does not apply to insects from domestic premises which can be dealt with under existing nuisance law. Examples of likely sources of insect nuisance complaints will now include sewage treatment works, manure/silage storage areas, stagnant ditches & drains, landfill sites, refuse tips and waste transfer premises.

How safe are the treatments?

Our Pest Control Officers are fully trained in the use of pesticides, all of which are applied in accordance with the Control of Pesticides Regulations 1986. You will receive advice at the time of the visit, and be given a record of the chemicals used. You should retain this and in case of accident show it to your doctor or vetinary surgeon.

The officer will only use materials and methods which have been approved by the Government's Advisory Committee on Pesticides. These are designed to get rid of the pests causing the problem, in a humane way without harming other creatures.
We will tell you the method we intend to use to treat the problem, and whether you need to take any precautions(eg keep children and pets away during the treatment)
We will carry out the treatment for the pests according to health & safety rules.
If baits are laid to destroy pests where they could be attractive to other creatures, these will be placed in appropriate containers

Why do I keep getting rats in my garden?

Wild bird feeding is now one of the most common reasons for rat infestations around homes. To reduce attration of rats to your garden you should:

Use suspended wire feeders with trays attached to collect waste
Not put bird food directly on the ground
Only put enough food for the day and clear any spillages
Guidelines are provided by the Royal Society for the protection of Birds. You can contact them by calling 01273 775333 or by visiting RSBP
Compost bins are a good way of recycling waste but can have the potential to attract rats. To reduce the risk of a rat infestation you should:-
Place a compost bin on a wire base which will allow organisms that aid the composting process in but will keep rodents out.
Renew damaged compost bins or compost heaps as they can can provide a home for rats
Not put household food waste such as meat and cooked food in compost bins
Compost items such as fruit, leaves, general garden and vegetable waste

Ants

What are they?

Ant There are 41 different species of ant living in the UK. The one that causes most problems for people is the garden or black ant (Lasius Niger), which is 3.5 to 5mm long and dark brown to black in colour. Black ants usually nest outdoors in lawns, flower beds under paving stones, and in walls. Although they are not a health hazard, they can be a nuisance as they can find their way into homes in large numbers. They enter homes in search of sweet foods, getting in through small gaps in masonry, doors and windows.

Ants are not just pests. They also feed off insects and act as scavengers in the garden.

The queen ant lays eggs in late spring which hatch into larvae after 3-4 weeks. She rears the larvae for three weeks after which they pupate. From the pupae emerge the first brood of worker ants which forage for food and tend subsequent broods.

Winged male and female ants emerge between July and August and mating takes place on the wing during this time, after which the males die. The mated females shed their wings and dig a cell in the soil where they stay until the following Spring.

Can I treat them?

You can treat ants yourself with crawling insect insecticide. Apply a residual insecticide to the entrance of the nest and wherever ants have entered your home. Inside your house, you should put insecticide behind the sink unit, skirting boards, around doors window frames, wastepipes and other pipes, trying to create a band of insecticide over which the ants would have to cross to enter your home. Make sure you also apply the insecticide to small cracks and crevices.Ants can get through very small gaps.

To make sure you get rid of problem ants you will need to find their nest. Follow the ant trails and look for small entrance holes in the ground surrounded by small piles of fine earth. Once you have found the nest, follow the instructions on the insecticide about dealing with ants nests.

Please read the label and follow the instructions on any insecticide you get.
Treatment can also be carried out professionally by the Council's Pest Control Service. See our prices and contact us.

Bees

Bumble bees are large and furry. They are black or brown with wide stripes of yellow and white. They have very small nests and are relatively harmless and normally do not sting unless their life is under threat.

If you see a large mass of bees hanging in a tree, hedge or post about the size of a football and the bees are small and uniformly brown, this will be a swarm of bees. Only honeybees swarm. Bumble bees, solitary bees and wasps do not.

The Council do not deal with bees as they are a protected species and are valuable to the environment. However, you can contact a local beekeeper so that they can try to collect the swarm and move them to a new hive.

See details for local bee keepers

Bee and Wasp Stings

For advice about bee and wasp stings go to NHS Direct

While it is quite rare, some people can have an immediate allergic reaction to being stung. This is known as anaphylactic shock, which can sometimes be fatal. In this instance dial 999 immediately for an ambulance.

Beetles

Beetles such as carpet beetles and biscuit beetles are commonly found in our homes. Although they pose no risk to health they can be a nuisance and cause damage. Treatment can also be carried out professionally by the Council's Pest Control Service. See our prices and contact us.

Bedbugs

What are they?

Bed Bug Bedbugs are small insects that are commonly found in beds. They feed off blood and can cause discomfort if they make their home in your bed.

They cannot fly and must either crawl or be passively transported on clothes, furniture or commonly luggage after visiting a hotel or hostel etc... They are able to survive many months without feeding. The hiding place will be close to where the host sleeps; in the bedframe, mattress, bedside furniture, skirting, behind wall paper - anywhere that provides dark harbourage during the daylight hours for these nocturnal creatures.

Bedbugs are not regarded as disease carriers, but with their b;ood feeding can cause severe irritation to some people. The bite often gives rise to a whitish hard swelling which distinguishes it from a flea bite which leaves a dark red spot surrounded by a reddened area.

Can I treat them?

If you have a bed bug infestation or if you or your family have been bitten by bed bugs some of the things you can do yourself, include:-

Wash all bedding, draperies and clothing in hot water on a regular basis
Vacuum and steam clean carpets
Use insecticides to get rid of bed bugs that are hiding in the walls and other large objetcs - choose insecticides with pyrethrins as an active ingredient and only use insecticides labelled for househols use.

Bed bugs can be difficult to get rid of because they hide so well. If two weeks have passed since you first tried to rid your home of bed bugs and you still notice signs of bed bugs, repeat the above steps.
Treatment can also be carried out professionally by the Council's Pest Control Service. See our prices and contact us.

What can I do to help the treatment to work?

Before the treatment begins, all occupants, including pets, must leave the property and not return for a minimum of 3-4 hours after the treatment has taken place. Aquariums can remain in place as long as the filtration and aeration systems are turned off and the tank is adequately covered. The filtaration and aeration systems can be turned back on 6 hours after treatment. Anyone who is pregnant or had allergies or asthma should take the necessary precautions.

All clutter should be removed from the room(s) to be treated
If possible, steam clean, wet vacuum or shampoo any carpeting and furnishings
Vacuum the mattress thoroughly including the crevices, handles and buttons
Vacuum bed frame, baseboards and objects/flooring close to the bed
Discard the vacuum bag - place in a tightly sealed garbage bag before disposal
Remove all clothing from wardrobes etc... and place in clean plastic bags
Bookshelves, bedside tables of other furniture in the immediate area must be emptied so that the Pest Control Officer can spray the undersides of the furniture
Place all items in tightly sealed bags and leave them in the room to be treated.
All clothing items that are in the laundry baskets should be placed in garbage bags, sealed and emptied directly into the washing machine. When the washing cycle has finished the clean laundry should be placed in new bags and sealed during the treatment process. The bags used for transporting the dirty clothes should be disposed of outside the property as they may containg bed bugs
All bedding must be removed before the Pest Control officer arrives. Soiled bedding should be washed in hot water or dry cleaned before or soon after the treatment to prevent re-infestation with bedbugs. Pillows should also be placed in the dryer on high heat for a minimum of 20 minutes. After treatment bed valances should be avoided, bedding tucked in tightly; and the bed kept 5cm away from the wall.

Cluster Flies

What are they?

Cluster flies are common in the UK and are so called as they hibernate in large numbers or clusters in buildings. Swarming flies have a similar hibernating nature and these can form mixed populations of flies inside buildings.

Due to weather conditions in our country, there are only ususally 2 generations of cluster fly each year but up to 4 generations is possible in hot weather.

In summer and early autumn cluster flies are found in fields, but as the weather becomes cooler, they will find shelter in nooks and crannies in houses and other buildings and can often be found in large numbers(several thousand) in roof spaces. Often they will return to the same building year after year. Large numbers of cluster flies hibernating together can produce a sickly smell and if warm enough will fly around living areas where they are attracted to the light. Whilst this may cause a nuisance, cluster flies do not pose any risk to human health and their presence does not reflect poor hygiene.

Can I treat them?

It is best to try to prevent the flies access into buildings by blocking access into cavity walls e.g replace missing bricks and seal around windows and doors.

Once inside the building cluster flies do not breed and can be controlled by using a wide range of insecticides, pesticides and fly strips which can be purchased from garden centres, hardware and ironmongers and DIY stores. You should always survey the area for bats which are protected by law before applying treatment and contact Natural England Tel no: 0113 2747938 for bat advice.

Treatment can also be carried out professionally by the Council's Pest Control Service. See our prices and contact us.

Cockroaches

What are they?

Cockroaches can contaminate food with their excrement, give out an unpleasant odour, and many people can get allergic skin reactions to them. For these reasons they need to be effectively controlled.

Cockroaches are large insects with whip like antennae and two pairs of wings. The most common species found in the UK are the Oriental and German cockroaches. They can gather together in large numbers if left unchecked.

Cockroaches like the warm, humid conditions found in a typical home. Domestic conditions also give them a good source of food as well as shelter. They are nocturnal, spending the day in such areas as sinks, drains, the back of cupboards and around fridge motors.

Oriental Cockroach - Oriental cockroaches are often found in cooler and less humid areas such as drains and basements. They thrive in buildings with service ducts and complex plumbing.

The female lays her eggs in a capsule containing up to 16 eggs and carries it to an area where the young can find food. The eggs hatch into small versions of the adults, or nymphs, after six to twelve weeks. The nymphs, which resemble the adults except for lack of wings, take between ten months and two years to grow to adulthood. Adults live for about 18 weeks.

German Cockroach - The egg capsules of German cockroaches contain up to 32 eggs. The female carries the egg case for some time and drops it when the eggs are close to hatching. The nymphs take approximately 14 weeks to grow into adults and can live for approximately 34 weeks.

How can I treat them?

High standards of hygiene can stop cockroaches from getting to food while sealing cracks and crevices, especially in areas where food is prepared, can deny the insects shelter. If you live in a block, treatment needs carrying out on a block basis.

You can treat cockroaches yourself using cockroach killing insecticide, applying it to areas where cockroaches shelter such as cracks, and around refrigerators and washing machines. You must follow the instructions on the product label.
Treatment can also be carried out professionally by the Council's Pest Control Service. See our prices and contact us.

Earwigs

What are they?

Earwigs Earwigs are dark brown and between 10 and 14 mm long, have wings but never fly. Usually they are active at night, spending the day in moist, shady areas such as beneath stones or in cracks in walls. They eat a variety of things, from flowers, fruit, vegetables to leaves and decaying organic matter. Some earwigs are predatory, feeding on aphids, insects and spiders.

Earwigs spend most of their time outdoors in moist damp places, but if the weather is hot and dry for a long time they may go indoors. They are a garden pest and can cause damage to flowers, fruit and vegetables.

Eggs are laid in the spring by the female some 4 to 7cm beneath the surface of the soil, in batches of around 30. The eggs hatch after a few days and the young nymphs, which are smaller versions of the adults, are tended by the mother until the first moult. After 4 moults, the young adults leave the nest and fend for themselves. Earwigs live through the winter as either adults or eggs.

How can I treat them?

Get rid of damp, moist conditions found in sub floor spaces and along house foundations, for example leaking gutters, drainpipes etc. Sealing gaps around doors, windows, pipes and other points of entry, proofing air vents with insect screening mesh, especially at the ground level, will prevent earwigs getting in your home. Changing the landscape around the house producing a clean, dry border around the foundation walls and using gravel or ornamental stones can make an attractive barrier against earwigs and other pest invaders.

Effective chemical control can be achieved by applying residual insecticide barriers externally around the house.

Fleas

What are they?

fleas Adult fleas are parasites, living off warm-blooded animals. Different species of flea live off different animals. Cat fleas are approx. two to three mm in size, brownish in colour, and are responsible for the majority of flea infestations.

Their increase in numbers in recent years has been caused by an increase in the number of people keeping pets and by the tendency for pet owners to neglect cleaning their pet's bedding properly.

Central heating provides the necessary warmth needed for fleas to breed and fitted carpets provide relatively undisturbed environments for flea larvae to develop.

Flea bites appear as a tiny dark red spot surrounded by a reddened area which can be intensely irritating and usually persists for one or two days.

Flea eggs are about half a millimetre long, pearly-white in colour and are laid on the pet or in its bedding. Four to eight eggs are laid after each blood meal, a single female producing between 800-1000 eggs during her lifetime which may be as long as two years.

The eggs hatch in about one week into larvae which live in dark, humid places such as animal bedding and carpet fluff, feeding on debris and adult flea excrement. A cat's bedding may support 8000 immature and 2000 adult fleas.

After 2-3 weeks, the larvae spin cocoons and pupate and may spend winter in this state. The adult flea will then be stimulated to emerge by the vibrations set up by a passing host. Development from egg to adult is normally completed in 4 weeks but at low temperatures will take much longer.

How can I treat them?

Regular cleaning prevents fleas breeding sites and contributes significantly to their control. You should remove accumulations of debris from cracks and crevices such as the cracks between skirting boards and floorboards, and the whole area thoroughly cleaned.

You can use over the counter insecticides to treat your home if it is infested. Before you start treatment you should thoroughly clean your home with a vacuum cleaner. Placing a small quantity of insecticidal dust onto a carpet and vacuuming it up will control fleas, which get sucked into the cleaners bag. After this treatment, avoid vacuuming for between seven and ten days.

Pets such as cats or dogs should be treated using veterinary products which have been specifically formulated and registered for use on pet animals. Always make sure you follow the manufacturers instructions. Pets' bedding must also be thoroughly laundered.

Treatment can also be carried out professionally by the Council's Pest Control Service. See our prices and contact us.

House mice

What are they?

mice House mice can live and breed in houses, buildings and other structures such as garden sheds, which give them protection from the cold and wet weather and which provides them with the three essentials for survival - food, water and shelter. Although an abundant supply of food is preferable, house mice can survive on relatively poor diets, eating between 3 to 4 grams of food a day and can survive without access to free water, obtaining their daily needs from their food.

The ideal environments for house mice are buildings with dead spaces and harbourages free from disturbance and close to food and water. They are extremely good climbers, climbing walls, pipes, cavities and ductings. They have very hard incisor teeth which can penetrate materials such as concrete, lead and aluminium. This can result in expensive damage and even fires when electric cables are damaged.

House mice like to know the area where they live and will familiarise themselves with their home surroundings; in most cases activity will be restricted to a radius of up to 10 m. They use the same familiar pathways. This produces smear marks by the continual rubbing of their fur against surfaces.

In urban areas, house mice are able to breed throughout the year, producing between 5 and 10 litters each of about 4-8 young. They can live for more than two years, though the average life span is about 10 months.

House mice are inquisitive animals with sporadic and unpredictable feeding habits and will feed from numerous different sites each night rather than one or two sites close to their nest. They will feed on almost anything, but generally prefer cereal based foods such as grass and canary seed. In some urban areas they have become unable to digest cereal based food, preferring high protein foods instead. These house mice have been termed 'behaviourally resistant' because their avoidance of normal foods seems to be genetically based.

How to prevent an infestation

Don't leave open food out in the kitchen overnight
Don't leave uneaten meals intended for a pet cat or a dog in dishes out overnight
Remove all food and waste spillages as they occur
Empty food waste bins in the kitchen etc frequently
Store food in rodent proof containers
Ensure that refuse is not allowed to accumulate in the yard or garden
Seal structural defects in the house to prevent mice gaining access to your home (mice can squeeze through gaps in excess of 5mm.)

If signs of infestation are noticed, for example, fresh mouse droppings, gnaw or smear marks, take immediate action to control the infestation.

If treating an infestation of mice yourself, don't leave mouse bait down for extended periods - remove as soon as the infestation has been controlled.

If a baiting programme is to be successful it is vitally important to maintain an uninterrupted supply of bait available for the mice. This can be achieved by ensuring that all revisit appointments made with Pest Control are kept. Do not interfere with or reposition any bait stations laid as part of a treatment programme and keep children and pets away from bait stations at all times.

Treatment can also be carried out professionally by the Council's Pest Control Service. See our prices and contact us.

Rats

What are they?

rat Rats are a hazard to public health. They can transmit a number of diseases which can be potentially fatal to man, such as Weil's disease. They also carry disease organisms such as Salmonella bacteria, viruses and parasites such as worms and fleas.

In an urban environment rats readily find food from a variety of sources such as refuse from commercial kitchens and restaurants, discarded takeaway food in addition to scavenging in domestic refuse or in drains and sewers.

Rats will burrow, especially into soil, compost heaps, under coverings such as paved areas and under sheds. Gas and water pipes are also at risk and rat burrowing can undermine building foundations. They can be frequently found living inside buildings in the cavity between walls and in roof spaces, or beneath piles of rubbish, near water, or in drains and sewers. Due to their agility and ability to squeeze through small openings it is sometimes difficult to keep rats out of buildings without some form of rodent proofing being carried out.

Rats have very hard incisor teeth which can penetrate materials such as concrete, lead and aluminium. This can result in expensive damage and even fires when electric cables are damaged.
Rats can breed quickly, a healthy female can produce five litters a year, each of 8 - 10 young with offspring attaining sexual maturity in 8 - 12 weeks.

It is quite easy for infestations to build up without ever noticing a rat - their nocturnal habit tends to keep them away from the human contact. If a rat is seen during the day, it is usually an indicator of a sizeable infestation. Signs of infestation are droppings, gnaw marks, runs and smears marks produced by the continual rubbing of their fur against surfaces.

How to Prevent an Infestation

Ensure that all defective drainage to your home is promptly repaired, such as broken drainpipes, and drainage chamber covers
Ensure your bin is emptied regularly, and refuse is not allowed to accumulate in the yard or garden
Seal structural defects in the house to prevent rats gaining access to your home
Place food intended for garden birds on a bird table or feeder, do not place food scraps directly on the ground.

Removing easily accessible food and eliminating shelter for rats are among the most basic and important preventative measures.

If signs of infestation are noticed, for example fresh rat droppings, gnaw or smear marks, take immediate action to control the infestation or contact Hambleton District Council's Pest Control Services for treatment.

If a baiting programme is to be successful for the control of rats it is vital to maintain an uninterrupted supply of bait. This can be achieved by ensuring that all revisit appointments made with Pest Control are kept.

Do not interfere with or reposition any bait stations laid as part of a treatment programme and keep children and pets away from bait stations at all times.

Fully trained Pest Control Officers will look at the infestation, and draw up a treatment programme which involves placing poison baits in the most appropriate locations. they will return to your home to make sure the treatment is successful. Treatment can also be carried out professionally by the Council's Pest Control Service. See our prices and contact us.

Silverfish

What are they?

Silverfish are slender, wingless insects, shiny silver in appearance, approximately 10mm long with three, long bristletails at the end of their body.

They can be found in moist places such as kitchens and bathrooms, underneath floors, sinks, in cupboards, and along pipes where they hide during the day and feed during the night. They are extremely fast runners and are sometimes seen trapped in wash hand basins or baths as they are unable to climb out.

Silverfish are scavengers and can cause damage in the home by eating materials such as wallpaper, or books and other starchy materials. They seldom damage fibres of animal origin such as wool or hair. Damage often appears as irregular patches removed from wallpaper or irregular and notched edges on wallpaper or other paper products.

Tell tale sign of silverfish include scales, excrement, or yellowish stains on paper or fabric.

A female will lay less than 100 eggs during her lifetime depositing them in damp and warm places such as cracks and crevices or behind skirting boards.

The eggs hatch after two to eight weeks depending upon conditions. The lifecycle being completed within 3 - 4 months in warm humid conditions, or within 2-3 years in cooler dryer conditions. Newly hatched insects are about 2mm long and look like miniature adults. They live for between three or four months in warm humid conditions but for between two and three years in cooler, dryer areas.

The insects and their eggs can be brought into the home in cardboard boxes, books, papers, starched and rayon fabrics, and other carbohydrate materials.

Can I treat them?

Prevent silverfish by clearing up areas where wood, cardboard boxes, old papers or books are stored, and where there is evidence of insect activity. You can treat silverfish with insecticide, applying it to areas such as cracks, crevices, under shelves around sinks, skirting boards, window frames, and where pipes pass through walls.

Treatment can also be carried out professionally by the Council's Pest Control Service. See our prices and contact us.

Slugs and snails

What are they?

Slugs and snails feed on a variety of plants as well as on decaying plant matter, chewing irregular holes on the leaves of plants. There are around thirty species of slugs in Britain. Slugs and snails move by means of a muscular foot which secretes mucus along which the animal glides. This mucus later dries to form the tell tale silvery slime trails.

Snails lay approximately 80 round white eggs into holes or harbourages in the soil. It takes about two years for snails to mature and about one year for slugs to reach maturity.

Both slugs and snails need moisture and are most active at night or during cloudy and rainy days. On dry, sunny days snails shut themselves into their shells, sealing the entrance to keep moist. During cold weather slugs and snails hibernate in the topsoil.

Wasps

What are they?

Wasp Wasps (Vespula vulgaris) are beneficial garden insects, collecting insects and larvae etc. to feed to developing wasp larvae in the nest during the summer months. Worker wasps will feed on a variety of foods including fruits such as apples, pears and plums. They collect wood to construct nests and may damage the wooden fences and garden furniture in the process.

By the end of the summer, the queen wasp stops laying eggs and the workers no longer need to collect food for the young in the nest. They become free to search for sweet things such as cakes or sweets and can become a nuisance. It is the ability of wasps to cause painful stings that concerns people most.

People's reactions to wasp stings can vary considerably from intense pain and swelling round the area of the sting, to a severe allergic reaction (known as anaphylactic shock) which can be life threatening.

The queen wasp lays eggs in the nest and hatch into larvae within a few days. Four to six weeks after the eggs are laid the first generation of workers emerge. These are female wasps which are smaller than the queens and take over responsibility for maintaining the nest and finding food, in particular high protein foodstuffs for the larvae such as flies, caterpillars, or spiders. The queen then devotes all her time to laying eggs and by the end of the summer the nest may contain 20,000 or more wasps. In the autumn the new queens and males produced from the nest mate and the fertilised queens search for hibernation sites. With the onset of winter weather the nests die out and are never reused.

Can I treat them?

Treating wasps nest can be very dangerous. If you do try to treat wasp nests yourself wear bee keeper type protective clothing to prevent being stung.

Nests can be found by looking for foraging wasps flying either towards or away from a nest.

They should only be treated with insecticides when activity around the nest is quiet, ideally in the late evening before dusk.

You can obtain puffer packs from garden centres and hardware stores. You should apply insecticide powder around and into the entrance of the nest. Workers returning to the nest become contaminated and carry the insecticide into the nest. Control is usually achieved within a few hours.

Treatment can also be carried out professionally by the Council's Pest Control Service. See our prices and contact us.

Woodlice

What are they?

Adult woodlice are slate grey in colour, have 7 pairs of legs and are between 2.5 to 18mm long. They are crustaceans and are closely related to crabs and lobsters. They evolved to live on land but still need damp conditions.

Woodlice avoid light and are active at night, feeding mainly on dead or decaying plant material. By day, they are usually found hiding under stones, plant debris or damp wood. In autumn however they may enter homes through air vents or under doors in search of shelter for the winter.

Woodlice do not harm people or damage buildings.

The female lays eggs in a pouch underneath her body. After about three weeks, the eggs hatch and young woodlice emerge. The young look like smaller versions of the adults and regularly shed their shells as they grow.

In the UK woodlice breed during the summer months only, producing between six to two hundred young in a season and have a lifespan of between one and four years.

Can I treat them?

Woodlice gather in large numbers in dark, damp places, such as under decaying wood or plant debris. Removing potential sheltering places away from your home can help stop woodlice from entering your house.

You can apply a barrier treatment using a suitable insecticide which has been cleared for use against wood lice or in spray form or a dust applied to the outside walls of your home. Make sure you treat any small cracks and gaps there may be, in particular the gaps around steps, air vents and any damp areas.

If you require any advice or would like to arrange a visit, please telephone 01748 829100

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