Though most of us are used to seeing an odd spider here and there, it’s certainly an unpleasant surprise to discover that there are actually many more than usual. However, it’s very likely that they were there all along, cleverly hidden away. Let’s  go through some possible explanations as to why these pesky creatures have chosen to make your house their home.

Hibernating in your home

In winter, spiders are usually attracted to the warmth and shelter provided by your house and settle in dark, less frequented areas. They will often crawl through tiny access points including holes, gaps, cracks and crevices in roofs, walls and screens to gain entry.

Come springtime, as the days become longer and warmer weather sets in, the spiders inside your home that have been quietly hibernating over the winter months begin to emerge for breeding season. With females known to lay hundreds of eggs, this is a sure sign that you could soon have an outbreak on your hands.

Hitchhiking from the outdoors

In some instances, you may accidentally introduce spiders inside by letting them, or unhatched eggs, hitch hike on equipment that you’ve brought inside, including camping gear, outdoor furniture, firewood and toys.

Keeping up with regular yard maintenance reduces the number of available hiding places for spiders to breed and nest. You’ll need to trim back trees, shrubs and plants that are near or touching the sides of your house.

Spiders may also be drawn to your home because of the availability of their preferred food source: insects. This includes moths, flies and mosquitoes, indicating that you may potentially have an insect outbreak at the same time.

To detect early signs of a spider or pest outbreak and prevent it from escalating, we recommend being proactive by scheduling routine professional spider control treatments.

The best way to keep your spider population down is to make it a less attractive home for them. You can do this by limiting the number of hiding spots and available of food sources. Consider these options to reduce the number of spiders outside your home:

Diatomaceous earth

A natural and environmentally friendly product that is easily found at hardware stores, food grade diatomaceous earth can be safely sprinkled around outdoor areas used by pets and children. This powdery silica substance contains sharp edges that can damage the exterior covering of spiders, causing them to die from a loss of moisture.

Reduce potential hiding places

With regular garden and yard maintenance, you will significantly reduce the risk of a spider outbreak. We suggest:

• Keeping plant pots clear
• Trimming away excess vegetation growing close to your building including tree branches, shrubs, bushes, foliage and vines
• Storing firewood away from the building
• Keeping outdoor furniture, equipment and shoes covered if not in use

Insecticide aerosol sprays

You can purchase larger quantities of aerosol spray from hardware stores and apply it more liberally outdoors over a wider area. However, use with caution around children and pets.

Eliminating insects

As spiders primarily feed off insects, it’s helpful to keep away as many as possible including flies, moths and mosquitoes. Learn more about how Allstate can control flies here

At Allstate, our technicians are highly trained and fully equipped to tackle spider outbreaks of any size. We can assess if you have a simultaneous insect outbreak and come up with a fast and targeted treatment plan that causes minimal disruption to your home and business.

We normally begin by conducting a thorough assessment of the outbreak and investigate potential sources. By combining these findings with our knowledge of spider species, we can then put together a tailored treatment plan.

Our preferred spider removal treatments primarily include using insecticide applied to treated zones around the perimeter of the building, as well as spider control dust tipped inside gaps, holes and crevices. We take care to only use products that are safe for children, pets and the environment.

For severe outbreaks, a follow up replenishing treatment may be needed, and we are on hand should any urgent problems arise.

Also known as termite swarmers, alates are dark grey to black coloured, with pale brown or grey wings that are longer than their bodies. Their adult size ranges between ¼ to ½ an inch long.

If you see alates, this is a good sign that a termite colony has matured and reached a certain size, and is ready to expand. Male and female alates couple off, fly away, mate to lay eggs and start a new colony. You can expect to see them emerging from their nests in spring.

Making up most of the termite colony, workers have pale and white coloured bodies and are the smallest in size at 4-6mm long. They have hardened mouthparts and no wings. Workers are susceptible to drying out and require a moist environment to thrive.

Depending on their size and age, they are responsible for general maintenance of the termite mound and tunnels, gathering food as well as caring for the King, Queen and eggs. If needed, older workers can act like soldier termites and protect the colony as well.

With an expected lifespan of 25-50 years, Queen termites begin life as a pale yellow-brown colour to and darken over time to black. They can grow up to 4 inches in size and continuously lay eggs to increase the termite population.

Rarely seen, Queens live deep in the ground, well protected against predators.

There are three types of Queens: the primary reproductive Queen which has wings and the ability to secrete hormones. These hormones assist in producing secondary and tertiary queens, who go on to establish satellite nests, driving the growth of the colony even faster.

Without proper training, it can be difficult to determine whether the insects flying around your property are a swarm of termite alates or flying ants. While termites are also called white ants as they look like a lighter coloured version of ants, this is where their similarities end. Here’s some tips to help you decide which pesky insect is being a nuisance:

Wings

Termites have equally sized fore and hind wings, whereas ants have larger fore wings and smaller hind wings.

Waist

Termites have a broader waist compared to ants.

Segmentation

Ant bodies are segmented, termites are not.

Antennae

Ants have elbowed and segmented antennae, whereas termite antennae are straight and beaded.

Eyes

Apart from the King and Queen, all other termites are blind, whereas ants have good vision.

Behaviour

As reclusive creatures, termites live quietly hidden away in tunnels underground or burrowed deeply inside wood behind a sealed entrance. On the other hand, ants are frequently spotted coming and going from their nest, travelling along visible trails foraging for food.

If left unchecked, termites can cause significant structural problems to your home or business, compromise you and your family’s safety and leave you out of pocket thousands of dollars in repairs. You may notice changes such as:

• Cracks in walls, floors and ceilings which can easily be mistaken as water damage.

• Paint may begin to bubble or take on a honeycomb appearance from hollowing out of underlying timber.

• Sagging, cracking and blistering of laminated floors, skirting boards and ceilings beams. Warped doors and frames can be hard to open.

• If you notice that your electricity supply is frequently compromised, it could be due to termites damaging nearby wiring and causing short circuits as they chew through wood.

As pest control experts, we are licensed and fully equipped with modern technology to assess for any kind of termite activity within timber structures.

We’re available 24/7 to discuss with you any termite-related damage that you’ve noticed around your home or business.

For many of us, dealing with an insect attack is stressful enough without having to decide whether to treat termites or ants.

With one in five homes in Adelaide having fallen victim to costly termite damage, it’s important to identify and treat an outbreak as quickly as possible.

That’s why our experienced pest control team at Allstate is available 24/7 for advice and assistance.

Since 1986, we have conducted comprehensive termite inspections in line with Australian standards and prevented infestations for residential, commercial and industrial properties all over Adelaide.

Using the latest specialised equipment to detect outbreaks and targeted, up-to-date treatments, we are fully equipped to provide long lasting protection to your home from termites. Backed by extensive warranties, our recommended treatments are nontoxic to children, pets and the environment.

With a 100% money-back guarantee if you’re not satisfied with our service and payment plans available, there is no need to delay an urgent termite inspection and treatment.

Speak to an Allstate consultant today to find out more about how we can help you prevente termites for good.

Though they are known for eating tobacco leaves and products and processed tobacco, you will also find cigarette beetles eating stored food products and other materials. These include grains, cereals, spices, nuts, cardboard packaging, wool, leather and clothing. 

Appearance

• Adults are round-shaped, 2-3mm long, reddish-brown and covered with short hairs
• Larvae are curvy and hairy and can grow up to 4mm long
• Eggs are oval-shaped and white coloured

Problems they cause

Contaminate your food by:

• Larvae leave behind strands of silken webbing as they tunnel through your food 
• Females lay eggs in and around stored food

Read more about cigarette beetles here

Often detected in flour mills, bakeries, grain silos and anywhere with stored grain, including your kitchen pantry, flour beetles prefer eating broken, milled and processed food such as flour, bran and oatmeal. However, they also enjoy dried pet food and flowers, nuts, seeds, spices, beans and pasta. There are two main types of flour beetles: the confused flour beetle and the red flour grain beetle. You can differentiate between these types of beetles through the shape of their antennae.

Appearance

• 3-4mm long, red-brown coloured, oblong-shaped with antennae and wings
• Red flour beetles have three segments at the end of the antennae, whereas confused flour beetles have four segments
• Only red flour beetles can fly.
• Larvae are pale yellow to light brown coloured

Problems they cause

• When red flour beetles are agitated, they turn a pink colour and secrete a substance called quinone that causes flour also to turn pink, give off an unpleasant odour and taste mouldy
• Because flour beetles thrive in warm, humid environments, this can encourage the growth of mould in your food
• Flying red flour beetles can be a distraction and cause a general nuisance

Read more about flour beetles here.

Considered the most significant stored grain pest in Australia, lesser grain beetles have been known to contaminate tonnes of harvested grain yearly with common species such as wheat, corn and rice.

While they pose a serious agricultural threat, these pests can sometimes avoid detection and enter homes through contaminated products, including nuts, spices, dried fruit and meat, beans and birdseed.

They are also attracted to rodenticide baits, and tobacco products and have even been found in wooden furniture.

Appearance

• Adults are up to 3mm long, with a reddish-brown to black coloured, cylindrical-shaped body that is punctuated with indentations
• Larvae are curved, with white-coloured bodies and brown heads

Problems they cause

• Females bore holes into whole grain kernels to lay eggs, which hatch and develop into larvae inside the grain kernels. Once a fully formed adult exits the kernel, only hollow husks and large amounts of flour (frass) are left behind
• Larvae prevent their droppings outside grains, leaving behind a large accumulation of waste
• Damaged grain has a sweet and musty odour
• Adult beetles have been known to fly and spread infestations to different locations

Read more about lesser grain beetles here

Found in various stored food products, Indian meal moths are usually introduced to kitchen pantries through contaminated packaged food.

Also known as pantry moths, these pests eat a wide range of foods, including grains, pasta, nuts, spices, dried fruits, and cocoa.

Appearance

• Adults are approximately 1 cm long, with brown-tan tipped wings
• Larvae are creamy white coloured with a dark head and grow up to 2cm long
• Eggs are 0.3-0.5mm long and white coloured

Problems they cause

• Being small, they can penetrate well-sealed plastic packaging, crawl under poorly sealed lids and into tiny cracks and holes to contaminate stored food
• Adults fly around, creating a distraction and causing a general nuisance
• They hide in door hinges and corners of cupboards, making them hard to reach
• Larvae leave behind droppings and spin silken strands of webbing in your food

Read more about Indian meal moths here

At Allstate, we are always up-to-date with the latest and most effective pest prevention methods. This is how we approach stored product pest control:

Fumigation

We recommend applying different types of aerosol sprays to manage most outbreaks effectively. 

Non-residual insecticide spray

Containing chemicals such as pyrethrins which are active for a short time, these fast-acting compounds are an excellent on-the-spot treatment for severe outbreaks. 

Residual insecticide spray

For extra protection between treatments, we use insecticides such as synthetic pyrethroids, which remain active on surfaces for longer periods.

Diatomaceous earth

We may scatter food-grade diatomaceous earth in the affected area for severe infestations. This naturally occurring substance causes insects to lose moisture upon contact, dry out, and die.

Aerosol fog

We can deliver insecticides in an aerosol fog form as an alternative to fumigation.

Pheromone traps

As a valuable method to prevent and monitor outbreaks, we use sticky adhesive glue traps infused with pheromones to lure and immobilise male insects. This prevents them from mating with females and stops the breeding process.

Follow up treatment

While many insecticides are effective against adult stored pests and their larvae, they can be less successful against eggs yet to hatch. A fresh new outbreak may occur once the eggs have hatched weeks after your initial treatment. To avoid a new infestation, we recommend a follow-up treatment according to the invading pest insect’s life cycle.

In other situations, pests may breed out of sight in hard-to-reach areas that the initial treatment did not thoroughly penetrate. 

This makes it harder to prevent an outbreak and means that usually weeks later, you will need additional treatments to safeguard your home.

Emergency call outs

Even though stored pests are tiny, an outbreak can sometimes escalate very quickly, leaving your pantry and food overrun with crawling and flying insects in a short period.

That’s why Allstate offers a 24/7 urgent callout service for solutions and advice when needed.