A common pest once associated with unhygienic surroundings, is now prevalent due to increased travel and therefore spreading the bed bug from country to country. These bugs still occur with regularity, particularly in multi-occupancy buildings with rapid resident turnover, for example, hostels, hotels, holiday camps and blocks of flats.
Around 10 mm long, the House Fly is the most common pest in buildings and is found in most homes. They feed by vomiting saliva on to the food surface, treading it in and sucking up the resulting liquid! The fly is a health hazard; it passes on dangerous germs from the last place that it visited.
The Pigeon is a descendant of the Wild Rock Dove. It is the most serious bird pest associated human habitations. Pigeons are widely distributed and are frequently found in large flocks in cities and built up areas.
They are often seen in parks and near pavements feeding on foods provided by people.
If you require this particular you can contact one of our members to obtain advice and possible treatment methods, usually smoke generators.
Large, conspicuous buzzing insects with yellow and black striped, wasp-waisted bodies, 10-15mm long. They have a sweet tooth at one end and a painful sting at the other.
The queen wasp is larger (20mm) and she hibernates over winter, making a nest in the spring in which to lay her eggs.
Bats sleep during the day, hanging upside down from the roof rafters or on an outside wall. Contrary to popular ideas, they do not like belfries as they like draft free locations.
Various types are native to Ireland and are usually seen around dusk as they sweep across the sky catching air borne insects. They cause no harm and under Irish law, can only be handled by licensed people.
A cigar-shaped, silver-grey, wingless insect about 12mm long, found in damp areas commonly in kitchens and bathrooms. Nocturnal in habit, but often trapped in baths, basins or chinaware as it cannot climb the smooth surfaces. Moves quickly and has three long bristles at the tail end.
Sometimes confused with black beetles from the garden, cockroaches are distinguished by their very long whip-like antennae, flat oval bodies and rapid, jerky gait.
The adult German cockroach is 10 to 15mm long. The Common or Oriental cockroach is 20 to 24mm long.
The Common, or Brown Rat is about 250rats mm long and is a creatureof habit, living both above and below ground. The Black Rat (the original plague carrier) is smaller – about 175 mm long and is an agile climber. They breed rapidly and, like mice, need to gnaw constantly.
This is a term used for the destructive larvae of several species of wood boring beetle. The first sign of woodworm is the appearance of neat round holes 1-2 mm across in wooden surfaces, often accompanied by tiny piles of wood dust. The adult Furniture Beetle is a small brown insect about 5 mm long who can fly and lay eggs on rough, unpolished wood.
The clothes moths have infested many households. Two kinds are common:
The case-making moth is so called because the caterpillar spins a shelter case of silk and bits of the material on which it is feeding
The webbing clothes moth, the most abundant and injurious species, spins silky webs as it moves over a piece of material.
As mouse-killers their efficiency varies enormously. Few of them really come up to scratch. They cannot often get into areas where mice can live in a building.
In addition most house cats have lost the hunting ability of a good farm “mouser” and may even bring live rodents into properties.