Pests
The brown rat
The brown rat, also known as the common rat, breeds rapidly producing up to five litters a year. Females give birth at about eight, the gestation period being 22-24 days. Fur can vary in shades of brown. This type of rats normally like to live near water, in places like sewers, and are mainly active during the night.
Rats normally have one toilet area so you will not see droppings around your home or premises. Rat droppings are normally behind units or underground. Therefore, if you have noticed food, papers or clothes that have been ripped into or moved around, but have not noticed any droppings, it indicates a rat problem
The house mouse
House mice are light brown to black in colour. Although mice need water daily, they can survive on food that has a moisture content of only 15%. Mice are good jumpers, runners and swimmers and have a musty smell.
They are active during dusk and night, and leave their droppings behind as their run, so you may find them around your premises.
Cockroaches
The most common cockroaches in the UK are the German and Oriental cockroaches. Cockroaches are nocturnal so they are difficult to notice at first. They live in the cracks and crevices found in buildings and their young hatch within weeks of being laid.
They prefer warm buildings and need water to survive. Therefore, they can be mainly found in kitchens and bathrooms. The females carry 35-40 eggs in an egg case, and they are very good climbers. They spread diseases such as Dysentery, Gastroenteritis, Salmonella and Typhoid fever by contaminating food and surfaces.
Bedbugs
Bedbugs grow up to 5 mm. Their colour can vary from almost clear to brown and after feeding they can appear to be darker. The female lays eggs between 2- 3 times a day.
Bedbugs are parasites that feed on the blood of humans, each one feeding approximately every one or two weeks depending on the size. After feeding they return back to their resting place, usually cracks and crevices in the bed or furniture, in order to digest. Bedbug bite marks look like mosquito bites and may feel itchy.
Common black ants
Garden ants occur with great frequency throughout the UK, and often close to and in association with man's dwellings. Black ants have a wide spectrum of acceptable foods, and they are particularly attracted to sweet substances. Ants will nest in a whole variety of suitable sites, and these are generally of no significance to man.
However, sandy soil in general and the sand used to form the base of paved garden paths in the foundations of houses attracts local ants, and nests may be found there.
German wasps
Wasps build new nests at the start of every summer. Each wasp's nest contains a Queen, King and hundreds of wasp workers, who work all summer to make the nest bigger.
It is important to destroy the nest as early as possible to prevent bigger problems.
Pharaoh ants
They are pale straw yellow with darker heads, and they have noticeable black eyes, with a twin bulge at waist. Pharaoh ants prefer to nest in warm, humid areas, which are near sources of food or water.
Nests are usually located in inaccessible areas such as wall voids, behind skirting boards, in furniture, or under floors. This is a trailmaking ant that can spread diseases mechanically. The colonies tend to be very large.