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Early signs of autumn pests

Early signs of autumn pests

by | Feb 14, 2025 | Blog, Pests

EARLY SIGNS OF AUTUMN PESTS

As the summer festivities wind up and days get cooler, you might naturally assume that pests will also disappear. Unfortunately, this is not the case for ants, cockroaches, spiders and rodents. Learn how you can identify these common autumn pest issues fast in today’s Hivemind blog.

What questions will this article answer?

Ants

When the mercury starts to dip in autumn, this signals ants to seek out warmer places to house their colonies in winter. As expert scavengers, ants can also detect food smells from over 3 metres away. With these important resources being readily available in your home, it’s not hard to imagine why ants would want to venture inside!

How to identify ant infestation

  • You’re noticing more ants out and about, especially marching along well-defined ant trails to and from their nest and food source
  • You find ant hills in your garden, which look like small areas of raised dirt, with a central opening
  • Fire ants can create distinctive mounds which are up to 40cm high, depending on the type of soil
  • Carpenter ants leave behind piles of frass, resembling fine dirt particles, made up of wood shavings, dirt, droppings and ant body parts

 

Tips to keep ants away

  • Keep food covered in tightly sealed containers and stored away
  • Regularly clean and disinfect food preparation and dining areas including tables, benches, sinks, stoves and floors.
  • Don’t forget outdoor dining areas as well
  • Wipe away food spills and crumbs immediately
  • Avoid leaving dirty dishes and cutlery in the sink
  • Keep rubbish stored in bins with well-fitted lids
  • Regularly mow your lawn
  • Trim back trees and shrubs away from your home
  • Dispose fallen fruit in your backyard, as well as piles of vegetation
  • Use ant baits

Cockroaches

Well known for spreading diseases, cold-blooded cockroaches cannot regulate their bodies in cooler temperatures, and rely on the warmth, shelter and food in your home to survive. With the cockroach population peaking in summer, you’ll see them increasingly seeking refuge in your home as the mercury drops.

How to tell if you have a cockroach issue

  • As nocturnal creatures, you’re more likely to see them when they’re active at night
  • As they grow bigger, cockroaches leave behind moulted outer skins which are thin and pale-yellow in colour
  • Cockroach droppings can vary in length depending on the species, but resemble coffee grounds and can give off a musty odour

 

Safeguarding your home from a cockroach issues

  • Inspect your home for potential entry points and either cover or fill them
  • Check the plumbing around your home for leaking pipes and drains and repair them as cockroaches thrive in moist environments
  • Remove food sources by keeping your kitchen and dining areas clean, wipe away food spills and grease around your stove and oven, keep your dishwasher clean, and ensuring that food and rubbish is covered tightly
  • Practice good hygiene by washing your hands with soap and water before and after food preparation, handling waste and coming into contact with contaminated surfaces

Worried about summer pests causing an autumn issues? Speak to an expert today

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Spiders

Although spiders are very busy over summer, they’re still extremely active in autumn. They’ll be seeking out a warm place to hibernate when it gets cold, while simultaneously looking for mates and laying eggs ready to hatch come spring.

Signs of a spider issues

  • You may notice more spiders out and about, especially at night, as most are nocturnal
  • You keep bumping into messy and sticky cobwebs
  • Egg sacs which contain hundreds of eggs are encased in silken webbing may be seen suspended in nesting areas
  • Wolf spiders use their fangs to tunnel through dirt and create burrows in your yard, where they lay waiting for prey.
  • These burrows have a rounded opening which can be 2-3cm in diameter

 

Preventing spiders in your home

  • Regularly sweep, dust and vacuum to remove cobwebs in your home, paying attention to windows, window screens, walls and ceilings in less frequented areas
  • Reduce clutter
  • Seal off potential entry points and hiding spots, such as gaps, cracks and crevices
  • Regular garden and yard maintenance, including trimming back tree branches and removing piles of wood and leaf litter

Rodents

With the rodent population peaking in late summer and early autumn, and food sources dwindling as autumn progresses, rodents become increasingly active in their search for alternative resources and shelter. Unfortunately, this could lead them straight inside your home!

 

Spot a rodent infestation

  • While they can be hard to spot, you’re more likely to physically see them scurrying about at night as they are nocturnal
  • Listen for squeaking, scratching, scurrying and scampering sounds coming from your roof and walls
  • Rodent droppings usually look like black grains of rice, and range from 3-18mm in length, and give off an unpleasant, musty odour
  • Unexplained gnawed and partially eaten food items left scattered around your home
  • Gnaw marks appearing on your walls, timber furniture, cables and walls
  • Rodent nests are typically well hidden, but are constructed from foraged material scraps such as wood, straw, paper, fabric and cardboard
  • Grease marks may appear on your walls and skirtings from rodent fur

 

How to stop a rodent problem

  • Inspect your home, especially your roof, for possible entry points and seal them over
  • Avoid leaving food items out in the open. Instead, keep them stored away in sturdy containers or packaging
  • Keep rubbish bins and compost properly covered
  • Cover vents with a fine mesh and install grates or caps on chimneys
  • Fit weather strips around windows and draught excluders under doors
  • Regular yard maintenance including keeping shrubs and trees trimmed, lawns mowed, disposing fallen fruit and piles of organic waste

For safe and effective autumn pest management, choose Allstate

As summer winds down and it seems like there are less pests around, the last thing you would expect is to be caught unawares with an autumn pest issue. At Allstate, however, we understand that some pests are just simply a nuisance no matter the season.

That’s why our team is available 24/7 for urgent advice to infestations of all sizes in residential, commercial and industrial settings in all suburbs of Adelaide.

Locally operated since 1986, our highly trained, licensed pest control technicians provide tailored and innovative solutions to manage pest problems using non-toxic treatments which are safe for children, pets and the environment.

With various payment plans offered on all our services, your home can stay pest-free not just this autumn, but all year round.

Our expert team is ready to help you now

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8371 1277

Understanding the life cycle of termites

Understanding the life cycle of termites

by | Feb 11, 2025 | Blog, Termites

UNDERSTANDING THE LIFE CYCLE OF TERMITES

Although most termites only live for 1-2 years, that’s still plenty of time to cause a lot of damage in your home! Learn about how these tiny terrors grow and work together to become masters of destruction in this Hivemind blog.

What questions will this article answer?

Reproductive termites

Responsible for populating the colony, reproductive termites play an important role in beginning the termite life cycle. There are 3 main types of reproductive termites in a colony with each serving a distinct role in its survival.

 

Primary reproductive termites

The original founders of a new colony, reproductive termites have one main job: to create and lay eggs. Also known as the King and Queen, they are darker in colour and have better vision than other termites. Queen termites can grow up to 4-6 inches long, whereas Kings tend to remain the same size as other worker termites.

 

Secondary reproductive termites

Playing a supportive role to the primary reproductive termites, there is usually a pair of secondary reproductive termites which act as a backup King and Queen. They are ready to step up in case anything happens to the primary pair. They also play a role in maintaining the size of the colony. In some species, there may be multiple pairs of secondary reproductive termites.

 

Swarmers or alates

When a colony has reached capacity and is ready to expand, you will notice the presence of swarmers or alates. Tasked with starting a new colony, these swarmers are reproductive termites with wings. Upon maturity, they develop a tougher and darker outer shell to make them resistant to moisture loss, as well as better eyesight, to assist with swarming.

 

In late spring to early summer, you could find up to 50,000 swarmers leaving a colony to find a mate and establish a new colony elsewhere. Once fertilisation is complete, swarmers lose their wings and become the new primary King and Queen.

 

Thankfully, it’s thought that only around 10% of swarmers will be successful in mating and starting a new colony!

Eggs

Starting a colony from scratch isn’t easy, but that’s why Queens can lay up to 30,000 eggs in a single day!

Laid in clusters deep within the nest, termite eggs are concealed and heavily protected by the Queen and her workers. They are usually oval-shaped and small in size, white or brownish in colour, with a translucent appearance.

Termite eggs normally take 1-2 weeks to hatch into pale white larvae.

Larvae

Tended to by worker termites, larvae are the freshly hatched babies within a termite colony. They grow up to 2.5mm long, are white and translucent in appearance, with a soft outer shell that gradually hardens as they approach maturity. Larvae evolve through several nymph stages until they become adults.

Don’t delay your termite inspection, make an appointment today

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Nymphs

As termite larvae develop into adults, they undergo several moults, where they continually outgrow and shed their outer shell, also known as the exoskeleton.

During this critical developmental period, nymphs will physically evolve and develop the necessary body structures for their caste, or adult role in the colony, as either a soldier, worker or reproductive termite.

Their exact role is determined by pheromones produced by the King and Queen and heavily influenced by the survival needs of the colony.

It normally takes around 1 year for a nymph to reach full maturity, and this process can depend on predators and food availability.

Adult termites

Every flourishing termite colony consists of different groups of termites which play a specific part in guaranteeing its survival. Also known as castes, you’ll find 3 distinct groups of adult termites in a colony:

 

Workers

Making up the vast majority of a colony, workers are responsible for caring for younger termites, building and maintaining the nest, foraging and feeding other termites. They are white or pale brown coloured and grow up to 4-6mm long.

 

Soldiers

As their name suggests, soldier termites are key players in protecting and defending the colony against predators. They are easily recognised by their strong mandibles and large-sized, rectangular-shaped heads, range from white to pale red to light brown in colour, and grow up to 5-6.5mm long.

 

Reproductive termites

A small number of nymphs become winged adult termites in mature colonies to assist with expanding and establishing another colony elsewhere. They are dark brown to black coloured and grow up to 12mm long.

 

Changing castes

Termite colonies are known to be very responsive to the external environment, so depending on the needs of the colony, adult termites from one caste can transition to another caste if needed.

Signs of a termite outbreak

Termites are notoriously difficult to detect until it is too late without the correct equipment and training. However, in severe outbreaks, you may notice the following clues:

 

  • Brown mud tubes along walls, skirtings and foundations
  • Hollow-sounding wooden structures when tapped, including trees and timber in your home
  • Blistering and cracks in paint or plaster
  • Warping and buckling floorboards
  • Discarded wings from swarmers or alates

Seen signs of termites? Don’t wait, speak to an expert today

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8371 1277

How to prevent termites

While the risk of a termite attack is high in most parts of Australia, you can definitely be proactive to avoid it happening in your home. Here’s how:

 

Termite inspections

According to government guidelines, it is recommended to have a termite inspection at least once a year, and even more frequently in areas considered to have a greater risk of an outbreak. At Allstate, our team of licensed termite inspectors is fully equipped with the right tools to assist you with comprehensive termite inspections.

 

Remove sources of moisture

Water attracts termites, so if you live close to a river or wetland, or have ponds or bird baths at your home, you’ll need to be more vigilant with termite protection. Regularly check for leaks in your plumbing inside your home and around your roof, including gutters, pipes, drains and taps, and repair them as soon as possible.

 

Regular yard maintenance

Termites feed on cellulose, which is found in wood and timber. So, we recommend trimming back branches from trees and shrubs away from your home. Remove piles of wood or store them well away from your home. Check timber posts, sleepers and outdoor furniture for any potential termite damage.

Choose Allstate safe and effective termite management

At Allstate, we understand how hard it can be to detect termites, let alone differentiate between the various stages of their life cycle. That’s why we offer free termite assessments [insert link: ] to all homes and businesses across Adelaide.

Founded in 1986, Allstate offers premium pest control services for residential, commercial and industrial clients. Available 24/7 for urgent advice and enquiries, our highly trained pest technicians offer innovative and tailored treatments which are non-toxic to children, pets and the environment.

With access to payment plans, you and your family can stay protected from all types of termites, all year round.

Our expert team is ready to help you now

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8371 1277

Keeping your home pest-free while you’re away

Keeping your home pest-free while you’re away

by | Jan 10, 2025 | Blog, Pests

KEEPING YOUR HOME PEST-FREE WHILE YOU’RE AWAY

Hooray for summer! If you’ve planned a trip away, it could be the perfect opportunity for nuisance pests to come over and make themselves at home. Avoid an unwanted pest outbreak while you’re away by following our top 8 tips in this Hivemind blog.

What questions will this article answer?

Tip 1: Proper food storage

Hungry pests are expert scavengers, possessing many finely tuned sensors which can detect food from farther away than you’d think!

For this reason, we recommend keeping your dry food items covered and stored in tightly sealed containers in your pantry. This includes pet food, chicken and bird feed.

For more perishable food, consider storing it in the freezer to avoid it spoiling in the fridge while you’re away.

Tip 2: Practice proper waste disposal

With many pests such as blowflies attracted to rotting waste to feed and lay eggs, it won’t take long for an outbreak to happen if you’re away on holidays.

That’s why it’s important to empty your rubbish bins before you head off. Keep waste in tightly sealed bags in bins with well-fitted lids. It’s important to ensure that all compost is properly covered, and not left on the ground for easy access.

Tip 3: Keep your house clean

Pests such as cockroaches are attracted to food spills, crumbs and grease, so make sure to wipe these away from your kitchen, food preparation areas, dining surfaces and floors, and disinfect as soon as possible. This includes outdoor dining areas and barbecues.

Remember to wipe down your sink and cooktop, and wash used dishes and cutlery immediately after use. Don’t forget to keep cupboards, shelves, the oven, dishwasher, fridge and other kitchen appliances clean as well.

Decluttering your home regularly, especially less frequently used rooms, is also effective in reducing the number of available hiding spots for pests to nest and lay eggs.

Regularly sweeping, vacuuming, mopping your floors can clear away eggs and larvae. Take care to check behind and underneath furniture as well. Steam cleaning curtains and fabric furniture and linen can sterilise eggs and larvae due to the higher temperatures.

Don’t let pests ruin your holiday plans. Get fast advice today.

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Tip 4: Regular yard maintenance

Reducing attractants to your yard, access points to your home and hiding spots for pests can make a big difference to the number of uninvited guests that come over while you’re away. Here’s some of our suggestions to cultivating a pest-free yard:

Tip 5: Remove sources of moisture

Just like people, pests need water to survive, and many of them thrive in areas with high moisture. That’s why it’s important to identify and remove sources of water, such as water bowls, bird baths and ponds and check that pot plants have adequate drainage.

Fix leaking plumbing outlets including taps, drains and pipes as soon as possible, and check that laundry and kitchen appliances are not leaking.

Tip 6: Sealing off all entry points

With the ability to squeeze through the smallest and most unlikely spaces, clever pests can easily enter your home if left unchecked. The key is to regularly inspect your home for potential access points and seal them off promptly. Here’s what we recommend to deny nuisance pests an easy passage inside your home:

  • Install fly or mesh screens over vents, windows and doors
  • Fit weather strips around windows and doors
  • Cover gaps underneath doors with draught excluders
  • Inspect your home for gaps, cracks, crevices and holes and fill them with caulk, putty, expanding foam, silicone or other appropriate waterproof sealants
  • Inspect your roof for loose tiles and repair them
  • Seal off vents with tough, fine mesh
  • Install chimney grates or caps

Avoid coming home to an unexpected pest outbreak. Speak to Allstate today.

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8371 1277

Tip 7: DIY pest prevention

If you’re proactive about deterring pests around your home, you’ll be far less likely to experience an outbreak. Here’s some of our favourite simple DIY techniques:

  • Aerosol pesticide sprays are a popular spot treatment for pests that are readily available from hardware stores and supermarkets
  • Sprinkling diatomaceous earth around the perimeter of your home can deter crawling insects
  • Bait stations which target different types of pests can also be purchased from hardware stores
  • Mothballs offer long-lasting protection against fabric pests in your wardrobe and linen cupboard
  • Homemade sprays made from a mixture using natural household items such as vinegar, essential oil and spices can be effective at keeping pests away

Tip 8: Professional pest control

If you’re finding yourself being plagued by pests despite your best DIY efforts, it’s time to call in the experts. At Allstate, our licensed pest technicians receive ongoing training to quickly detect and effectively manage pest outbreaks in the safest way possible.

We’ll identify the source of the infestation, then apply a deep understanding of pest behaviour and select the best targeted, family and pet-safe physical and chemical treatments. These include:

  • Aerosol sprays, fumigation and fogging
  • Control dust
  • Traps and baiting stations

We also offer a range of pest prevention services designed to safeguard against potential future outbreaks:

Solar panel cleaning and proofing

Providing a safe, warm place for pest birds to nest underneath, solar panels are a common source of many pest bird outbreaks. You can protect your solar panels with Allstate’s solar panel proofing and cleaning service.

 

Property maintenance services

If you’ve had a previous pest outbreak, it’s important to clean up the mess left behind to avoid re-attracting pests to your home. At Allstate, we can refresh your home and yard with our comprehensive property cleaning and maintenance services before you travel, ensuring that you can return to a sparkling clean, pest-free home.

Choose Allstate for reliable and long-lasting summer pest control

Summer holidays are best spent with family and not worrying about pest outbreaks. At Allstate, we’re here to help you make sure that your holidays are stress and pest-free.

Since 1986, we’ve successfully managed pests in residential, commercial and industrial settings across all suburbs of Adelaide. Available 24/7 for urgent enquiries, our highly trained pest technicians use modern pest detection equipment and innovative treatments which are nontoxic towards pets, children and the environment.

With competitive warranties and payment plan options on all our services, you can look forward to returning to a pest-free home after your next summer holiday adventure.

Our expert team is ready to help you now

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8371 1277

Does summer heat cause pest infestations

Does summer heat cause pest infestations

by | Jan 10, 2025 | Blog, Pests

DOES SUMMER HEAT CAUSE PEST INFESTATIONS?

For many pests, summer is their peak season and it’s not hard to understand why. When provided with ideal conditions to thrive, homes and businesses across Adelaide face a higher risk of a pest outbreak. Learn about how hot weather influences pest behaviour in this Hivemind blog.

What questions will this article answer?

Pests are more active in summer

Many pests are cold blooded, including spiders, mosquitoes, ants, cockroaches, flies, fleas, moths, pest bees, wasps and termites. This means that their body temperature and activity levels vary depending on their environment.

The arrival of summer will bring them out of hibernation over winter, and gives them more energy to be active, scavenge for food, seek shelter and breed.

For some pests, particularly pest bees and wasps, the longer days also give them more time to cause a nuisance in your garden.

Increased humidity

Many pests rely on a source of water to thrive, so combining increase in temperature with higher levels of humidity provides the perfect conditions for many pests to flourish.

From sprinklers, backyard bird baths and ponds, overflowing pot plants, to leaking plumbing and appliances, pests are clever at seeking out sources of moisture wherever the mercury heats up.

For pests that live within colonies underground, such as subterranean termites and ants, the increased dampness in the soil will also cause a spike in population growth.

Wooden structures can also absorb more moisture in hot, humid weather. This attracts pests such as carpenter ants, subterranean termites and cockroaches.

Hot weather drives pests to seek shelter

Just like people, pests will want to seek shelter in the scorching heat, and find safe, quiet hiding spots to nest and lay eggs.

This could drive them inside your home, for example, inside your roof space or kitchen, in search of food and water.

Don’t get swamped by a summer pest outbreak, speak to an expert today

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Ideal breeding conditions

For many pests, the hot weather doesn’t just make them more active. It speeds up their reproductive and life cycles. This means that you’ll see more pests reaching their reproductive age sooner. As a consequence, outbreaks can happen quicker in summer, and you’ll need to act fast if you want to bring the problem under control. Here are some pests that you’ll need to watch for in a summer heatwave:

  • Mosquitoes mature between an optimum temperature range of 25-30 degrees Celsius
  • Flies take about 7-10 days to become adults, but this is faster in hot weather
  • Fleas normally develop from an egg to an adult in about 2 months, but in summer, this process can be sped up to about 3 weeks
  • The ideal breeding conditions for cockroaches are 29-35 degrees Celsius

More food sources are available

As your garden begins to flourish in the warmer weather, hungry pests emerging from hibernation will find a smorgasbord of food options. Common sources of food include fruit, vegetables, tree sap, pollen, rubbish bins, pet food and other food scraps. This means that you can expect more bees, ants, possums and other foraging pests.

With outdoor dining also on the rise, your picnics and barbecues can also attract rodents and birds, which can detect food smells from far distances away. They are always keen for crumbs and leftovers!

If you find that your compost pile is growing along with your garden, this can also attract pests to your yard, as does an overflowing rubbish bin.

Don’t let summer pests feast on your food, get fast advice today

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8371 1277

How to prevent summer pests

You can get ahead of a summer pest influx by taking the following simple steps to prepare your home 

 

Keep food stored away

Do not leave food out in the open for hungry pests. Instead, keep it covered or even better, store it in sturdy, well-sealed containers in your pantry or fridge. Don’t forget to do the same for pet food.

 

Proper waste disposal

Ensure that rubbish is secured in plastic bags and bins have tight fitting lids. Avoid leaving compost uncovered.

 

Maintain a clean home

Wipe down and disinfect your kitchen and dining areas, including outdoor dining areas and barbecues. Regularly sweep, mop and vacuum floors.

 

Remove sources of water

Avoid leaving pet water bowls out, and refrain from keeping ponds and bird baths. Consider keeping your swimming pool covered. Fix leaking taps, drains and pipes.

 

Garden and yard maintenance

Keep lawns tidy and mowed, and trim back tree branches and bushes away from the sides of your home.

 

Remove entry points

Regularly inspect your home for gaps, cracks and holes and seal them over. Fix loose roof tiles and install fly screens where possible.

Professional summer pest management

Having successfully controlled pest outbreaks for over 35 years, our team is fully equipped with early pest detection equipment to identify the source of your infestation.

Then, we will implement a tailored pest management plan, using a range of nontoxic treatments which are safe for children, pets and the environment.

Our range of Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority approved treatments include:

  • Chemical treatments such as aerosol sprays, fumigation and fogging
  • Physical treatments such as traps, bait stations, netting, bird spikes

We will also make recommendations for long term pest prevention to safeguard your home against the threat of future outbreaks.

Choose Allstate for fast and reliable summer pest control

While it may seem like summer gives pests the upper hand, rest assured that you can always count on Allstate to quickly manage any outbreaks that happen.

Locally operated since 1986, Allstate offers premium pest control services to Adelaide homes and businesses. Available 24/7 in all suburbs of Adelaide for urgent advice, our highly trained team provides modern and innovative solutions to residential, commercial and industrial pest issues of all sizes.

With competitive warranties and payment plans available, you can look forward to enjoying a pest-free summer sooner rather than later.

Our expert team is ready to help you now

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8371 1277

Top Tips for a Cockroach-Free home this summer

Top Tips for a Cockroach-Free home this summer

by | Dec 12, 2024 | Blog, Cockroach

For most of us, our summer plans do not involve dealing with a cockroach outbreak. However, with peak cockroach season in full swing, we’ve put together our top 6 tips to help you prevent these pesky creatures from ruining your holidays.

What questions will this article answer?

Why you’re noticing more cockroaches in summer

Like many pests, cockroaches thrive in warmer weather. In fact, if it’s over 20 degrees, cockroach eggs hatch faster, leading to accelerated reproduction.

With a preference for areas of high moisture, the increase in humidity that often comes in summer can also lead to ideal breeding conditions.

Although your garden may have had plenty of dark and damp hiding spots for cockroaches to shelter over winter, these can dry up or disappear as the mercury rises and you clear out the clutter in your yard. This means that cockroaches will need to hunt around for new nesting areas – perhaps your kitchen or laundry?

While they can live up to a month without eating, cockroaches have a broad appetite for a wide range of food, so once they come inside your home, they’ll easily find things to feast on from the most unlikely of places.

Signs of a cockroach outbreak

If you see cockroaches scurrying around during the daytime, this is your most obvious hint that there will be plenty more hidden away. However, there are also other ways to know if you have a cockroach problem on your hands, including:

Cockroach droppings

Look for tiny coffee-ground shaped droppings, resembling black dust, scattered around the place.

Moulted skins

The average cockroach will shed their outer layer between 5-8 times in their lives as they grow in size, leaving behind a thin, translucent layer.

Cockroach eggs

Depending on the species of cockroach, most lay eggs that are reddish brown to dark brown coloured, capsule-shaped and 5-14mm long. You’ll most likely find these in warm and moist areas.

An unpleasant odour

A cockroach infestation can leave behind a musty, sour and oily smell, from their droppings.

Seeing more cockroaches than usual? Speak to our expert team today.

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Reasons to avoid a cockroach infestation

They may be small, and although they don’t bite, cockroaches cause problems in other ways. We’ll explain how:

Spreading disease

Built to survive in different climates and environments, cockroaches can feed and nest anywhere from sewers to rubbish tips to underneath your fridge. No matter where they are, they can collect, ingest and leave behind a range of nasty viruses, bacteria, parasites and germs through their droppings, which cause illnesses such as gastroenteritis, typhoid fever and leprosy.

Triggering allergies

For some people, cockroach droppings, moulted skins and saliva can cause allergic reactions, resulting in itchy eyes, coughing and sneezing.

Damage to your belongings

Equipped with strong jaws and sharp teeth, hungry cockroaches can gnaw through plastic packaging, leather products, furniture, fabric and paper. Depending on the species, they’ll eat anything from the food in your fridge to your clothes, wallpaper and even books.

How to stay cockroach-free this summer

Cockroach outbreaks can be difficult to manage, so it’s best to not take your chances and instead be proactive in preventing them from coming into your home in the first place. Here are our top 6 tips to protect you and your family from cockroaches this summer:

Remove food sources

Keep your food items covered or better yet, stored away in tightly sealed containers, and avoid leaving pet food out.

Remove water

Cockroaches prefer areas with high moisture, so if you have any leaking pipes, taps or drains around your home, be sure to fix these as soon as possible. Don’t forget to check that your laundry and kitchen appliances are not leaking as well. Ponds and bird baths can also attract cockroaches.

Regularly clean your home

To reduce the number of available hiding spots around your home, we recommend clearing out cluttered areas that can make good nesting spots. Also, regular sweeping, vacuuming and mopping can clear away cockroach eggs. Wipe down kitchen surfaces, including sinks, benches, tables and stoves to remove grease and food spills which can attract cockroaches. Avoid leaving dirty dishes, utensils and cutlery in the sink for periods of time.

Practice proper waste disposal

Discarded food scraps are an appetising treat for cockroaches, so be sure to store waste in well-sealed bags in bins with fitted lids. Keep compost stored in bins rather than leaving it out in the open.

Seal off entry points

Small, flat and fast, cockroaches can crawl through tiny gaps, cracks and crevices to enter your home. Inspect your home regularly for potential access points and seal them carefully.

Garden and yard maintenance

Keep your yard well maintained to reduce nesting sites. Clear away piles of vegetation, keep branches and bushes well-trimmed, and remove pet waste.

For long-lasting cockroach protection, speak to an expert today

or

8371 1277

Professional cockroach management

At Allstate, our pest control technicians are highly trained to manage cockroach outbreaks in various settings efficiently using the following treatments:

Fumigation

Often used alongside other slower acting treatments, fumigating a sealed-off area with an insecticide in a gas form is a fast way to control severe infestations.

Baiting

Tamper-proof stations containing targeted insecticide-laced bait are placed strategically in cockroach nesting areas around your home.

Cockroach control dust

To encourage cockroaches out of hard-to-reach places, such as tiny cracks, holes and crevices, we’ll apply a control dust.

Cockroach spray

To deter cockroaches from entering your home, we apply a barrier spray to the perimeter of your home.

Heat treatment

For a chemical free, nontoxic and environmentally solution to manage cockroaches, heat treatment has shown to be highly effective in not only reducing a cockroach population, but also sterilising the affected area and preventing unpleasant odours. Used only in suitable areas that have been sealed off, a dry heat around 50-60 degrees can be delivered using mobile heat-treating equipment.

For fast and reliable cockroach control, choose Allstate

With summer just around the corner, the last thing you and your family want to worry about is a cockroach outbreak. Fortunately, Allstate is always here to help.

Locally operated since 1986, Allstate has successfully managed pest outbreaks for clients in residential, commercial and industrial settings in all suburbs of Adelaide. Available 24/7 for fast advice to urgent enquiries, our team is always fully equipped with modern and innovative solutions to all pest concerns.

Using non-toxic treatments that are safe for children, pets and the environment, we’ll make sure that you can stay pest-free all summer and beyond.

Our expert team is ready to help you now

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8371 1277

How to keep Pests away in Summer

How to keep Pests away in Summer

by | Dec 12, 2024 | Blog, Pests

How to keep Pests away in Summer

With many of us getting excited about the upcoming summer holidays, the last thing on anybody’s mind would be dealing with a pest outbreak. Unfortunately, being the peak season for many pests, summer pest outbreaks are relatively common. Keep your home safe from unwelcome pests by reading this Hivemind blog.

What questions will this article answer?

Why are there more pests in summer?

Just as your garden comes alive in warm weather, so do household pests! Summer provides ideal conditions for the survival of many pests, including ants, mosquitoes, flies, fleas, cockroaches and venomous spiders. You’ll notice that many of these creepy crawlies emerge from hibernating to breed and forage for food.

Ants

Emerging from their hibernation period in winter, ants will once again be seen foraging for food along ant trails from their nests and it doesn’t take long for an army of ants to appear.

From your garden to the rubbish bin to your kitchen, ants will march almost anywhere for their next meal, contaminating your food and surfaces, and spreading germs and diseases as they go. If you happen to step in their path, you may even experience the sharp pain of an ant bite, which can cause swelling if you’re allergic. These bites can be particularly unpleasant if you happen to encounter a fire ant.

Thankfully, there’s several ways to reduce the risk of an ant infestation. We recommend:

  • Storing food away in tightly sealed containers and avoid leaving pet food out
  • Cleaning your kitchen regularly, wiping surfaces and removing food spills immediately
  • Keeping rubbish bins and compost properly covered
  • Maintaining your yard by disposing of fallen fruit, keeping the lawn tidy and removing piles of vegetation
  • Inspecting your home for all possible entry points and sealing them off
  • Applying insecticide sprays and positioning bait stations

If you’re still struggling to combat an ant invasion at home, you don’t need to worry. Allstate has a range of proven treatments for all types of ants. This includes control dust, insecticide as well as chemical baits.

Get fast treatment for crawling insects. Speak to Allstate today.

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8371 1277

Mosquitoes

With summer being their peak season, hungry mosquitoes are often heard buzzing around looking for suitable hosts to feed off. Famous for their irritating, itchy bites, which can trigger allergies, mosquitoes move from host to host drawing blood and potentially spreading nasty diseases such as Dengue fever, Ross River virus, Yellow fever and Barmah Forest virus.

That’s why we encourage preventing skin contact with mosquitoes by wearing long sleeved clothing and applying insect repellent.

Although they’re tiny, it’s possible to stop mosquitoes from flying inside your home by:

  • Installing mesh screens over your windows and doors
  • Removing sources of moisture, including pet water bowls, ponds, bird baths, leaking taps and drains, and making sure that plant pots have adequate drainage

If they’re becoming a major nuisance, Allstate offers a range of professional treatments that target all stages of the mosquito life cycle, as well as fogging sprays and residual barrier sprays for ongoing protection.

Flies

It certainly wouldn’t be a normal Aussie summer without a few flies hovering around your barbecue, but you certainly don’t want them all over the place, either. They can be noisy and distracting, all while spreading germs and diseases from their unhygienic foraging habits. Once they’ve established a breeding site and laid their eggs, you may even find yourself dealing with crawling maggots!

If all this sounds stressful to you, rest assured thatplenty of ways to stop a fly outbreak from happening. Here’s how:

  • Install fly screens over doors and windows around your home, paying special attention to kitchen, dining and waste storage areas
  • Practice proper food storage to avoid attracting flies
  • Keep kitchen and dining areas clean by regularly wiping and disinfecting surfaces, including floors, and clearing food spills, crumbs and grease
  • Wash used dishes and cutlery immediately
  • Turn on fans
  • Apply insecticide spray where it is safe to do so

However, if your fly problem is simply overwhelming, you may need professional fly management. Allstate uses aerosol sprays, fogging and dusting powder to keep flies away for good.

Fleas

While we’re busy keeping pests away from our homes, let’s not forget our furry friends! With more active fleas around in the warmer months, our pets can be silently suffering without us having a clue.

Red-brown coloured and around 2mm long, fleas can sometimes be hard to spot, but it’s important to check our pets’ fur for signs of flea infections, look out for flea eggs and droppings, and be aware of changes in pet behaviour.

You can keep your home and pets flea-free by taking the following steps:

  • Managing other pests which can introduce fleas to your home, such as rodents and pest birds
  • Conducting regular yard maintenance to reduce flea hiding and breeding spots, such as lawns and piles of vegetation
  • Regular cleaning, especially in areas are frequented by your pets, including rugs and furniture
  • Wash pet bedding using hot water
  • Grooming and washing your pets
  • Fitting your pet with a flea collar
  • Taking your pet to your local trusted vet

For all persisting flea issues, Allstate can assist with flea control dust and insecticide treatments.

Avoid getting bitten by a flying insect problem. Get fast advice today.

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8371 1277

Cockroaches

With the ability to survive all year round in all types of living conditions, cockroaches breed in the spring and you’re most likely to spot them at night. Famous for spreading illnesses and diseases such as gastroenteritis, typhoid fever, cholera and dysentery, you’ll definitely want to avoid the mess of an outbreak if possible.

With an appetite for a wide variety of food in your pantry as well as rubbish bin, it’s best to keep cockroaches as far away from your home as possible. Here’s how:

  • Practicing good hygiene including handwashing
  • Ensure that food is tightly covered and stored away
  • Clean your kitchen, food preparation and dining areas regularly using disinfecting products
  • Wipe up food spills and crumbs immediately
  • Keep your cupboards and shelves, oven and dishwasher clean
  • Inspect your home for potential entry points inside and seal them over with filler, silicone or expanding foam. Seal off vents if possible
  • Check for leaking drains and pipes and fix them as soon as possible

Still struggling with a cockroach problem? Allstate can help. We use a range of innovative control measures including fumigation, cockroach baiting and heat treatments.

Venomous spiders

Although most spiders in Australia are harmless, the notorious venomous redback and certain species of funnel web spiders are known to strike fear in many. This is because their bites contain toxic venom which requires immediate medical attention.

The good news is, redbacks and funnel webs are not aggressive unless they are disturbed. Here’s how to identify them:

  • Redback spiders are 1.5mm long and black coloured with a distinct red stripe on their upper abdomen. They create messy and irregular, but strong and sticky cobwebs
  • Funnel web spiders are 1-5cm long, glossy-looking, black-brown in colour and covered with fine hairs. They build non sticky, funnel shaped webs burrows to live in, and hunt for their prey. You’ll most likely find them under rocks, or inside logs.

You can prevent spiders from visiting your home by taking the following steps:

  • Identifying and covering all entry points, including vents and cover gaps underneath doors using draught excluders
  • Remove clutter from your home so there are less hiding spots
  • Reduce the number of insects around your home, which will attract spiders

If you’re concerned about having venomous spiders, we don’t recommend approaching them yourself. At Allstate, our technicians are professionally trained to handle all types of spiders. We offer effective spider treatments such as spider control dust and insecticide sprays to protect you and your family from venomous spiders.

Choose Allstate for reliable and effective summer pest control

The summer holidays are a great time to enjoy time with friends and family, rather than dealing with annoying pest outbreaks.

Locally operated since 1986, Allstate has provided high quality pest control services to homes and businesses in all suburbs of Adelaide. Available 24/7, offer long-lasting pest management solutions to clients in residential, commercial and industrial settings, using a range of safe, modern and innovative treatments.

With access to payment plans and competitive warranties covering all of our services, you can stay pest-free all year round by reaching out to Allstate today.

Our expert team is ready to help you now

or

8371 1277