Bed Bug Control
Throughout the UK, the scale of bed bug infestations has become a severe problem (particularly in densely populated cities and towns, or may peak for tourism and travel). Bed bug infestation is extremely cryptic due to their ability to stow themselves away on several objects, mainly being bedding furniture, luggage holdalls, and even clothing.
Although they are not known for spreading disease, they are capable of contaminating anything they occupy, and the interchangeable blood consumption of hosts can be considered unsanitary. Besides residential premises, hotels, hostels, bedsits, and hospitality establishments can become rapidly overrun by an infestation, which is why professionals should be contacted to carry out effective bed bug treatments.
Personal Preventative Measures
The prevention of a bed bug infestation is near impossible, given their cryptic behaviour. This means that by the time an infestation is discovered, it could be well past the early stages. Several preventative measures can prevent or reduce their activity, such as:
- While abroad, searching through your personal belongings and luggage to look for signs/sightings of bed bugs enables you to prevent an infestation after returning home.
- Upon returning from a vacation, it is recommended that a hot wash or steam cleaning your clothing at 60˚C – 90˚C (read clothing label instructions if in doubt). It is also advised to carry out a thorough inspection of suitcases/luggage holdalls upon return, and if suspicion is aroused, have a professional carry out a further investigation.
- If you have guests coming to stay at your premises, consider hoovering before, during, and after their visit, and checking the contents of the containment section to make sure your premises is free of an infestation.
- Placing a form of sticky surfaced paper (facing-up) on the floor around bedding and furniture, or using sellotape on suspected areas of the bed frame may help to confirm or reduce an existing infestation.
Lastly, the best course of action to take would be to contact Steel Guard Pest Control for a survey and bed bug removal programme.
Flea Control
Flea infestations are a common occurrence throughout urban and rural environments, and will always remain a severe problem due to their native grassland areas.
Fleas can transfer quickly between hosts and objects due to their ability to jump between 18 and 33 centimetres. Owning a pet is the highest possibility of fleas being brought into the premises due to the animal walking through grassland areas or interacting with other infested pets. However, a lower chance of being brought in by an unsuspecting guest also exists.
Fleas can be extremely cryptic, only making themselves visible during feeding time. Concerning feeding, fleas are considered dangerous, as they are capable of transmitting disease if they were to feed on animals from an unsanitary environment. A property that is occupied by humans or animals can rapidly become overrun by an infestation as a constant food source would assist reproduction which is why professionals like ourselves should be contacted as soon as signs or even suspicion becomes apparent.
Personal Preventative Measures
Flea infestation removal may seem near impossible given their minuscule size and ability to latch on to unsuspecting hosts, meaning the realisation of an outbreak could be after the early stages.
Despite this, some preventative measures can be carried out to prevent or reduce their activity or get rid of them before or during a flea treatment. These measures include:
- These following are said to be effective home remedies against flea infestation:
- Sprinkling salt in your home on all fabricated and floor surfaces to control a flea infestation, as it supposedly acts as an abrasive drying agent that draws moisture from flea’s exoskeleton.
- Making a flea spray form lemons can be another way to get rid of fleas, as lemons contain a citrus extract called D-limonene that both repels and kills them.
- The use of certain plants internally and externally around your home is said to act as a deterrent due to fleas disliking particular oils, compounds, and chemicals these plants release. To an extent, this may hold some truth, as the chrysanthemum flowers give off a natural chemical used in insecticides. Similarly, lavender, mint, and rosemary are all said to be deterrents).
- Regularly check and clean both yours and the pets bedding due to the presence of eggs, faeces, or fleas themselves.
- Have your pet treated for fleas regularly by a vet upon suspicion. If in doubt, comb through your pet’s fur, wiping/tapping the contents onto a piece of wet kitchen towel and awaiting any black dots to turn red, indicating that the dots are flea faeces.
- Regularly vacuum fabricated surfaces, as this may reduce the number of fleas and eggs that could be residing within the surfaces.
Cockroach Control
There are two types of cockroaches commonly found infesting a premises in the UK, namely the Oriental Cockroach (Blatta Orientalis) and the German Cockroach (Blattella Germanica). Both are loathed due to their association with thriving in unsanitary environments and can cause serious problems, particularly in the food and health sectors where hygiene is a high priority.
They are known to be carriers of several serious diseases, such as salmonella, typhoid, and dysentery. The most common infested area within a premises is usually the kitchen as it offers a multitude of resources such as water, food, warmth, and shelter).
They are incredibly cryptic insects and manage to utilise gaps and crevices throughout a premises that occupants are not aware of. While cockroaches do not physically harm humans, a premises can rapidly become overrun by an infestation causing contamination and spread of disease.
Personal Preventative Measures
Permanently removing cockroaches from your home is not as difficult as you may think. However, it would depend on taking self-preventative measures, whether the outbreak has become uncontrollable and whether sanitary standards are upheld. Due to their size and ability to reside in crevices, they may only be seen if they are seeking food or if an infestation is out of control.
Some of the self-preventative measures property owners can take to reduce the risk of a cockroach infestation include:
- Ensure hygiene is upheld in your premises, particularly within a kitchen environment, regularly cleaning all surfaces.
- Ensure the complete restriction of food and water sources, keeping all foods sealed in containers and keeping tap valves closed while checking pipes for leaks.
- Ensure cracks, crevices, and holes are blocked up around piping, tiles, and floor corners, as these may be used for ingress or residing.
- Regularly check behind appliances or areas of warmth for physical sightings.
- When discarding food waste, place it in a stand-alone kitchen bin with a secure lid and avoid leaving bin bags unsecured, as this may induce activity. Additionally, take care to remove bags containing waste immediately once full.
Our Bed Bug, Flea & Cockroach Control Services
Steel Guard Pest Control are experts in property inspection, bed bug control, pesticide treatments, prevention methods and techniques while providing knowledgeable advice with recommendations to prevent a recurring infestation. No matter the scale of your infestation, we will provide you with a bespoke extermination service that will deal with any outbreak as swiftly and effectively as possible.