Insect Control Cardiff
Ants are one of the most successful groups of insects. They are social insects that live in colonies, which are usually located in the ground. On occasion they will enter buildings for shelter and food. They will feed on any food, but those entering homes are looking for sweets or protein containing substances.
Bed bugs are most commonly found in and around beds, but in cases of large infestations can be found in other areas within the furniture. Detection is usually instigated by the fact that someone is being bitten around the neck and waist whilst in bed, and needs to be carried out very carefully with an attention to detail. During a visual inspection one mainly looks for sightings of adults and blood spotting (faecal matter).
During the day they hide in crevices in beds, furniture, wallpaper, skirting boards. Because they do not have wings they need to travel on foot to their host, so live within these crevices in close proximity, only emerging when hungry.
Feeding usually only takes about 10 minutes, during which time they can ingest up to 7 times their body weight in blood, after which they can survive for up to a year without feeding again.
These days the spread of bedbugs is on the increase, mainly because of the change in our lifestyles with an increase in travel and the use of modern luggage which gives them more opportunity to hideaway.
For more information and control methods please follow Bed Bugs.
To download a bed bug advice sheet please follow this link Bed Bugs Advice Sheet
Cluster Flies start infesting properties during the months of September and October depending on the weather and temperature. They gather together and ‘cluster’ in their hundreds and thousands. Each year they will infest the same properties, possibly because of a pheromone scent that is left so allowing subsequent generations to find the safe harbourage.
Oriental cockroaches are a worldwide pest and common throughout Britain. They prefer to live in warm heated buildings or structures but can also tolerate cold conditions. They are primarily nocturnal and able to live both in and outdoors. The oriental cockroach can be found anywhere hospitals, restaurants etc. They cause damage to both food and non food product such as sterile hospital supplies, dry food product In the UK there is a virtual zero tolerance acceptance of cockroaches.
The female’s lay 4-8 eggs after each blood meal, laying some 400-500 eggs during their lifetime. The eggs are not glued or stuck to the hairs or body but are deposited on or between hairs, or in the nest or bedding material. Hence, eggs are deposited on the animal either fall or are shaken off, and are frequently found in cracks and crevices where pets sleep or frequent. Adults usually begin to seek a blood meal on the second day of emergence, but can live for several months on stored body fat. Although they have a preferred host, they will readily bite and can survive using other species as hosts.
The Queen wasps usually emerge from hibernation in early Spring and start looking for suitable places to build a new nest. Once a suitable location is found, she will start constructing a nest that reaches the size of a golf ball. She will then lay 10-20 eggs and once hatched, these wasps start taking over the nest building duties, leaving the Queen to continue laying eggs. Towards the end of the summer months,a typical wasp nest can contain up 10,000 wasps.