Insects
The most common species that invades UK households is the 3-5mm long black garden ant when they’ve been nesting in soil or living under concrete and are foraging for food.
Bed bugs are often found in multi-occupancy buildings with rapid resident turnover, such as hostels. They are a significant pest to humans because they feed on blood, mostly at night while their “hosts” are sleeping.
Cockroaches thrive around the heating ducts and boiler rooms of large centrally heated buildings, especially in humid areas like pipes, stoves and sinks. They forage for food and contaminate surfaces they touch.
The wasps we’re used to seeing in the summer have a sweet tooth at one end and a painful sting at the other. Wasp nests may be suspended from trees, nest boxes, bee hives, rafters and dormer windows.
Masonry bees are normally harmless as their sting seemingly is unable to penetrate human skin. But they can cause havoc in houses with soft brick mortar where they can tunnel through and build nests.
The larvae of carpet beetles’ eggs damage anything made from feathers, fur, hair, or wool. Damage consists of fairly well defined round holes along the seams of fabric where the grubs bite through the thread. The old cast off skins from moulting grubs may be the first signs of an infestation.
All adult fleas are parasitic on warm blooded animals, causing intense irritation. Their body is designed to jump and can transfer from locations easily, including from your cats, dogs and own skin.
Flies are serious nuisances and transmit diseases through their foul feeding and breeding habits. They walk over food sources and rotting matter indiscriminately, carrying bacteria.
Fruit flies are characterised by a slow hovering flight in which the abdomen hangs down. They lay their eggs on top of or near rotting fruit or vegetable matter. They can carry disease causing bacteria on food products as they frequent such unsanitary areas.
The larvae of clothes moths eat wool, hair, fur or feathers, particularly preferring blankets, wool carpets, wool garments or upholstery that has been soiled with perspiration or food. They make irregular holes in textile fabrics and can be found indoors all year round.
Clusters flies are sluggish in flight and swarm in masses. In autumn they congregate in large numbers in upper rooms or roof spaces of houses to hibernate, mainly in rural areas as they are parasitic upon certain earthworms.
Pharaoh Ants are a tropical species and are becoming increasingly common in structures with central heating systems. They also love food preparation areas as they attack sugary food. Each colony has multiple nests, so infestations can spread rapidly.
Insect proofing from L D Services consists of a thorough inspection of your premises, identifying all the places insects might get in and fitting insect control screens or carrying out a programme of bespoke sealing.