Taking care of unwelcome guests

Pest control is never a pleasant subject, but as a landlord or property management company it’s something that can’t be swept under the carpet. If a property shows signs of unwelcome guests it’s always better that they are dealt with sooner rather than later.

In a previous pest control blog we covered wasps, ants, bedbugs, fleas and woodworm. In this blog we share how to spot two common pests and the action you need to take to prevent them becoming a problem.

Rats
If a property has a rat infestation it needs to be dealt with immediately as rats can carry many unpleasant and harmful diseases. In addition to this rats can also inflict a great amount of structural damage. For example, by gnawing through electrical cables and pipes they have been known to cause electrical fires, flooding and even gas leaks.

With the ability to make their home in almost any environment that provides food, water and shelter rats can make their way into roof spaces, wall cavities or under floorboards. As rats are nocturnal it’s often easier to spot signs of a rat infestation before seeing an actual rat. To help identify a rat infestation here are some of the signs to look out for:

• Scratching noises
• Rat nests made from shredded available materials such as insulation or cardboard
• Footprints left in dustier less used areas
• Rat droppings, dark brown and shaped like a grain of rice
• Smudges on surfaces left by grease or dirt on the body of a rat

There are a number of actions that can help prevent rat infestations. These include reducing potential hiding places by clearing clutter (both inside and outside), ensuring that any holes in exterior walls or roof cavities are filled and keeping any household waste covered.

Rats are highly adaptable and breed rapidly, making rat control a difficult task. Although there are some quick-fix solutions to getting rid of rats such as rat traps and poison it’s a much better idea to have a pest control professional deal with the issue once and for all (get in touch to get a quote for our pest control services).

Spiders
Unlike rodents most spiders found in UK properties are not considered hazardous to health. However, tenants (especially those with arachnophobia) may not look favourably upon properties with a spider infestation. Spider webs are an obvious sign that a property has spiders, and new webs appearing frequently can suggest that there are more spiders than average.

If you provide properties for relocation clients, or as holiday lets having properties cleaned regularly can often resolve small scale spider problems. However, if tenants find that a property has an excessive number of spiders there are insecticides or professional pest control services available.

Need help getting rid of unwanted guests?
Here at GMC we have a range of pest control services, not only for rodents and spiders but for a number of other pests too (read more about these here). If you’d like a quote for our pest control services please get in touch with a member of our team on 01903 721020.