Trojan Pest Control Services

THE RAT

A brief description

The Brown Rat ( Rattus Norvegicus) is the most common rat species in the UK also know as, the Norway rat, common rat, Sewer rat. The fur of rats is mostly brown or dark grey

Fully mature male rats can vary in size, with a head to body length between 200mm-300mm with a similar length for the tail, but average size is around 250mm (10 in) and can weigh between 200g-500g with the average male rat weighing in at around 350g 

Female rat can grow to a similar length as their male counterparts but aren’t as well set or bulky so weigh less and average around 250g

Life span and reproduction

Rats can live to 3 yrs however most won’t exceed a life of 12mths or more with most averaging only 9mths-12mths

Life span will depend on many facts such as living conditions, availability of food and the threat from predators and “pest controllers”

Rats are sexually mature at approx 11-12 weeks and can produce up to 5 litters a year. Litter vary in size and the quantity produced will vary between 6-14 but average litter will consist of 6-8 young and with a gestation period of only 21days-22 days it’s easy for a pair of rats and their offspring to produce tens of thousands  in only a year.

Habitat and living conditions

The brown is found mostly is built up populated areas but are always found where humans are present. Rats are omnivores which mean they will eat anything! With many food outlets and many areas being heavily populated humans produce a huge amount of food waste and in turn creates a large rat presences.

Rats can nest in many areas, sewers are a good location with oils, excrement,  and food waste being flushed and put into the sewage system, rats are also good at borrowing so rats in gardens are also on the increase with the availability of fallen fruit, flowers and vegetables, spillages from bird feeders and tables, composts and waste bags as some councils have still not implemented the use of sealed wheelie bins/ refuge containers.

We have also seen a huge increase of external activity and sighting due to the popularity of “decking”. Decking is easy to install, low maintenance and creates a great use for external activates. The problem is rats have also found this a great location to nest and an ideal breeding ground, being dry and warm, with the use of decking membrane to next under and not easily accessible to human or predators this has help to boost their presence.

Rats are also able to enter properties via open ventilation points around external areas, can gain access to internal areas by digging under decking to gain access to cavity walls, and damaged or uncapped waste points. We have found many customer experience issues when building works have taken place, on occasions toilets have been relocated and waste pipes not have not been capped off so rodents that have access to the waste pipes to properties have an easy route to under floor voids. We have also had many incidents where rats have accessed the properties by chewing the backs of consortia pipes at the rear of toilets that customers have installed in the space under the stairs.

Rats are able to climb and once they have accessed the cavity wall they will be able to gain access to all areas and levels of the property or building and loft space so their presence is not just restricted to ground floor and floor void areas.

How to determine the presents of rats

Rats are nocturnal so they tend to be present when humans aren’t around, late at night when it’s quiet so it’s very unlikely you will come face to face with a rat however there’s many other tell-tales signs.

Food damage is usually the first indication of a rodent problem, missing items, chewed packets, food debris and crumbs strew around floors and in cupboards. Droppings aren’t always easily visible in open areas as they tend to leaving droppings in resting, eating and nesting locations that won’t always be visible or accessible. If you find what you think could be the droppings the best way to tell would be the size, rat droppings are black or brown wet when fresh and hard when dry, they are approx 15mm-20mm in length and approx 5-6mm in width and tapered, with a heavy infestation the urine left behind will produce a full armour a similar smell to ammonia. Other sights of rat activity could be the sound of movement in walls, running in ceiling or floor voids and crewing or gnawing sound. As rats tend to use the same paths when getting around they can leaving signs of wear due to the heavy flow of traffic, tail dragging patches in dusty areas and grease stain (smear makes) a oily dirty residue left around high levels of activity and entry and exit points

Health and disease

Rats are an extreme concern to health as they can carry diseases such as salmonella that can cause excoriating stomach pains and vomiting and can also carry deadly diseases such as weil’s disease that causes severe headaches and without the implement of medical advice can lead to organ failure and even death. Rats can also cause health issues with cats and dogs as if ingested could lead to issues with parasite such as worms.

Treatment 

We would always recommend that when it comes to rats you seek the help of a professional pest control company to deal with the rodent issues

The product available to the professional market differ from the products available to for amateur use, many customers chose to deal with the problem them self’s and in most situations, the amount of products brought outweigh the cost of a professional service and usually results in a heavy infestation by the time you admit defeat.

So if you require our help or would like information on the services we provide were here to help and ready to take your call. 

Bed Bugs

A brief description

The Bed Bug (Cimex Lectularius) is a parasitic insect that’s a member of the cimicid family and Bed Bugs will feed off human blood unlike other members of the cimicid family that will feed of animals.

A full size adult Bed Bug will be approx 4-5mm in length and 2.5-3mm approx in width but newly hatched Bed Bugs and nymphs will be a lot smaller in size.

Bed Bugs are reddish brown in colour with nymphs being lighter/ translucent in colour.

Life span and reproduction   

Bed Bugs can live for up to a year without feeding, in the right conditions such as food availability and warm environment Bed bugs will have a life span of 6-8 months.

Bed Bugs don’t feed on a daily basis, Bed Bugs will feed approx every 7-10 days and after each feed they will shed their skins and grow in size until they reach maturity which will take several cycles over a 2-3 month period.

Bed Bugs on average lay approx 3 eggs a day over their life span than can last between 6-8 months but can live slightly longer if conditions are good.

Habitat and living conditions

In Britain we had a large problem with Bed Bugs prior to the 1940s but over the next few decades Bed Bugs were pretty much eradicated from Britain, with the use of strong insecticides and a better standard of living and living conditions.

Over the last 20 years we have seen Bed Bugs make a huge resurgence mainly due to things such as cheap air travel and free movement around the world that’s been a factor to their reappearance.

We have also found that areas that are densely populated and have a higher amount of rental property with high turnaround of tenants and diverse communities have a bigger issue than other areas.

Some areas are having such a big problem with Bed Bugs that it’s possible to pick them up on public transport, they can get into luggage at hotels when abroad, can be brought in from family or friends, and if neighbouring properties have a severe infestation their able to move from one building to another.

Bed Bugs don’t enter the property from the garden; they need a warm environment to survive so bed beds are brought into the property on a person or by second hand furniture etc.

Bed Bugs will tend to live as close to their food source as possible and as infestations grow in numbers they will spread to furniture close by such as bedside cabinets, wardrobes, behind skirting boards, plug sockets and wall paper etc before finding their way into other rooms of the property.

Domestic dwellings make up the majority of Bed Bug infestations but as the Bed Bug epidemic increases business such as hotels and bed and breakfasts are starting to experience issues.

How to determine the presence of Bed Bugs        

Bed Bugs can be at times hard to detect, not everybody will have signs of Bite marks from the Bed Bugs feeding.

As Bed Bugs are only visible when its dark and hideaway in areas not visible, their presence is not always noted for several weeks

People that experience severe reactions to being bitten will offer feel itchy, have raised track marks around parts of the body such as the neck, arms, legs, face etc   

Bed Bugs are called Bed Bugs as they live as close to their food source as possible so areas such as headboards, the fabric around bases on divan beds and wooden slats on beds are an ideal nesting point.

Other indicators of bed bug activity such as disturbed sleep, feeling lethargic, feeling itchy, blood spots on bedding and pillows as well as shed skins and obviously visual sightings are an indicator of Bed Bug activity.

Bed bugs are attracted to carbon dioxide emissions (breathing) and body heat so will only come out when it’s dark and food is available.

Health and disease

Although bed bugs feed off blood and can feed off multiple people in close vicinity there’s no proof that their able to spread blood related diseases from feeding such as mosquitoes.

Treatment   

All treatments and services carried out come with a guarantee.

We also provide customers with a check list detailing recommendations and preparation requirements prior to treatment taking place  

MICE 

A brief description

The House Mouse mus musculus and The Wood Mouse Apodemus sylvaticus also known as the long tailed field mouse or just field mouse are the most common mouse species you will come across although there are several species located in the uk

The fur of mice is a grey/brown.

Adult house mice will vary in size with a nose to body length of 8cm-10cm 3in-4in with a tail approx 5cm-10cm or 2in-4in and weight between 10g-25g, average 15g, the equivalent of 2 50p coins.

Apart from the size and weight the other different feature between the two species is the wood mouse has larger ears and eyes and longer tail

Life span and reproduction

Mice can reach a life span of 2-3 yrs but will rarely reach or exceed a life span of 12 months

  Life span will depend on many facts such as living conditions, availability of food and the threat from predators and “pest controllers”

Male mice are sexually mature at 8 weeks and females at 6 weeks and can produce between 5-10 litters a year. Litters vary in size and the quantity produced will vary between 3-14 but average litter will consist of 6-8 young and with a gestation period of only 19days-21 days it’s easy for a pair of mice and their offspring to produce tens of thousands  in only a year.

New born are born blind and are furless, fur will start to grown after 3-4 days and eyes will open after 1-2 weeks

Habitat and living conditions

Mice are found in many locations, woodland, farm land, hedgerows, fields etc but are a common problem in domestic commercial premises.

Due to their size mice are able to fit through small gaps or voids (if a gap or hole is big enough to fit your finger then a mouse will fit through it

Mice can also enter via air bricks holes form the external areas into the cavity and with property that are join to neighbours and have suspended flooring activity can spread from neighbouring properties

Once in the property you will tend to find mouse activity around ground floor areas that kitchen areas (under units) under the stairs in major infestation mice will enter other levels in the property or building via pipe work or climbing up the cavity wall and will quiet often end up in loft spaces

Health and disease

Mice are an extreme concern to health as they can carry diseases such as salmonella that can cause excoriating stomach pains and vomiting

 How to determine the presents of mice

Mice are nocturnal so they tend to be present when humans aren’t around, late at night when it’s quiet so it’s very unlikely you will come face to face with a mouse however there’s many other tell-tales signs.

Food damage is usually the first indication of a rodent problem, missing items, chewed packets, food debris and crumbs strew around floors and in cupboards. Droppings aren’t always easily visible in open areas as they tend to leaving droppings in resting, eating and nesting locations that won’t always be visible or accessible. If you find what you think could be the droppings the best way to tell would be the size, mouse droppings are black or brown wet when fresh and hard when dry, they are approx 3mm-6mm in length and approx 1 mm in width and tapered, with a heavy infestation the urine left behind will produce a full armour a similar smell to ammonia. Other sights of mouse activity could be the sound of movement in walls, running in ceiling or floor voids and crewing or gnawing sound. As mice tend to use the same paths when getting around they can leaving signs of wear due to the heavy flow of traffic, tail dragging patches in dusty areas and grease stain (smear makes) a oily dirty residue left around high levels of activity and entry and exit points

Treatment 

We would always recommend that when it comes to rodent you seek the help of a professional pest company to deal with the rodent issues

The product available to the professional market differ from the products available to for amateur use, many customers chose to deal with the problem them self’s and in most situations, the amount of products brought outweigh the cost of a professional service and usually results in a heavy infestation by the time you admit defeat.

So if you require our help or would like information on the services we provide were here to help and ready to take your call.

WASPS

A brief description

The common wasp (Vespula vulgaris) and the German wasp (Vespula germanica) are the 2 most common type of wasp in the uk although approx 9000 species have been identified in the uk.

The common wasp has distinctive yellow and black stripes and adult workers are between 12mm-18mm approx 15mm in length with the queen being larger with a length of approx 20mm

The German wasp also has distinctive yellow and black stripes but the adult workers are slightly smaller that the common wasp and are approx 12mm in length and under closer inspection can be told apart by marking and dots on the abdomen and head

Life span and reproduction

With wasps being a season pest the queens that have gone into hibernation from the previous season (around September/October) will start to emerge in spring usually around march/April and start looking for a suitable location to build a nest.

An untreated nest from a previous season will produce 1000s of queens that will hibernate to emerge the following season, however only a small percentage of queens will survive hibernation.

The queens have a life span of approx 12 months with female workers life span is between 10-20 days with male workers have a slightly longer life span.

Once the queens have found a suitable nesting point they will start to build a nest with a small cell unit and lay eggs, then once the first brood of workers have hatched they will take over the nest building duty and brining food for the larvae whilst the queen concentrates on egg laying. Each queen can produce a nest with up to 8000 larvae and will lay between 200-300 eggs a days for a cycle of about 23 days.

 Habitat and living conditions

Wasp nests will be built in all locations, in loft spaces, ventilation voids, gardens sheds, however over the years I’ve treated nests in boats, under car bonnets etc however queens will usually locate areas with lots of vegetation and shrubs for good nest building material and food so leafy areas will always have a bigger problem with wasps

Nests are constructed with plant material such as tree bark and leaf etc; the nests are a complex design with a outer shell for protection and a stacked cell structure for the larvae. The nest are soft to touch and will crumble if removed very similar to paper mache. 

How to determine the presents of rats        

The biggest clue you have a nest to visibly see one however some can be hidden in the non accessible so seeing wasps flying about a light bulb in a loft space or finding live wasps in light fittings and also seeing a high level of wasp activity around a certain area and a constant flow of traffic coming and going from a particular point would indicate a wasp nest is present

Health and disease

Many people will get stung at one point or another with no problems or allergic reactions however being stung will leave a raised swelling that is painful and itchy however within a few days any swelling or pain will disappear.   

Many people are extremely allergic to wasp stings and being stung can cause that person to go into anaphylaxis shock the symptoms will include vomiting, dizziness, increased pulse and  in some situations  will result in death.

Treatment

Wasps do stings and as nests are not always accessible we would strongly advise you seek professional help to deal the problem in a safe way. We charge a very reasonable fee off £55.00 to deal with the problem and will inspect other areas of your property for other nests as additional nests are treated for £15.00 if treated at the same time.

As long as we can see the entry and exit points from outside were able with our equipment and extension poles to reach the nest from ground level however if the area of activity can’t be reached we would need to get access from a closer point.

All treatments are guaranteed so if after 72 hrs our initial effort of treatment hasn’t been fully effective and wasp activity is still present a follow up visit will be carried out free of charge

BED BUGS

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Cockroaches 

A brief description:                                                                                                                                                             The German cockroach Blattella Germania.

German cockroaches are “between” 0.5cm-1cm in length. Visually Cockroaches differ in colour from being light brown/tan in colour, to dark brown and black. Cockroaches have two distinct parallel lines running from their head to the base of the wings.

Although cockroaches do have wings, unlike many other species of cockroach the German cockroach isn’t able to fly.

Life span and reproduction:                                                                                                                                               The life span of the German cockroaches on average is between 4-6 months depending on several factors such as victuals availability, living and temperature conditions.

The German cockroach is the more expeditious residential reproducing species of cockroach, their able go from eggs to procreating adults just under 2 months.

Once fertilised a female German cockroach will engender an egg sac called an ootheca that’s annexed to her abdomen, each ootheca will engender between 20-50 nymphs approximately   30 on average.

The nymphs that emerge from the ootheca will be approximately 2mm in length and mostly black, they will go through a seven stage life cycle and once consummate they will be sexually mature at 7-8 weeks.

Habitat and living conditions:                                                                                                                                         German Cockroaches are nocturnal, so are customarily only visible at night or when it’s dark, although they can be visually perceived on occasions in minuscule numbers during the day.

German Cockroaches will reside and infest all sorts of buildings such as hospitals, shops, fast food outlets, buildings utilized for food production and food processing’s as well as domestic properties, fundamentally building or dwellings inhabited by us.

Cockroaches ‘are not able to survive in a cold environment, or in buildings or areas that lack the warm 20-30c they require.

Buildings and dwellings occupied by humans will provide everything required to give German cockroaches the impeccable living conditions.

In most domestic properties German cockroaches will first appear in the kitchen area, but if the problem is not dealt with expeditiously, it will result in a larger infestation that will spread to other rooms and areas of the property.

Although German cockroaches are customarily associated with poor hygiene, it’s possible for cockroach infestations to occur in relatively clean properties, as they can peregrinate from a neighbouring property that might have an infestation that’s been left untreated.

It’s also possible to infest a property or building from buying items or food products from a shop or business that has a issue with cockroaches, as they can facilely be brought into the premise or business undetected in shopping bags, on the products or items you have purchased. 

I have additionally come across infestations due to customers purchasing used kitchen appliances from a premise with German cockroaches, that’s resulted in an infestation at the property where the appliance has been installed.

Cockroaches will mostly be found in the kitchen areas of building or properties and will find and nest in places like the backs of fridge motors, kettle bases, microwaves and cupboards also inside boilers.

Cockroaches will be visible in particular areas of kitchen, the majority of the cockroaches will be living in inaccessible areas, as they prefer to nest in cracks and crevasse behind kitchen units, door frames, skirting boards and behind tiles etc 

If the quandary is left untreated the infestation will get worse and the cockroaches will culminate up and will start causing damage to electrical goods and also cause extensive and expensive damage to circuit boards inside boilers and other appliances, that will result in expensive repair bills that could have been avoided if resolved early on.

A German Cockroaches diet will consist of all types of foods as they are scavengers, they will live off and consume our aliment and food waste, but ideally foods that are high in sugar and fat will provide cockroaches with the best dietary requisites.

In cockroach infestation where food availability is minimal cockroaches will resolve to cannibalism in order to survive. 

Health and disease:                                                                                                                                                                   German cockroaches are a rigorous hazard to health, foods and items they come into contact with can get contaminated and indirectly transmit diseases via human interaction when handling or consuming contaminated items.

The most common diseases associated with German cockroaches are, salmonella, campylobacter, E coli and many more diseases as well as agitating and causing asthma and other allergies. 

How to determine the presence of cockroaches:                                                                                                           Conspicuously visual sightings in the areas discussed already will be the most sizably indicator you are dealing with cockroaches.

Also finding ootheca’s in draws, on surfaces and excreted droppings will also be visible around nesting points and in boiler trays that will indicate the presence of cockroaches..

Treatment;                                                                                                                                                                            The treatment carried out will depend on many factors, such as if the premises is commercial or domestic and we will also take into account the customers preferred method of treatment to resolve the issue.

Once we have inspected and ascertained the caliber of infestation and what’s required to eradicate the quandary, we will always advised the customer or client on the best, quickest and most cost-effective method of treatment to deal with the issue.

Costs of treatments will vary on the level of infestation, the size of the property, type of treatment to be carried out and many other factors.

Ideally if the cockroach infestation at the building or premises is dealt with as soon as an infestation takes place a 2 part visit will be adequate to resolve the issue.

if left untreated the infestation will spread and could require several visits, this will result in a more expensive treatment program being carried out, that if it had been treated earlier it would have meant an easier, quicker and more cost effective service being carried out.

as part of the service we will offer advice on hygiene, food storing and provide advice on measures that can be implemented to help prevent future issues. 

BEES

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CARPET BEETLES

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GLIS GLIS

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