Let’s say you’ve moved to a new home and you suddenly realise that uninvited guests have turned up as well. In fact, you begin seeing cobwebs in the attic and scurrying rodents in the kitchen every time you come home from work. For sure, you wouldn’t like to see such a development.
The fact is that spiders, rats, bugs, and wasps really don’t belong in your home or office. You may ignore them most of the time because of your hectic schedule (save for the roaches that boldly come flying in your direction) but these creatures shouldn’t be taken lightly. For one, they raid our food supply. Some will even damage valuable furniture and appliances. But worst of all, they carry around illnesses like salmonella, tulameria, and typhoid fever.
While most of us worry about external threats to our family and staff, the reality is that there are bigger ones from within our personal sanctuary or corporate space. This is why you should call pest control experts every so often.
Frequency of Pest Treatment Ensures Effectivity
One thing you need to know is that pest exterminators will have to visit your place often to assess changes or indications of further pest activity. If they’ve set traps or bait stations in previous visits, they check those and place preventive measures or barriers to reduce the number of potential pests that’ll invade the property.
With frequent visits, pest control experts can closely monitor the building for new pests or further pest activity. As they do everything to exterminate those creepy-crawlies and keep new ones at bay, you save yourself from spending on pest damage repairs.
For residences, routine treatment on a quarterly basis is needed to deter common pests. This is especially the case when you’ve just moved into a new home or apartment. Monthly treatments may be recommended for more serious infestations, however.
Factors Affecting Frequency of Pest Control
For the most part, the frequency of the pest control service will depend on a variety of factors including building size, location, season, weather condition, and the type of pest you’re dealing with. The most critical factors are the following:
Property Age
An older home has its rustic charm but a major drawback to living in one is that it may already have been vulnerable to pests. Even if it’s not that old, frequent pest inspections will be needed, especially if it has a history of infestations. With every inspection, the pest exterminator will share his findings with you and recommend—if needed—the appropriate treatment or removal options.
Location
If your property is located in pest-prone regions or a woody area, frequent pest inspections may be needed. That’s because the risk of an infestation is typically high in such locations. The risk is also high when you live in a warm region and since Melbourne has a temperate Oceanic climate, the need for routine inspections will be apparent.
Another instance where periodic inspections is a must is when you live in an area with reported cases of pest infestation. When your neighbours have dealt with termite problems in the past, it goes without saying that you have to call for termite inspections. You may not have noticed any signs of termite activity yet but you can take this opportunity to put a first line of defence before swarmers can even come flying into your lot.
In case chemical or physical barriers have already been put in place, the visits may revolve around removing trapped insects and gauging every trap’s effectiveness.
Termite Activity
White ants are destructive and elusive at the same time. You won’t easily get wind of their presence with a simple, one-time ocular inspection. When you suspect that your home may be harbouring these wood-eating monsters, professional exterminators will schedule a number of visits to gauge the extent of the termite damage as well as locate their every nest.
To search for signs of termite activity and measure the extent of structural damage they’ve done, a range of equipment (i.e. thermal imaging camera, moisture metre, sounding equipment, etc.) will be used. Once the actual treatment begins, it may take a couple more visits to see if the extermination methods and preventive measures put in place are performing as expected.
Common Pests to Look Out For
Although property owners believe a one-off procedure is enough to remove pests from their estates, nothing can be farther from the truth. Keep in mind that pests lay eggs that won’t be affected by typical pest control methods. Give it a few days or weeks and those eggs hatch (likely post-treatment) and that means the pest infestation cycle continues. This is the reason why a follow-up treatment is often required.
Speaking of persistent pests, here are a few that most homeowners deal with:
- Ants
- Cockroaches
- Bed Bugs
- Fleas
- Bees
- Wasps
- Silverfishes
- Spiders
- Rats
- Mice
- Termites
- Feral animals e.g. birds
Although people may say that a few of these can be readily dealt with using retail insecticides, this method poses a great risk to non-target insects, humans, and pets. To get rid of these pests safely and without harming the local ecosystem, tapping professional pest control is your best option.
Routine Pest Control for Your Peace of Mind
You never know when pests will come gnawing through your walls or raiding your cupboards. With that said, you’d be wise to get your place protected from these unwanted guests before the inevitable happens. By getting routine pest inspections done on your property, you can have peace of mind in the knowledge that expert help will always be on hand to deal with these space invaders.
Speaking of experienced pest exterminators, give us a call and we’ll fortify your defences and turn your property into a fortress against any disease-carrying insects and destructive vermin.