Where pest control measures have entirely eliminated the flea population, preventing their return means identifying and closing their routes into your premises. Unfortunately, this is easier said than done, as fleas are often spread by being carried in the fur of dogs or cats.

However, there are measures you can take to reduce the chances of flea problems reoccurring.

Pest control actions after flea extermination

There are several different types of flea but all have common characteristics. In particular, they all feed on the blood of different types of animal, and spread by laying eggs which often fall from the host.

This means it is just as important to deal with flea eggs as it is to tackle the adult fleas. The eggs will fall from the host, usually a cat or dog, at any point during the day. A high proportion is found in their bedding, but a number will be spread across the rest of the area they move in, such as your home or workplace.

These eggs are invisible to the naked eye. To remove them before they have a chance to hatch you should:

• Where possible, put animal bedding on hard surfaces.
• Regularly wash pet bedding, ideally each week and at high temperature.
• Vacuum soft furnishings which the animals come into contact with.
• Groom your pet while it stands on a hard floor or even a white sheet, where dislodged fleas and their eggs will be visible.

Be alert to the signs of a flea problem

While fleas can spread diseases, the main problem they cause is skin irritation in the host animal. This is usually a cat or dog, but can occasionally be a human.

The irritation is due to the flea bites. These become itchy, causing the host considerable discomfort. A clue that your cat or dog may be carrying fleas is regular scratching of the same part of the body, often in an irritated manner.

Small children are at a higher risk of being bitten by fleas, as they have much more contact with floor surfaces. Some could be allergic to flea bites, giving them an itchy rash on their skin.

If you are a pet owner, there will always be a chance of a flea problem reoccurring. Even if you keep your own pets scrupulously clean, they could pick up fleas through contact with other animals, or from animals visiting your home or place of work.

The best way to stop fleas from becoming a problem is to know what to do after flea extermination, and to take consistent pest control and prevention measures.

While you might consider wasps to be a pest during the summer months, the best time to prevent a wasp problem is when you find a hibernating or newly woken queen wasp. By destroying it now, you are preventing it from building the much bigger pest problem of an entire wasp nest.

How to spot a hibernating queen wasp

A hibernating queen wasp will protect her wings and antennae by tucking them under its body. It uses the middle legs to cover and protect its wings and the hind legs to anchor itself in place for the winter.

The wasp may construct a small hibernation cell, about the size of a golf ball, which may be grey, silver or straw in colour and will often be hidden from human eyes in an undisturbed spot in a loft space or shed.

As with all wasps, a queen wasp carries a sting which injects poison into its victim. This can be painful to a human and in rare cases can cause a dangerous allergic reaction.

If you discover what you think is a hibernating queen wasp and are unsure of how to deal with it, you may want to call in a pest control expert. They have the experience to identify and destroy it.

Prevent queen wasps building a new nest near your home

The queen wasps usually wake up from hibernation at the beginning of April. They immediately begin searching for somewhere to build a nest. Popular locations are roof voids, wall cavities and sheds, but wasp nests can also be found underground and in more unusual places, such as holes in trees or bird boxes.

Once a queen wasp has chosen a location, it begins building the nest. The nest is made from chewed wood and wasp saliva, creating a grey, papery material. Once a few cells have been built, the queen wasp will begin to lay eggs. These hatch into workers who then feed the queen. As the queen wasp is fed, she makes more cells and lays more eggs and so the colony grows, by up to 100 eggs a day.

By mid-summer, the nest could be home to hundreds or even thousands of wasps. If it’s near your home or workplace, it can become a significant pest control problem, as their search for food will keep bringing the wasps to you. They could be a continual nuisance, and you risk being stung, particularly in the autumn, when they become more aggressive.

You may be able to avoid all this by destroying a hibernating queen wasp when you find it, perhaps as it emerges from winter sleep.

The Victorians knew all about avoiding clothes moths but the rise of man-made fibres saw their numbers steadily decline in the last century. That trend is reversing and moths are again becoming a common pest.

The damage is done by the moth larvae, which feed on clothes and carpets. By the time you spot the golden flutter of the adult moth, it’s too late; they’ve feasted on your fabrics.

Here are our tips for avoiding clothes moths.

1. Know the signs. Small moths are found in every home but not all are clothes moths. If you’re on the lookout for the pests, keep your eyes open for tiny larvae, the moth caterpillars which look like small maggots. Also watch for small silken tubes or cases and the silk cocoons where they turn into moths.

2. Regularly freshen up areas where clothes are stored. Clothes moths prefer dark, undisturbed places. Infrequently opened wardrobes, suitcases of old clothes in the loft and rarely cleaned fabric on furniture are their favourite haunts. Store fabrics in plastic bags and give the darkest corners an occasional clean to reduce the risk of moth infestation.

3. Keep fabrics clean, especially if they are to be stored. Moths prefer to feed on dirty textiles, so washing clothing and other fabrics before putting them into store will help keep the pests away.

4. Vacuum regularly. Carpets are particular favourites for clothes moths, especially handmade rugs. The caterpillars live underneath, where it’s dark, and do their damage unseen. They can also live under skirting boards, where household debris gathers and provides plenty to eat.

5. Use repellents. Moth balls, popular with past generations, are reappearing in homes across London and the country.  Moth repellent fabric protector sprays are also available, which are applied directly to textiles, rendering them unpleasant to pests.

6. Trap the moths. If you have a clothes moth problem, a trap will help you to collect the adults and reduce the chance of them breeding. These are typically baited with pheromones which attract the moths to sticky surfaces, where they become trapped.

Take care to buy the right type of trap, as not all are designed for indoor, domestic use. Moth enthusiasts and gardeners also trap the insects and the devices they use are different.

7. Call in a pest control professional. If you have a serious problem with clothes moths, or they keep coming back, you may need the assistance of a pest controller. It’s nothing to be embarrassed about – the Westminster headquarters of Defra were closed for a day last year, to deal with an infestation of the common clothes moth.

For reasons no one quite understands, moths are becoming a more common problem in London. By taking simple steps to avoid clothes moths, you can also escape the frustration of damaged clothes and soft furnishings.

Air bricks, designed to allow ventilation to voids beneath wooden floors, can also become an unintended entry point for mice. While the holes in air bricks are designed be too small for mice to use, they are not always an effective barrier, particularly if damaged.

The common house mouse (mus domesticus) is able to find its way through surprisingly tiny holes. Capable of compressing its body, a mouse can get through a gap no wider than a fingertip, or the thickness of a pencil.

Mouse proof air bricks which are at risk

Air bricks can allow all sorts of inconveniences into your property, including cold draughts. For that reason, along with pest control, some people block them up. However, the ventilation they provide to the voids beneath floors is needed to reduce the risk of wet or dry rot taking hold of timber.

If you want to make air bricks mouse proof but still allow them to deliver ventilation, you need to cover them with a fine mesh or grille. The covering must be able to withstand rodents’ teeth, as they will attempt to chew their way through material which is preventing them from reaching sources of food.

You can buy steel grilles designed specifically to cover air bricks, which you can fit yourself. These are available in various sizes to cover the different types of air brick which have been used in construction over the years,

Rodent proof air bricks are prevention not a cure

Covering air bricks will prevent mice from using them as an entrance, but you could also be trapping them inside your premises. Or they may have found another way in and out.

If you already have problems with mice or other pests and you’re not sure how they are getting in, you would benefit from a survey by a pest control specialist. They have the experience to identify a variety of potential entry points, such as disused pipes and gaps in brickwork that you may not even have noticed.

A pest controller will also be able to spot other signs of pests. Droppings, damage and distinctive smells are all giveaway signs to the trained eye and nose.

When it comes to dealing with mice already inside your property, there are a number of methods available. These range from humane mouse traps to lethal poisons. Again, specialist advice is recommended because to be effective, traps and poisons need to be laid in the right places and baited appropriately.

Making air bricks mouse proof is just one of the many measures that you can take to protect your home and commercial premises from mice and other pests.

But when they’re not to be seen alongside the likes of Jared Harris, Jude Law, Robert Downey Jr. and Stephen Fry where do feral pigeons spend their days?

‘Rats with wings’ were not always pests

Today’s feral pigeon, or town pigeon, is descended from birds who were once bred in captivity, often for meat. This happened for thousands of years. Some of the world’s earliest writings, such as Egyptian hieroglyphics, mention the domestication of the Rock Dove or Rock Pigeon.

Over the centuries, millions of birds have escaped from captivity and formed huge colonies in our towns and cities. Trafalgar Square alone was home to around 35,000 birds before the Mayor of London took action to reduce their numbers.

A day in the life of a feral pigeon

As their name suggests, Rock Doves live on cliffs. Today’s tall buildings with their miles of ledges provide an attractive alternative to their feral pigeon descendants.

It’s here that birds begin the day, on some precarious perch or rooftop that’s not been coated in pigeon spikes or netting. Some will be nesting, as pigeons can lay eggs at any time of year.

They like to nest in groups, if they can, with derelict buildings being favoured spots for housing a pigeon nursery. Both parents take turns at incubating the eggs, while their partners go in search of food.

Much of the pigeons’ food comes directly from the human inhabitants of the town or city. Some feed the birds deliberately, although this is increasingly discouraged. But many of us feed feral pigeons by accident, by dropping pieces of food onto roads and pavements. They also eat berries, seeds and insects.

Pigeons can live for up to fifteen years in captivity. However, it’s unlikely they survive this long in the wild, with most feral pigeons probably dying within their first five years of life.

Feral pigeons pollute and damage

While pigeons help to keep our streets clean of food waste, they make plenty of mess of their own. Stonework, vehicle paintwork and the personal dignity of town and city dwellers are the daily victims of pigeon droppings.

Once prized as a quality fertilizer, pigeon excrement is not just unsightly, it’s also highly corrosive and a health hazard. The acids it contains will eat their way through paint, wood, steel and stone. Millions of pounds have been spent restoring historic buildings which had suffered major damage from a build-up of pigeon droppings.

Their waste, and the birds themselves, can also contain parasites and other sources of diseases. Perhaps it’s no surprise that the feral pigeon has been associated with the villainous Professor Moriaty on the silver screen, as both can present a rather nasty hazard to human health.

Cockroaches are just one of London’s pest control problems, and they are a problem that seems to be getting worse. The London Evening Standard recently reported that the city’s firefighters are discovering an increasing number of cockroach-infested temporary dwellings. Local media often contains stories of restaurants and hotels where infestations have been discovered.

With pest control budgets being cut by councils and firms looking to save money, it’s no surprise that cockroach numbers seem to be rising. These hardy insects have developed the capability to survive under many different conditions, and their ability to breed quickly makes them difficult to eradicate.

Why cockroaches are a problem in London

These ugly brown or black insects can be found in a huge variety of environments right across the city. Homes, hotels, warehouses and even trains and buses are all common habitats for cockroaches, some of which can grow to over an inch (30mm) in length.

Most of them live out of sight, in the dark spaces under cupboards and appliances, and in cracks and crevices. They prefer to come out at night and if you disturb them by turning on a light, they’ll scuttle back to somewhere dark.

Cockroaches thrive in these places because of the warmth and the abundant food supply. They will eat virtually anything, but can also survive for long periods without food or water.

In addition to doing damage and being unpleasant to look at, cockroaches are a pest because they can carry a number of different diseases, including salmonella and dysentery. Any food they come into contact with becomes tainted, and they give off an unpleasant odour.

What to do if you have a cockroach problem

If you think your house or business premises is providing a home to cockroaches, you should take prompt action. The longer you leave them, the harder they will be to eradicate. Cockroaches are tough survivors and it often requires the persistence of a pest control expert to get rid of them completely.

Signs of an infestation include finding droppings or smear marks on surfaces, discovering damage to foodstuffs or paper containers, and encountering an unpleasant musty smell. You may also find the insects themselves if you look into cracks or beneath cupboards or go into the area at night.

Immediate actions to take include putting all foods into strong, sealable containers and promptly clearing up spills of food and liquid, including crumbs, on surfaces, including the floor. Also, tidy up the area to remove possible hiding places.

You can buy DIY cockroach products that may help deal with the problem. But calling in a professional will give you access to stronger insecticides, along with expert advice on how to prevent the insects returning. Just because cockroaches are becoming more common in London does not mean they have a to be a problem for you.

Unfortunately, the longer you ignore it, the bigger the infestation is likely to become. So the moment you think there’s trouble, the question you need to ask is: “Who do I contact about a rat problem?”

The answer to that question can depend on several factors. Are they indoors our outside? Are you a tenant or a home owner? Do you want a short-term or long-term solution?

Dealing with a rat problem indoors

If rats are inside your property, you’ll want to act quickly. They can spread disease, destroy property and even, in extreme cases, bite people.

Rats can also be very frightening and the mere sight of one in what should be the security of your home could cause considerable upset to vulnerable adults and children alike. If someone, particularly a customer, spots a rat in your commercial premises, this could have a major negative impact on your trade.

To get the fastest and most effective response, you should get in touch with a professional pest control expert. We can be called out at any time of the day or night, 365 days a year. We also have the equipment needed to deal with rats in both homes and commercial premises, such as restaurants or warehouses.

If you are a tenant, you could contact your landlord. However, it could be several days before they address the problem, which is a long time when there are rats on the prowl.

Controlling a rat problem outdoors

It’s not unusual to see a greasy, brown rat outdoors, near your home or workplace. But don’t make the mistake of ignoring the risk it presents. These voracious rodents are adept at finding ways indoors in their constant search for food.

Rats are prolific breeders. Females can give birth to over fifty offspring in one year and each of those could be breeding within five weeks. Putting off dealing with a potential rat problem could result in there being over twice as many vermin to deal with in just a few weeks.

Dealing with a rat problem outdoors does not require such an urgent response, but you should still take action. Your local council may have a pest control team who can offer advice, and perhaps even help. Or you could look into do-it-yourself pest control measures.

However, the best and quickest result is usually going to come from a professional pest controller. Our experience allows us to assess the severity of the problem and take the steps needed to deal with it as quickly and effectively as possible.

Solving a rat problem for the long-term

There’s more to dealing with rats than catching them. If vermin have found their way into your property, they’ll keep coming back.

We pest controllers do more than remove the current generation, we also take measures to eliminate the breeding population and prevent a reoccurrence of the problem. We provide advice on how to spot and close up potential entry points, and we supply long-term baiting and trapping solutions.

A lot of Tony’s pest control stories feature rats. These unsavoury rodents breed in the old London sewers, making their burrows in the cracks and crevices of decaying Victorian brickwork and broken pipes.

Not surprisingly, rats often turn up in kitchens. They’re always hungry and always looking for food. In older houses, often those which have not been so well looked after, there are plenty of gaps and holes through which the rats can slip in.

On one call-out in Southwark, Tony and his mate were met by a burly South American bloke who didn’t speak a word of English. Tony tried to explain why they were there and the South American responded by waving his arms around and firing off a torrent of words in a foreign language.

Eventually the South American seemed to calm down and led Tony through to the kitchen, a ramshackle affair that had seen much better days. There, on top of the washing machine, peering out from under the worktop, was a rat.

Despite his size, the South American refused to enter the room and simply pointed from the doorway. Tony and his mate knew that they had to get rid of the rat and take measures to protect against other vermin.

Catching a rat is relatively easy using modern pest control measures, such as sticky boards. Unfortunately, this encounter was before Tony’s team had such equipment. So he was forced to hunt the rat down to catch and dispatch it.

This particular rat had a strong sense of self-preservation and did not want to be caught. It quickly disappeared, leaving Tony and his mate to begin a cupboard by cupboard search. They removed kickboards and emptied cupboards as they methodically closed in on the creature.

Looking into one cupboard, Tony thought he heard a noise from the back. He grabbed his torch, put his head in the cupboard, and found himself literally face-to-face with the rat, which was hiding in a saucepan.

For the rat, it was almost a case of out of the frying pan into the fire. Tony dealt with the rodent quickly and efficiently. The South American, despite being unable to speak a word of English, understood that the job had been done and was effusive in his gratitude to the pest controllers.

We’ve all heard the stories about venomous spiders being discovered in the local supermarket, or the domestic fruit bowl. Every now again a Black Widow or similar beastie slips into the country, usually riding unnoticed on a bunch of bananas.

Just this summer, one of the world’s most dangerous spiders, the Brazilian Wandering, lived up to its name by exploring a Coventry warehouse. A couple of months earlier, a Merseyside family abandoned their home for a week while another Brazilian spider, which they unsuspectingly brought home from the supermarket, was hunted down. A painstakingly slow search finally discovered it inside the dishwasher.

Australian spiders migrate to the UK

The distinctively marked Red Back spider has begun turning up in homes and commercial premises across Britain. The tiny, but extremely poisonous, creature is often an unexpected stowaway in travellers’ luggage.

Before an antidote to their bite was developed, the pea-sized arachnids were thought to have killed around 14 people in Australia with their poison. Today, 250 bite victims require anti-venom treatment each year.

Most of the exotic species of spider which find their way into this country are unable to survive outdoors. But warm modern homes and offices can prove ideal habitats for them to live in and, potentially, to breed. A dozen Red Backs were recently discovered in packaging in a Preston factory.

What to do if you discover an unusual spider

Should you come across an unfamiliar spider in your property, don’t panic.

It may simply be a Common House spider, which can grow to around 10cm across. Their size can scare people, and, like all spiders, they do bite. If you’re concerned about the number of spiders in your home or place of work, take advice on how to deal with them from a pest controller.

If you suspect a spider is more unusual, try to trap it inside a transparent container. That will allow you, or a local expert, to identify the species and take the appropriate action.

However, if you have any concerns about dealing with the spider, contact a pest control specialist. They will have the necessary equipment to capture it, and to lay traps in case others are lurking, unnoticed, in the floor, walls or ceilings.

Exotic spiders are just one form of creepy-crawly we’re seeing more of in Britain. Disease-carrying ants, cockroaches and mosquitoes are becoming more frequent visitors to these shores. International travel and trade brings with it both pleasures and pests.

This mountain of edible waste creates its own problems. The decomposing mass is a huge source of pollution, pumping CO2 into the atmosphere as it rots down in landfills. More worryingly, for householders, it’s an enormous food source for a variety of insects and animals, attracting vermin and creating a pest control problem.

Fortunately, Borough councils are taking positive steps to introduce food waste recycling for at least some of London’s thousands of homes.

For example, the London Borough of Southwark has recently completed a trial collection of food waste from many homes. Considered a success, the pilot scheme has been continued beyond its initial six months and the Borough is now looking at extending it to other areas.

These collections take place weekly, partly as a pest control measure. While much of the discarded food is placed in secure plastic bins with lids, it still produces unpleasant smells as it begins to rot. The trend towards collecting rubbish once every two weeks is acceptable for dry rubbish, but by removing food waste weekly, councils are helping to deter pests attracted to the foul odours.

Southwark’s recycling scheme takes a broad range of food waste including meat and bones, rice and pasta and dairy products. This material is mixed with garden waste and composted on a commercial scale. By processing this in a controlled environment, exposure to pests is minimised and the outcome is a reusable material, compost, which can be sold back to consumers.

Other London Boroughs provide services similar to those being trialled by Southwark. Lambeth began a trial in 2009 which is slowly being extended across the borough. The City of London is also rolling out food waste collections. However, some areas, such as Kensington and Chelsea, are still without food recycling capabilities.

Businesses can’t take advantage of the free collection services provided by Borough councils. However, there are plenty of waste disposal firms eager to service their needs and all of these will be working towards recycling targets.

The most effective way to deal with food waste is to buy more carefully and throw less away. But there will always be some leftovers which require disposal in a way that avoids attracting the attention of pests.