Pests

New Zealand has four common types of cockroaches. The Gisborne and Native cockroaches are found mainly in the bush, these can still be found inside homes as they try to escape the colder weather. The American cockroach and smaller German cockroach varieties like warm areas inside the home, these often invade electrical appliances hiding behind fridges. Cockroach droppings can pose a health risk, specific and targeted treatment is needed to break the breeding cycle. We use a combination of low toxicity treatments to provide the best solution to cockroach problems.

The majority of spiders cannot harm anyone. Their webs can cause a mess in and around your home or business, from the White Tailed spider to the common house spider. White Tailed spiders are commonly found underneath bark, rocks, leaf litter and logs in the bush and around the home and garden. They eat other spiders including daddy-long-legs, redbacks and black house spiders, they don’t build webs, as such are most active at night when their prey is out hunting. They move indoors during summer and autumn where they look for shelter in nooks and crannies, searching for prey. They are often found in the folds of clothes, towels and shoes.

Adult flies normally live for 2 to 4 weeks but can hibernate during the winter. The adults feed on a variety of liquid or semi-liquid substances and solid materials which have been softened by saliva. They carry pathogens on their bodies and in their feces and can contaminate food and contribute to the transfer of food-borne illnesses. Because of their large intake of food they deposit feces constantly, which makes flies a dangerous carrier of disease. Although they are domestic flies, usually confined to human habitations, they can fly for several miles from the breeding place. They are active only in daytime, and rest at night in the corners of rooms, ceiling hangings and basements where they can survive the coldest winters by hibernation. The female housefly usually only mates once and stores the sperm for later use. She lays batches of about 100 eggs on decaying organic matter such as garbage, carrion or feces. These soon hatch into legless white maggots which after 2 to 5 days and transform into reddish-brown pupae.

 

Ants can enter your property through the tiniest cracks, seeking water and sweet or greasy food. They leave an invisible chemical trail which contains pheromones for others to follow once they locate the food source. Ants can nest just about anywhere in and around your property; in lawns, walls, stumps, even under foundations. Colonies can number up to 500,000, whole colonies can uproot and relocate quickly when threatened. A colony can live a relatively long life: worker ants can live seven years, and the queen may live as long as 15 years. Argentine ants are territorial, killing other insects and invade dwellings and over time, the network of interconnecting colonies could become a massive infestation. Each colony of Argentine ants can contain millions of insects and multiple queens. These colonies can populate entire neighbourhoods

 

Rats & Mice

The Coromandel climate makes it an environment for rats and mice to thrive. Gaining access to your home through gaps in brickwork, roofing tiles and iron. These pests can cause considerable damage by chewing through electrical cords and food packaging, contaminating food. Often nesting in roofs and wall cavities, they leave droppings while spread spreading disease. Homes closer to restaurants or food related businesses, are at higher risk of rat infestation and should take extra care in preventing rodents from gaining entry. We will inspect your home before advising on a range of solutions to prevent rodent problems. We also provide commercial rodent control solutions suited to restaurants and similar businesses.

New Zealand has some of the highest densities of German and common wasps in the world. This is because they have no natural predators here, our winters are mild and there is plenty of food for them. The Introduced German and common social wasps are very similar in appearance, both have the characteristic black and yellow colouration. Social wasps live as colonies in nests of honeycomb-like cells. They form complex social groups and all members of a colony help raise the young. Both species live in large colonies, about the size of a soccer ball. These colonies can become huge if they manage to survive over winter. German wasp nests are grey. Common wasp nests are brown. New Zealand has some of the highest densities of German and common wasps in the world. This is because they have no natural predators here, our winters are mild and there is plenty of food for them. The Paper wasp builds small nests out of regurgitated woody material, about the size of a pear. The venom from a wasp sting contains several toxins that can cause a hypersensitive or allergic reaction in some people. Ants can enter your property through the tiniest cracks, seeking water and sweet or greasy food. They leave an invisible chemical trail which contains pheromones for others to follow once they locate the food source.