Removing Honey Bees From a Chimney

October 20, 2014, 2:54 pm

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HONEY BEES SAFELY REMOVED FROM A CHIMNEY

Sometimes you just have to get up there with them! Honey Bees are often difficult to access and require specialist access.

When trying to eliminate honey bees from your chimney, it can be as simple as lighting a fire beneath them or asking a professional pest controller to eliminate them.

The best option is always to ask a beekeeper to remove them, and to make sure they don't simply destroy them. Sadley we have encountered a growing number of bee keepers who eliminated honey bees they claimed to have saved for our customers!

Getting to the Bees

The problem you will quickly encounter is how to get to them. If you live in a brick or stone built property, removal can be very difficult, especially at height. It's easy to dislodge chimney pots etc whilst trying to remove bees.

Chimney pots can fall straight through a roof and even kill people below, so before you do anything get professional advice, on the options available to you, and keep things safe.

Cherry pickers like the one we used in the image above are a simple way to get close to the bees, but scaffolding is best – that’s if the scaffolders are happy to get that close to the bees or have the protective clothing to make the process safe.

In our experience the bees very rarely become aggressive whilst you are working around them, but you cannot take that chance when working at height.

Your other option is to drill or knock through the wall into the chimney cavity – but this still won’t make life easy to get at the the bees.

The truth of the matter remains that honey bees in chimneys are generally viewed as non-viable. In other words, if they are causing a problem, then elimination rather than removal is often the only safe option.

We recommend that you contact a beekeeper in the first instance who will likely give you an honest answer on the question of removal, but is likely to side step the question of all out elimination of the honey bees.

If the beekeeper is unable to safely remove the colony, or provide a solution, then its time to leave them alone or if you still feel elimination is the best option, call a professional pest control company to destroy the bees for you.

All is not lost though – even at this late stage the pest control expert may know of a removal method that the bee keeper doesn’t and still save the colony – it all comes down to experience and sometimes a little luck.

Please let us know your experiences – what works for you and what does not. Get more help from our Bristol pest control team on 0117 303 5181.

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Rats Problems Under Your Shed?

December 24, 2014, 5:53 am

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Why Are Rats Under Your Shed?

Bristol Rat Control 0117 303 5181

Rats are among the most noticeable rodents in our gardens, not least because they are among the largest.

Our Bristol rat control service is regularly called upon to investigate rat problems in peoples gardens which are usually a result of a few common factors.

5 Common Reasons Your Garden Shed Has Rats

Feeding birds with loose or mixed feed - bird feeders are commonly associated with rats because so much feed gets spilt onto the floor. This can be reduced simply by ensuring that each feeder contains only one kind of seed. When using mixed seed in bird feeders, the birds will peck out the seed they don't like, depositing it on the floor and eat only those seeds it prefers.
Animal feed available from pets like rabbits and chickens - The smell of food etc in feeding bowls is of great encouragement to foraging rats and mice. It is also very common for enclosures to be built using chicken wire that is large enough to allow mice and juvenile rats to pass through into the animal enclosures uninhibited.
Compost bins that are well stocked and lack a solid base - compost bins offer rats a place to nest that is heated by its decomposing contents all year round and has a regular supply of food available fresh from your kitchen. Starchy foods like potatoes are a popular meal for an overwintering rat. Most compost bins don't have a base in them, so we need to create one that the rats can't penetrate. This is a simple process and can be done with patio slabs and some wire mesh.
Damaged drains and drain inspection covers - faulty drains and especially faulty inspection chamber covers allow rats to reach the surface and your garden unhindered. The sudden appearance or presence of holes near to, or next to drain covers is ideal for rodents to surface into your garden.
Large quantities of stored or abandoned rubbish/waste - rats are quite vulnerable to the effects of low food supply and harsh winter conditions, but where there is shelter (your shed) they can thrive in the most extreme conditions. Any time large deposits of waste are left sitting around for long periods, rats will exploit this waste for the purposes of feeding and breeding.

With any food reservoir there will be a propensity for rodents to make a home near by. Your drains are a food reservoir and what we put down there in the form of faeces etc, is all the food they need.

Remember that rats do not have a sense of taste, but do possess an excellent sense of smell.

Rats rarely establish themselves under sheds without a good source of food close by. for this important reason you must always look for "Why They Are There".

Sometimes the cause will be a simple one that is easy to identify, and in other situations it can prove very difficult.

How To Prevent Rats Under Your Garden Shed

Some simple steps can ensure that you never have a rat problem under your shed. The measures that will help you get rid of rats include:

Site your shed on a solid concrete base (they can't dig through this).
Surround your shed with a 12 inch wide and six inch deep layer of pea shingle/gravel.
Raise the base up five inches by placing the base on wooden beams or bricks
Solve the original source.

It sounds simple and, well actually it is. But what's the wildcard reasons for your problem that will be a far tougher nut to crack?

in many cases this will be down to your neighbours! The other reason can be your proximity to natural reservoirs of activity like waterways (rivers, streams and canals) and bodies of water (lakes, ponds and ditches).

Whatever the reason we are always delighted to help you solve it or work around it. Contact Bristol Pest Control on 0117 303 5181.

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Get Rid Of Blow Flies

February 8, 2015, 12:35 pm

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How do you get rid of blow flies

What Are Blue Blow flies?

Blue Bottle Flies In Your Home?

Blow flies are commonly seen as the large and small flies that are often referred to as green bottles and blue bottles.

The flies themselves are regularly seen in our homes where they quickly locate protein based foods of animal origin on which the flies lay their eggs.

The Blow Flies Life Cycle

Within a matter of hours these eggs can start hatching and the larvae we call maggots begin to feed on the rotting tissues.

Within a few days these larvae can mature, before pupating and finally hatching in hundreds or even thousands.

This sudden emergence of dozens, hundreds or in rare cases thousands of flies can be extremely upsetting and because some of the pupae will take longer to develop than others, these flies can persist for many weeks.

What Can Be Done To Eliminate Blue Bottle & Green Bottle Flies?

Because the flies often take a number of weeks to hatch from their pupae, numbers will gradually increase from just a few flies appearing each day to hundreds, before finally tailing off to zero.

Fumigation is a common and effective option when very large numbers are present, but for smaller infestations of blow flies is pointless as the chemical used is only effective whilst it's in the air and that's normally no more than about an hour.

Because of this, the best option is very often, just a can of fly spray, which you can buy in the supermarket, before vacuuming up the dead bodies.

The chemical free option is to use sticky fly traps or quite simply open windows and flick the blow flies out a couple of times a day with a hand brush.

What ever you decide, we are always here to help you.

Simply call Bristol Pest Control: 0117 303 5181.

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Tree bumble bees in Bristol

June 26, 2015, 3:07 pm

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Bristol bumble Bee Control

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Wasps Nest In Shed

July 24, 2015, 11:16 pm

≫ Next: WHY DO RAT HOLES SUDDENLY APPEAR?

≪ Previous: Tree bumble bees in Bristol

Wasps Nest In Your Garden Shed?

Common Wasps Nesting in a Garden Shed

Why wasps nest in sheds

Wasps are common visitors to sheds in Bristol, especially later in the year when queen wasps are looking for somewhere to overwinter safely and conveniently.

The common wasp (pictured) and the german wasp are the most common species of wasps you're likely to find in your shed and unfortunately they also build the largest nests.

They like sheds because they are so easy to get into. Very few sheds are well built and if neglected, very quickly fall into a state of disrepair. More to the point your shed is usually left undisturbed for months at a time.

How dangerous are wasps nests in sheds?

Wasps nests in your shed start of quite discreetly because only the queen is building the nest. After about a month she will see her first brood of eight to sixteen daughter wasps hatch and begin helping her build the nest.

Most nests smaller than an apple can be quickly dispatched with a can of spray, but three months in and a wasp nest in July could contain over 3000 wasps!

The real danger presents itself when the nest is built close to a door like the one pictured.

As the nest grows the wasps will eventually build and attach the nest to the shed door, so when you open it, you could split the nest and they will swarm you!

Although most nests are attached to the the sheds ceiling, the wasps habit of building nests inside things is another reason wasps nesting in sheds can be so challenging to eliminate.

People often store old chests of drawers or boxes that are just perfect for wasps to nest in - offering yet another layer of protective insulation!

Nests within boxes etc make control even more dangerous and hazardous because they see you before you see them and this is a situation you are unlikely to conquer safely without professional help.

How long are the wasps active?

Most wasp nests in sheds begin in april or slightly later depending on the temperature. Because these nests are outdoors they are usually inactive by the beginning of November.

Wasps nesting in a house have a much easier start to life because they are warmer so usually start building their nests slightly earlier and these nests grow to be the very largest we see and remain active until late December.

By contrast, the nests found in garden sheds rarely exceed the size of a large football, but can be very difficult to locate without getting stung. This is why we always wear professional protective clothing.

How to get rid of wasps in your shed

If you would like to take advantage of our Bristol wasp control service then we would be delighted to help you. You can contact us by visiting our Bristol pest control website.

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WHY DO RAT HOLES SUDDENLY APPEAR?

February 10, 2016, 11:56 pm

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Why Do Rat Holes Suddenly Appear?

Simple reasons for rat burrows around your home.

We see this two or three times a month. The usual story is that:

"The hole (usually only one) suddenly appeared one day and at first we simply backfilled it, but it continued to re-appear and continued to get bigger. At first we thought it was a mouse, but now we think it is a rat. How much does it cost to put down poison and get rid of the problem?"

This is a licence to print money! So most customers think that the rats are the problem and that poison will solve it. Sadly the solution and reasons for your rat activity is often more costly and complex than you think.

Why Do These Rodent Holes Appear?

The main sewer has collapsed
The main soil pipe into the house has broken
The rest bend at the base of the soil stack has failed
The inspection chamber wall has been breached
The benching in the inspection chamber has been damaged
The drains have been badly installed
Your neighbour has rats and they have burrowed under your floor
Your neighbours rats have burrowed through your wall
and this list goes on and on!

Notice that the image above shows no excavation around the top of the hole, demonstrating that the rats have dug up from below. So where did the soil go? It gets displaced back into the drains where it is flushed through and away.

Should I Fill The Rat Hole?

The danger with filling holes like this, especially with loose cement or concrete is that you can easily block damaged pipes below and that means big repair bills that you will not be insured for!

What Can You Do?

The first step is to get the hole inspected. Check your buildings insurance for drain cover and monitor the hole to see if it gets larger or more holes appear around it. Filling the hole with tissue paper or leaves is a good way to test if things are actively going in and out without risking blocking a drain below.

How Can Our Bristol Rat Control Service Help You?

We regularly get called to customers who would like the issue inspected. We are equipped with drain CCTV cameras and can help you approach your insurance with accurate information regarding the problem. If you are not covered for repair through your insurance we can put you in touch with drain specialists with experience in rodent matters and finally we can help eliminate any rodents left behind, following remediation.

For more information, why not book an inspection? Call 0117 303 5181.

The Bristol Rat Company with WaspKill UK Pest Control in Bristol.

Written by pest specialist Simon Berenyi.

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Blazing A Trail In Pest Control

February 13, 2016, 4:40 am

≫ Next: How Long Can Bed Bugs Live?

≪ Previous: WHY DO RAT HOLES SUDDENLY APPEAR?

Blazing A Trail In Pest Control

Almost every pest control business has a website — but I challenge you to find one that gives you advice on how to solve pest problems (and I don't just mean sell products and tell you how to use them).

I started working in the pest control industry as WaspKill UK, almost ten years ago. Working for myself from day one meant I wasn’t subject to the hidden rules of the industry or the industry way of doing things.

I came from a medical and teaching background, meaning I handled pest problems differently to other people in my industry.

I always had a desire to solve pest problems and not just treat them. In essence I wanted to find the cure, the solve.

All too often I would come across a customer who had been through two or three pest control companies to solve a problem, and they were so distrusting of me after the negative experiences with others that it was upsetting. Even now the temptation to just walk away from some customers is very strong.

I wanted to go home at the end of the day and know I had done something well, that what I did mattered. I wanted to know I had made a difference and not just a sale. It truly hurt in my first few years of the business when I was unable to solve pest problems for people, at the level I wanted and that they were expecting!

Doing Things Better Than The Rest

As time progressed I searched for better ways of doing things, for quicker ways of solving things and I did indeed succeed.

Remember, treatments keep making money but can tarnish your reputation, damage the environment and our wildlife, whereas solutions deliver the real value for money, drive recommendations, and respect the wider environment.

"Solutions grow your business in a more sustainable way, delight your customers and nourish your reputation."

The world is crying out for a better way of managing pests, a better way of helping customers and I think I have discovered the answer.

Pest Control Described Medically

OK so it's hardly rocket science, but it all comes down to education. The trouble is that the traditional method of dealing with pests is outdated and confuses customers.

So let's look at rodent control in buildings as an example.The Traditional Rodent Control Model:

Bait, Stink, Flies, Repeat!

The New Rodent Control Model:

History, Signs, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Exclusion & Treatment, Cured!

When discussing a problem with a customer I quickly gain: a history (what's happened), assess the signs (what is seen), the symptoms (what you can't see), make a diagnosis (your conclusions), carry out remediation to exclude rodents, and eliminate any rodents trapped inside. The result = problem cured.

Most people understand this logic, and they find it easy to understand why they have the problem, along with the processes required to solve it.

Over the last decade I’ve lost count of the number of customers, particularly with rodent control problems, who feel let down by other pest control operators who offered a pest control service, but not a pest elimination service, and there is a very big difference.

So do consumers need better advice and if so where can they get it — who can they trust?

Do Pest Control Customers Always Need Professional Help?

If we can help customers better understand the “reasons” they have pests, we can advise them how to take immediate action to bring pests under control and we can then step in when required to ensure safe and rapid elimination.

With information still locked within the industry, consumers are fighting a losing battle in the war on pests. History has shown that innovation will evolve no matter what we try to do to stop it.

When The Internet Is Wrong

The advent of digital media means people can access huge amounts of information about pests, but far too often this is written by people with no professional connection or hands on experience of the pests they are discussing. This wastes time, money and hands the advantage back to the pests!

Discovering advice that solves is the holy grail for consumers and if we can be as much of a tutor as we are technicians and salespeople, then pest control will become safer, more effective and more humane as a result.

Consumers need solutions, but in most cases are so bombarded with information to the contrary, that solutions no longer make sense.Worse still, many consumers believe what they read online more than the pest professional they employ to help them and there is always a well meaning relative or friend who thinks they can do it cheaper or better!!!

As an example of the misinformation around: 80% of my customers have never made a connection between rats in their homes and a sewer fault, with around 50% who don’t believe me when I tell them it’s a drain related problem.

Only once we have CCTV imagery do customers finally start to make the connection and trust us. This contrasts against 80-90% of all rat problems inside buildings being related to faulty drains.

If drain related rat infestations are so common, why in 2016 do people still not realise this problem is so common? Misinformation, Misinformation, Misinformation.

The internet is a guide, your relatives and friends are a guide, a pest professional who only sells a treatment is a guide, a pest control professional who sells a treatment, advice and wants to solve your problem is the one person you really need.

Asking lots of questions when booking can help you discover those that know their stuff compared to those that are simply firing away at a well honed but shallow script.

Why Do We Still Rely On Pesticides?

The use of pesticides for the sake of it, for the benefit of profit, is completely unregulated (the law has no teeth — yet!) and harms the environment.

Knowledge is key to developing a better understanding of pest activity and good housekeeping can often solve a pest problem just as surely as pesticides and fake, useless, repellents and plug in devices will.

If we can teach people how to solve pest problems effectively then we will reduce pest problems and pesticide use by default, worldwide! Now that's a big claim, but I believe it's accurate and common sense, especially in relation to our homes.

Change is coming to the pest control industry, more and more people like myself are coming, and the industry and the wider world will never be the same again because we came this way.

Join the revolution, be the difference that makes the difference — your children might just thank you for it.

The Bristol Rat Company — Solutions in an industry full of treatments.

https://medium.com/@simonberenyi/whats-wrong-with-pest-control-47753f5dc66f#.sekct1rbn

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How Long Can Bed Bugs Live?

January 16, 2017, 8:18 am

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How Long Do Bed Bugs Live?

Bristol Bed Bug Control

The Bed Bugs Life Cycle

Bed bugs are not like other insects that you might be more familiar with. They do not have a larval stage or put more simply, they don't have larvae or pupae like butterflies, wasps and beetles.

Instead, bed bugs share more in common with cockroaches. Butterflies and moths go through FULL metamorphosis (egg, larvae, pupae and adult). Bed bugs, by contrast, go through a process called incomplete metamorphosis (egg, instar and adult).

The bed bug begins life as an egg before hatching as a miniature version of the adult. As the insects grow it is necessary to moult and get rid of the old outer shell. This allows a new skin to stretch over the bugs tiny body and accommodate its ongoing development until its final moult as an adult.

What Do Bed Bugs Need To Survive?

Bed bugs like all living creatures require a number of components necessary for life that if withdrawn will end in the effective destruction of the bed bugs.

Water, food, the right temperature, concealment, protection from predators, pesticides and dehydration to name but a few. If you begin removing these components you will quickly defeat the bed bug problem, even in the absence of pesticides.

What Do Bed Bugs Feed On?

Bed bugs feed on mammalian blood and this does not alter. A blood meal and a mate are all they need and want.

How Long Can Bedbugs Live?

In laboratories, bed bugs can live for up to three years, but in residential environments it's hard to quantify, but saying they live for 18months would not be far from accurate in most cases.

How Long Can Bed Bugs Live Between Meals?

The Books and accounts of bedbug infestations seem to universally agree that twelve months is a reasonable and common life-span for bed bugs.

This is important to focus on because it can help you begin to assess how long you have had the bed bugs or even reveal that the property had bedbugs before you moved in?

Customers who inherit bedbug problems can often be blamed for an issue that developed years before they moved in.

How Long Does A Bed Bug Infestation Take To Develop

Bed bug infestations take three to six months to develop, depending on how infested the source was when it entered the property. Occasionally the bed bugs can move from one flat to another or even through the walls of terraced properties and semi-detached homes.

If you would like more advice on bed bug problems, why not take a look at the main site for more detail and book an intensive inspection to evaluate the scale of your bed bug problem.

Bristol Pest Control - Bristol Bed Bug Control Services with WaspKill UK.

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Masonry Bees

April 18, 2014, 2:44 am

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≪ Previous: How Long Can Bed Bugs Live?

Masonry Bees - Not Wasps

Masonry Bees - Are They Dangerous?

Masonry Bees Are Often Confused With Wasps

Masonry Bees are reportedly responsible for many stings in Bristol and Bath each year, and we hear from our customers how these bees have stung them.

Yes, it is true that stings from solitary bees are rare, but they do happen.

Casualties stung, reported that the stings were not left embedded in the skin like those of Honey Bees or that severe reactions to those bee stings had occurred.

It's because they sometimes nest close to the ground, in air-bricks and door frames that make them such a concern to property owners and parents of young children.

What Damage Do Masonry Bees Cause?

Masonry bees enter our homes through air-bricks, window vents, window frames, extractor vents, poor rendering and crumbling mortar between bricks and stone. You will also see them buzzing into the gaps between tiles.

Masonry Bees in Window Frames

Masonry Bees are Common in Wall Vents

Masonry Bees Thrive Between Tiles on Warm Roofs

Once embedded in a property they can create strong tunnel systems or galleries in the fabric of the building, into which they lay eggs and prepare the next generation of bees.

These holes can then reduce the weather resistance of your home, leading to further weaknesses in the fabric of the building and more nesting opportunities for the bees next year.

How Are Masonry Bees Controlled?

For the most part, they can be controlled without pesticides, by filling and repairing any damage in late summer. The other method is pesticides that are injected into the brood chambers and entrances. This provides a very swift level of control.

Do Masonry Bees Need Controlling?

If you have sting allergies, large populations damaging your building or have a fear of bees, then control is likely to be the only option available to you.

If the Masonry bees are in an outbuilding or in a place where they are not bothering you, then you could just as easily leave them to get on with things. The choice is yours.

Get more pest control help and advice.

By Simon Berenyi at Bristol Pest Control -WaspKill UK

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Bristol Pest Control - Bristol's Best Pest Control Company

May 16, 2018, 4:21 am

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Pest Control in Bristol with WaspKill UK

Helping you become pest free today

Welcome to our Bristol pest control blog where we have the opportunity to share with your many of the interesting things we see and do each day.

We hope you enjoy the blog and appreciate your feedback on anything that you like or would enjoy reading more about.

We started WaspKill UK Pest Control in 2007 and we also run The Bristol Rat Company.

Please feel free to share your stories of pest control matters with us as we might share them here on our blog.

Once again, many thanks for taking the time to visit - we look forward to helping solve your pest problems today.

Call: 0117 303 5181.

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Article 0

May 28, 2018, 2:00 pm

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Rodents & Cumulative Damage

The Real Cost of Rats and Mice

Ignoring the damage inflicted by rats and mice on and within your home or business leads to significant costs and risks over time.

Quantifying how severe the outcomes could be is difficult, but proactive interventions and inspections are always preferable to sudden loss of power, electrocution and more.

Consider for a moment that a mouse or rat wants to enter your property to nest or develop a colony.

Imagine one rodent gnawing persistently on electrical, fibre optic, and alarm cables. Imagine plastic water pipes in loft conversions, attics, kitchens and underfloor heating systems. Imagine the lethal consequences of this kind of damage or the economic implications of a catastrophic failure in these services within your building.

You cannot pretend like so many others do, that this damage will somehow evade you without a proactive survey from a professional pest controller.

Where Do Rats Get Into Properties?

Most rats enter property via drain faults, but faults in the structure of the building are also common. Any animal can enter a property if given the opportunity and time.

Sometimes the appearance of burrows or rat holes appearing around a property reveal drains to be the problem.

The image above shows how builders had neglected to seal an old rear-inlet gulley in a kitchen floor. We used sophisticated cameras to trace the entry point to within inches, before cutting through the concrete to reveal and seal the problem forever!

Exclusion is always the most effective form of control and the most humane.

What Damage Will Rats Cause?

Rats come into properties for different reasons. Some enter to nest, while others use your home as a toilet! Rats can deposit kilos of faeces and litres of urine over just a few months. We once removed 25Kg of rat faeces from the shallow floor void beneath a kitchen!

The worst scenario is where rats are breeding within your property. The young rats can travel through a building, similar to mice, which they are commonly mistaken for.

Rats constant need to gnaw or chew on everything in sight they like the texture of is legendary. Rats chew through cables, plastic pipes, security alarm cables, fire alarm cables, lighting cables, ring-main cables, solar panel and heating cables, shower and bath traps, washing machine and dishwasher hoses, etc.

Water from bath traps can fill a ceiling void and cause the ceiling below to burst open on those beneath it. This is not hypervally, this happens all the time!

The list of problems and damage caused by persistent infestations of rats in properties of all kinds goes on and on and on!

But it's not just damage to your property; it's also damage to you and your loved ones. Rats cause the deaths of humans every year by carrying and spreading disease. Although extremely rare in the UK, rodents are attributed to lethal infections.

Fire is the final and most frightening of all the damage caused. Between 10% and 40% of all house fires with no apparent cause are attributed to rodents including rats and grey squirrels.

Most people will not be insured, so it's vital that infestations are eliminated as quickly as possible.

Where Do Mice Enter Properties?

Most mouse control problems come from mice entering a given house or building via holes in its external structure, and not drains.

Gaps under doors and holes in masonry are probably the most common and cheap to fix. The next image shows a hole in a wall which initially contained a heating pipe.

The hole bridged the wall cavity. Mice and rats entering wall voids and cavities will climb to access holes into our food rich kitchens and occupied areas.

So we used a single rodent as an example, but imagine a dozen rodents doing damage daily?

What Damage Do Mice Cause?

Like rats, mice can deposit large amounts of urine and faecal matter. Unlike rats, mice are incontinent. What this means, is mice urinate and defecate as they wander around your property foraging for food.

Mice get onto food preparation surfaces, and into toasters, bread bins, cereal packets, storage containers, and waste bins. The mice deposit pathogens in their urine and faeces as they go, and guess who can end up eating these deposits?

Over time mice also gnaw through the smaller cables in our homes. Alarm and doorbell cables are favourites along with waste pipes from washing machines, dishwashers and many other small appliances.

How To Get Rid Of Rats And Mice

So now you know a little bit about the kind of damage that rats and mice can cause and it is sobering food for thought that makes professional rodent control a very real investment.

Don't wait for rodent damage to destroy your home, because the solutions to these problems are far cheaper than the consequences of ignoring a rodent problem.

One final piece of advice. Always look to solve the entry point and not just the rodents.

Where bait needs to be used, try and leave it a week after bait is first taken before sealing up any holes in the structure of the building or remediating drains. Rodents trapped within a property are a terrible, stinky curse! We have another post on the subject of "where poisoned rodents go" that might be useful to you.

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The UK's Super Bumble Bee?

May 12, 2014, 12:28 pm

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≪ Previous: Article 0

The European Tree Bumble Bee (Bombus Hypnorum)

Dangerous Bumble Bees? No Kidding, They Deserve Your Respect.

A Queen Tree Bumble Bee

Over the last few years, we have started to see the emergence of a new national pest, and it might surprise you to discover it's a Bumble Bee called The European Tree Bumble Bee - Bombus hypnorum.

These bees have managed to acquire a rather unique territory generally the hang out of savvy grey squirrels - our lofts and attics.

What we have discovered with tree bumblebees is a rather smart behaviour not seen in any other species we encounter. They like underfloor heating and loft insulation.

As the name suggests, these bees are typically found high up in the hollows of trees, but in the city, our homes are even more accommodating.

Once the disc-shaped nest has been established by the queen directly on top of the ceiling, and under the loft insulation, they create a dome of processed insulation that resembles cotton wool.

To make the loose insulation roof more stable, they cover it in a brown sticky substance that dries to create a relatively rigid roof under which the growing nest can continue to grow very covertly over the coming months.

Bumble Bees Nesting In A Disused Wasp Nest

Over some years we have noticed these bee colonies begin to bud. This means multiple colonies can inhabit the same loft space.

Because tree bumblebees like to nest directly on a ceiling, the nest remains warm throughout the year and allows tree bumblebees to get a head start on the competition in the early, cold days of spring.

Tree bumblebees will re-use a nest year on year, and one nest disk we encountered was 18 inches across. A staggering size, and a population of over a thousand bees.

What then, does this mean for us? Well, it's straightforward.

These bees are becoming a severe stinging pest. They are far more aggressive than any other bumble bee species we know of in the UK.

They have very large colonies, capable of swarming perceived threats, and we had a builder today who was attacked whilst up on scaffolding. He was stung on the head!

Fortunately, we have not seen or heard of any severe reactions to the sting of these bees, and it would appear, that in common with other British bumble bees, the sting is not barbed. This does, however, mean they can sting multiple times, just like a wasp can.

Also alarming is the bees always seem to go for the face. Wasps seem happy to target any part of the body, but tree bumble bees seem to go straight for the face and eyes.

So what's the answer? Well if you can avoid killing them - all well and good.

If you need to treat them, then height issues immediately arise, and they are terrible little insects to eliminate.

Because they are under insulation treating them internally, means uncapping hundreds of bees in a confined space. This is very precarious.

Moving the bees is also very difficult to do safely in a dark, unboarded and cluttered loft space.

We are still learning about these bees, so it falls on us to take the responsibility of not just treating these bees, but making every effort to study them.

We are building a portfolio of information on these bees, not found anywhere else. Once we have more information, we hope to share it with you.

If you are in Bristol or Bath and need help with European Tree Bumble Bees (Bombus hypnorum), you can book our Bristol Bumble Bee Control services on 07427 626686.

By Pest Expert - Simon Berenyi.

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5 Easy Steps To A Rat Free Attic

November 28, 2018, 11:29 pm

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A Rat Free Attic In Five Easy Steps

Before You Do Anything - Find The Entry Point!

If you definitely have rats in your loft or attic then sleeping, relaxing or even staying in your home knowing rats are just feet away will be almost impossible to bare.

Fortunately, rats always have an entry point and we know they don't have parachutes! A professional pest control survey should always be seen as an important first step, but the following list should get you thinking and looking in the right places from the very start.

Rats access attics through five common corridors.

Step 1 - Identify Faulty Drains

get a stainless steel non-return valve fitted. Why? Because it's often cheaper than expensive drain inspections or repairs and gives you time to plan for those and research if your buildings insurance will cover those costs.

Local water authorities will sometimes check drains for free and tell you if they have faulty or redundant drains running beside or under the building.

Step 2 - Identify Faulty Air Vents

vents of every kind become broken for a variety of reasons and should be sealed appropriately to ensure ground level admittance is prevented. You should also check for rat burrows around your property.

Step 3 - Get Honest Answers From Neighbours

This is the real nightmare scenario because those of you in flats, terraces or semi-detached properties will sometimes need third parties to be on board with this process.

Most people don't talk to one another meaning 80% of residents move home in cases where the entry point of the rats (usually drains) resides in the neighbour's house.

Step 4 - Cut Back Climbing plants and overhanging trees, etc.

Climbing is something that rats do well and climbing plants like Wisteria, Virginia Creeper and Ivy are often allowed to grow up and over the gutter line of roofs.

Cutting these plants eighteen inches from the gutter will prevent rats using this entry point.

Step 5 - Secure Open Doors and Windows

This one sounds nuts, but obvious! Cat flaps, cats, dog flaps, gaps under door and window frames (very common) are all examples of why rats might have come into your home, but this list goes on and on!

Once inside a building rats will travel through the buildings cavities.

These include cavities in walls, ceilings, sub-floors, basements and cellars, attics, crawl spaces, lofts, redundant pipes, ventilation and air conditioning ducts, and culverts.

It's very disappointing to learn that so many professional inspections will never consider these in a survey.

Discovering how rats get into a property means you can solve your rat problems forever, but only where you have the access, budget and permissions to do so.

One final bit of advice - this might save you from a stinky dead rat in your home.

We always bait for at least seven days before installing proofing measures.

We do this because we want rats to leave the property while they are under the influence of an anti-coagulant bait and reduce the likelihood of repairs and proofing, trapping them inside your property.

Trapped rats that manage to eat will die, stink and cause a temporary fly infestation.

We hope this advice has been useful and armed you with some information that will ultimately leave you rat free and able to enjoy your home once again.

Simon Berenyi - Bristol Pest Control

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Why Your Rat Control Isn't Working

November 30, 2018, 1:21 am

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≪ Previous: 5 Easy Steps To A Rat Free Attic

Rats Entering A House Through A Drain Fault In Bristol

Top Rat Control Tip - Find The Entry Point And Your Rat problem Is Solved Forever.

A rare glimpse showing rats entering a property in Bristol.

Have you ever wondered where rats were getting into your property?

Have you ever wondered what might just beneath your feet?

This short clip from video footage captured in drain running under a residential building in Bristol shows a drain fault that was the direct cause of a major infestation.

10 More Ways Rats Get Into Your Home.

Broken Air Vents In Walls
Climbing Plants
Overhanging Trees
Open Doors and Windows
Gaps Around Pipes
Redundant Holes Where Pipes Used To Be
Shallow Utility Bridges
Faulty Drain Inspection Covers and Frames
Rotten Timber Doors, Windows and Frames
Outdoor Toilets That Have Dried Out

Learn more at The Bristol Rat Company

↧

Top 10 Places Fleas Come From

February 28, 2014, 1:10 am

≫ Next: Top 50 Pest Related Phobias

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Top 10 Places To Look For Fleas

The Ten Most Common Causes of Fleas

Your Pets
Your Friends Pets
The Previous Owner/Tenants Pets
Your Neighbors Pets
Your Colleagues Pets
Your Family
Your Workplace
Your Garden
Your Shopping
Your Car/Caravan

1. Your Pets

Cat Fleas Are The Most Common Flea Species

Unsurprisingly our pets are easily the most common source of fleas in our lives, period.

Our cats, dogs, rabbits, horses, and other warm-blooded animals are a natural food resource to fleas and other parasites found widely in the environment.

Making fleas an unavoidable fact of life that everyone will eventually come into contact with.

You might not even be aware of fleas because not everyone reacts to the bites.

For those that do react, life can be miserable, but there is hope, but it's never cheap and always time-consuming to do correctly.

Most of the flea control products you can buy over the counter to treat fleas are festooned with promises that for the most part are complete trash.

Many products are not even insecticides, they are a concoction of chemicals that claim to act as repellents, and we spend millions on them each year with little or no measurable results.

Even the products we buy over the counter for our pets are often first generation products that many flea populations have developed high levels of resistance to.

This means if you are serious about achieving lasting flea control, you must go to your vet and get the very latest products. They are safer but do cost more.

This cost is only marginally more than over the counter products, and the payoff for the little extra investment is often well worth it.

2. Your Friends Pets

Every year we help people at the mercy of flea infestations, often the result of being a good friend!

When a friend or relative goes on holiday or suffers a life-changing medical event, they are often forced to leave their home for some time. That's when those around them kindly step in to take care of things that include pets like cats and dogs.

What gets forgotten in the heat of the moment, are some common sense checks.

Most people and I do mean MOST people, buy flea control products over the counter or don't bother at all. This is why taking in a pet for someone can mean taking in its fleas as well.

These fleas will not typically be noticed for at least three weeks after the pet comes to stay.

This means a significant number of fleas in all stages of the fleas life cycle will now be embedded in your carpets and furniture etc.

What's worse is that it can take up to a year without the pet to get completely flea free. It is a curse! A financial curse that the pet's owner will be unlikely to reimburse you for.

3. Rented and New Property

If you're planning to move into a property, it's always worth considering if the people living there have pets and if so, has a vet treated them for fleas.

If you have a pet of your own, then things won't be as bad, because any fleas will be drawn to your treated pets, and once they try and feed, they will die.

If however, you have no pets then the only food source for the fleas is you, and humans don't have systemic flea treatments.

You can try insect repellents, but even these will begin to take their toll on your skin with daily use.

Any property you move into needs to be treated at the outgoing tenant/owners cost.

You may find that you are fine for the first couple of weeks until the first wave of fleas mature and hatch.

4. Your Neighbors Pets

It's more common than you might think for cats and dogs to enter properties through open doors, windows and cat flaps. Feral cats are a particularly common reservoir of fleas.

Always be wary of allowing animals of any kind free access into your home. It might cost you more than money because biting fleas can cost you your health and drive you nuts.

5. Your Colleagues Pets

Going to work and finding a coworker has brought the dog to work with them is not unheard of and in some therapeutic environments, it's a practice that's positively encouraged.

Even visiting relatives and customers can bring pets with them, but be warned, when they leave other creatures might not.

In most circumstances, the animal will only be on the property for a few minutes, and this is no real risk.

If the animal is in the property on a regular basis and for an extended period, then it "will" leave behind fleas.

Properly treated pets are far less of a problem, but it should not be unreasonable for you to request that they show you evidence that they've paid for flea treatments to be carried out by a vet in the last thirty days.

If the animal hasn't been treated, then it should be excluded for at least 3 weeks after treatment, to allow any fleas to be controlled in its home environment first.

6. Your Family

6. Your Family

Visiting relatives very often bring along dogs and other pets.

These pets are part of the household and are never thought of as a potential flea problem.

Sometimes we will ride in a relatives car where a dog has been present, and this is the source. You need to think of every environment you have been in.

7. Your Work Place

Many workplaces are subject to flea problems. Many working in construction or in the renovation and cleaning industries will have encountered fleas first hand when working in customers homes.

We sometimes go into severe flea infestations, and even with all the protective equipment and repellents, we are left picking the fleas off our legs at the end of the treatment. Nasty!

8. The Garden

This often surprises people, but it's not as ridiculous as it seems. Some years back we had a family come to us for help with a flea problem which appears to stem from the garden.

We completed a thorough investigation, and discovered that foxes and badgers had been resting in the children's playhouse at night and foxes were seen there during the day.

The fleas were large - They were human fleas and caused a terrible reaction on the children's skin. We solved that flea problem and the playhouse was re-sited.

9. Shopping?

Yes, that's right, when buying second hand, rugs, clothes, sofas and animal baskets, you can unwittingly bring in fleas.

Second-hand furniture, especially sofas and chairs carry other parasites like bed bugs as well so be diligent and ensure you look at these items very carefully.

Steam treatment can prove highly useful in situations like this.

10. Cars and Caravans

We get called out each year to fumigate cars, caravans - mobile and static, that are infested with fleas.

It's most common early in the year when their interiors are not heated up to extremes. Cars and caravans can self-sterilise in the heat of summer when their interiors will rise above 60C.

When buying second-hand caravans and cars, it's worth spending a little time with them first. Any suspected of having animals in them should be considered potentially suspect, and you must be prepared for the costs.

Caravans are commonly used by builders and other contractors working on site away from home.

They are used by multiple different people, and this also creates the potential for bed bug infestation. One customer bought a caravan online for a few hundred pounds and was bitten an estimated 300 times in the first night.

The treatment to eliminate the parasites feeding on him was going to cost more than he paid for the caravan!

In short, you need to think outside the box.

Look at the ridiculous as respectfully as the obvious and be prepared to pay the price of having it fleas treated effectively.

Cheap doesn't work with fleas. Invest in getting it right, and you will reap the peace of mind and comfort of being bite free for good.

Good Luck!

Simon Berenyi at WaspKill UK Pest Control in Bristol

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Top 50 Pest Related Phobias

March 2, 2014, 11:23 am

≫ Next: Masonry Bees

≪ Previous: Top 10 Places Fleas Come From

Top 50 Pest Related Phobias

When it comes to our fears of pests, it's surprising to discover just how many phobias are related to pest control.

Phobias Related To Pest Control - Real or Imagined?

Listed are a little over 50 pest related phobias.

Do You Have Any?

Animals - Zoophobia

Arachnophobia- Spiders

Ants- Myrmecophobia

Bacteria- Bacteriophobia

Bats- Chiroptophobia

Bees- Apiphobia or Melissophobia

Birds- Ornithophobia

Butterfliesand Moths- Mottephobia

Cats- Aclurophobia, Ailurophobia, Elurophobia, Felinophobia

Creepy, crawly things - Herpetophobia

Dampness, moisture or liquids- Hydrophobia

Death or dying - Thanatophobia

Death or dead things- Necrophobia

Decaying matter - Seplophobia

Dirt, contamination or infection - Molysmophobia or Molysomophobia

Dirt or filth - Rhypophobia or Rupophobia

Dirty, being dirty or personal filth - Automysophobia

Disease - Nosophobia or Pathophobia

Disease andsuffering - Panthophobia

Dogsor rabies - Cynophobia

Dust - Amathophobia or Koniophobia

Feathers or being tickled by feathers - Pteronophobia

Faecal matter, faeces - Coprophobia or Scatophobia

Filth or dirt- Rhypophobia

Fire- Arsonphobia or Pyrophobia

Hoarding- Disposophobia

Infection, contamination or dirt - Molysmophobia or Molysomophobia

Insects- Acarophobia or Entomophobia or Insectophobia

Insects that eat wood - Isopterophobia

Insects that cause itching - Acarophobia

Lice - Pediculophobia or Phthiriophobia

Mushrooms - Mycophobia

Odour, that one has a vile odour - Autodysomophobia

Poison - Iophobia

Poisoned, being - Toxiphobia, Toxophobia, or Toxicophobia

Rabies - Cynophobia, Hydrophobophobia, Hydrophobia, Kynophobia, or Lyssophobia

Rat, great mole - Zemmiphobia

Reptiles- Herpetophobia

Small things - Microphobia, Mycrophobia

Smells and odours - Olfactophobia

Snakes- Ophidiophobia or Snakephobia

Stings- Cnidophobia

Tapeworms- Taeniophobia

Termites- Isopterophobia

Vomiting- Emetophobia

Wasps- Spheksophobia

Wild animals - Agrizoophobia

Worms- Scoleciphobia and Vermiphobia

Worms, being infested with- Helminthophobia

If you know of any others pertinent to Pest Control, please share them with us in the comments.

WaspKill UK Pest Control in Bristol with Simon Berenyi

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Masonry Bees

April 18, 2014, 2:44 am

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Masonry Bees - Not Wasps

Masonry Bees - Are They Dangerous?

Masonry Bees Are Often Confused With Wasps

What Damage Do Masonry Bees Cause?

Masonry Bees in Window Frames

Masonry Bees are Common in Wall Vents

Masonry Bees Thrive Between Tiles on Warm Roofs

Once embedded in a property they can create robust tunnel systems or galleries in the fabric of the building, into which they lay eggs and prepare the next generation of bees.

These holes can then reduce the weather resistance of your home, leading to further weaknesses in the fabric of the building and more nesting opportunities for the bees next year.

How Are Masonry Bees Controlled?

Do Masonry Bees Need Controlling?

If you have sting allergies, large populations damaging your building or have a fear of bees, then control is likely to be the only option available to you.

If the Masonry bees are in an outbuilding or in a place where they are not bothering you, then you could just as quickly leave them to get on with things. The choice is yours.

Get more pest control help and advice.

By Simon Berenyi at Bristol Pest Control -WaspKill UK

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Bristol Wasp Control £49 - Guaranteed Control Today

July 16, 2019, 6:38 am

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£49.00 Wasp Control in Bristol

Get rid of wasps nests in Bristol Fast.

Wasp control is all about understanding how to safely eliminate wasps as quickly and safely as possible and our years of experience make us the perfect local company to help you.

Available Weekdays and Weekends

Call: 07427626686 or visit https://pestbristol.co.uk/

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