Pest Control – Hygeia

Hygeia’s Pest Control services include solutions for dealing with all kinds of bugs and pests. We take care of Ants, Cockroaches, Bed Bugs, Fleas, House Flies, Mosquitoes, Rats and Termites.

Ants

Black ants generally are of nuisance value to many residents and if not treated correctly can cause damage to ones paving, whereby they tunnel under the brickwork and deposit heaps of soil thus causing the paving to collapse.

As well as being a nuisance value, in certain circumstances in their vast numbers and nesting habits can destroy plants and grass growth. Black ants infest houses, buildings and any structure that has a potential food and water source, and are very common in kitchens and bathrooms. They pose no threat to the structure of one’s home, but due to their nesting habits they can be quite destructive in ones paving, where they will nest and cause paving to be uneven or collapse in severe cases.

Pharaoh’s ants further pose a threat to one’s health as they can harbour various pathogens due to the habitats they inhabit.

Cockroaches

Cockroaches are considered to be one of the worst household pests because they contaminate food with their excrement, produce allergens and secrete an unpleasant odour which can permeate the indoor environment. Many people develop allergies to cockroaches. Allergens present in roach feces can become airborne along with normal house dust. The allergens can then be inhaled from the air or ingested when in contact with food.

Cockroaches prefer moist, warm, dark places typical of many homes. Cockroaches will eat almost anything they find, including pet food, crumbs, spoiled food, paints, wallpaper pastes, and book bindings. They can carry germs from the sink or bathroom onto dishes and other food surfaces, thus spreading bacteria that cause food poisoning.

Bed Bugs

Whether they’re in your home or hotel, bed bugs are an unwanted (and terrifying) guest. All ‘beds’ are at risk, but especially beds in hotels with a large number of international travellers, or your bed at home if you’re a frequent traveller yourself. Bed bugs could travel with you once you have left an infested establishment.

Fleas

Fleas are a common problem in homes, especially those with pets. You may discover a problem with fleas even if you do not have pets, if previous owners of your property kept cats or dogs. Fleas may also be carried on other, especially hairy, animals like rabbits, foxes, rats, mice and livestock such as pigs. As parasites, the greatest concern about the presence of fleas in your home or business comes from their bites. Although flea bites are not painful, they can result in an uncomfortable itch or rash. Your pets could also develop allergies to flea saliva.

House Flies

House Flies are one of the most common pests worldwide. In South Africa, in particular, we see the House Fly making it’s appearance especially during the hot summer months. They do however make their appearance wherever suitable breeding conditions exist i.e. in moist organic matter.

Large groups of flies tend to only develop in particular environments such as refuse or waste collection areas and areas where animals are housed in groups or close together and where the animal waste is not disposed of regularly. As these groups of flies keep growing around these areas, they tend to spread to surrounding areas. The House Fly is associated with carrying cholera and typhoid. They are also known carriers of enteritis and parasitic worms.

Mosquitoes

They can develop from eggs to adults in just six to ten days. They are found close to still-standing water, where their larvae feed and develop. They seem to be attracted to bright colours. Mosquitoes will normally bite you at dawn or dusk, or if you’re unlucky, both. That’s when their internal clocks tell them that it is feeding time.

Rats

Rats can be very persistent and if they manage to gain access into your home or business they can spread these diseases, cause considerable damage and contaminate food. Rats can damage your home’s insulation. They can chew through floor joists and walls. They can cause fires by chewing on electrical cables.

Rats can undermine hill sides, retaining walls and other similar structures through their burrowing activity. Even having rats in the yard and outside can present a tremendous risk, particularly since those areas are visited by children and pets.

Termites

Termites occur beneath the surface of the ground. They are social insects and have a strict caste system, consisting of the workers, soldiers, winged termites (re-productive Alates), a queen and a King. They are white in colour, soft bodied and possess hard shelled jaws which allow them to chew through their natural diet of wood and related food sources.

One very common sign are flying ants which are normally visible with the first summer rains- these are in fact the alates which form new colonies. Subterranean termites infest houses, buildings and any structure that has a concrete or wooden subfloor, where they enter from beneath the foundations and make their way up through any structural crack, cable conduit, plug points as well as the cavity existing within weight bearing walls of structures, and if left without being attended to they can move into ones roof and start a new sub nest in the roof which can lead to an enormous repair for the owner when the rafters are damaged.