Summer is the peak time for many insects to emerge from winter hibernation in order to reproduce and look for food. Hungry spiders are no exception.

With plenty of food sources around to support their mating season, you’ll tend to notice spiders around the place more often as they sneak indoors to escape the heat.

While there are an estimated 10,000 species of spiders living in Australia, most of them aren’t harmful to humans. Although they’ll most likely bite when they are disturbed, these bites aren’t usually venomous or painful. They might just leave a mild, itchy bump on the skin for a short time.

However, spiders with more potent venomous bites can cause more serious illness which requires immediate medical attention. The good news is that there are antivenom treatments readily available, so you should be fine if you see the doctor quickly.

Known for their dark red to grey, cigar-shaped body with a characteristic white spot at the tip, white tail spiders are a nocturnal hunting spider. While they don’t spin webs to catch insects, instead, they hunt other spiders for food, such as daddy long legs, redback and black house spiders.

You’ll find them living beneath leaf litter and piles of vegetation in your garden, as well as underneath tree bark and rocks.

Males grow up to 12mm long and females up to 20mm long.

Often confused with funnel web spiders, mouse spiders have a distinctive bulb-shaped head and jaw.

You’ll find them in burrows that can be more than 1m deep, so they are more reclusive than aggressive by nature.

They are mainly black or dark blue in colour but can have bright red or orange-red coloured jaws or around their eyes, as well as a light grey to white patch on top of their abdomen. Adult mouse spiders vary from 10-35mm in length.

A common sight around the home, black house spiders spin fine, lacy webs in zig zag patterns that aren’t sticky. However, they do leave behind old sheets which become messy.

They grow up to 15mm long and are dark brown to black, with a textured velvet appearance.

Black house spiders prefer living in dry habitat areas and secluded locations such as window frames, gutters, eaves, bricks, garages, sheds and even toilets. Outdoors, you may come across them among rocks and underneath tree bark, or inside tree trunks and logs.

The best way to keep spiders away from your home or business is to seal off entry points, reduce the number of hiding spots and remove all potential food sources.

Regularly cleaning inside, such as sweeping, wiping and mopping can assist with removing insects that attract spiders, and clearing away cobwebs and spider eggs. Don’t forget to check behind the furniture, window corners and other less frequented areas.

We also recommend regular garden and yard maintenance, such as trimming back plants and trees that are growing close to your building to reduce access, as well as mowing lawns. Dispose of litter piles such as leaves and move wood piles away from your building. Keep compost and rubbish bins well secured. However, please take care to wear gloves when gardening in case you happen to disturb some deadly spiders!

You can also purchase insect repelling night light bulbs from your local hardware store.

Coming into summer, the last thing you need to worry about is deadly spiders lurking around when you just want to relax and enjoy outdoor activities.

That’s why at Allstate, we’re available 24/7 for urgent advice to all suburbs of Adelaide. No matter if you’re in a commercial, residential or industrial building, our fully equipped technicians are ready to assist with spider outbreaks of all sizes.

Since 1986, we have been providing pest control services with a 100% satisfaction guarantee and covered by competitive warranties. With payment plans now available, we can resolve all your spider problems quickly with our innovative, long-lasting treatments.

While it’s not unusual to notice more mosquitoes in warm weather, here’s some ways that you can tell if you have a full-blown infestation:

You frequently hear buzzing sounds

Due to the rapid beating of their wings during flight, mosquitoes give off a persistent, characteristic high pitched buzzing noise.

Install screens over windows and doors
Having a mesh or wire screen as a physical barrier is always helpful, but it’s best to avoid leaving doors and windows open if possible.

Remove breeding sites
Fill ditches and holes in the ground to prevent water from accumulating as this becomes a potential breeding habitat. Inspect your yard and ensure that there is adequate drainage for pooling water. Consider filling pot plant saucers with sand to absorb excess water.

Regular property maintenance
Make sure that the plumbing and water drainage system at your property is working efficiently, with no leaking pipes and blockages.
Keep your yard clean and tidy, taking care to trim trees and vegetation to limit overgrowth and hiding spots for mosquitoes. Dispose of fallen fruit and vegetables.

Prevent mosquitoes from following you into your home
If possible, limit outdoor activity during peak active times, or use mosquito nets to keep them out of your space.

When you’re heading outdoors, wear insect repellent that contains diethyltoluamide (DEET) or picaridin. You can also use natural alternatives such as eucalyptus or lemon oil, citronella, tea tree oil, but these will need be applied more frequently.
Wear protective clothing and a hat to limit any potential mosquito contact. Bright coloured clothing is known to be less appealing to mosquitoes than darker shades.
You can also consider purchasing electronic repellent devices that are available from hardware stores.

Avoid leaving potential food sources outside
Where possible, keep food items covered and consider using a water dispenser for pets instead of leaving an open water bowl.

Turn on the fan
The moving air current disrupts mosquitoes in flight and disperses carbon dioxide, which attracts them to human hosts.

After an assessment of the outbreak and the layout of your property, your Allstate pest control technician will often use a combination of the following treatment methods:

Larvicides
For ponds and standing or stagnant water areas which are common breeding sites for larvae, we apply highly targeted larvicides to prevente all mosquito larvae. You can be confident that these chemicals have minimal impact on other aquatic organisms.

Adulticides
When there are a large amount of active adult mosquitoes, we’ll need to use a different approach that covers a greater area, that may need to be applied multiple times. This can include:

• Fogging
  During active times (mainly dawn or dusk), we’ll apply an airborne spray that contains either a natural or synthetic pyrethroid chemical to the entire affected area. These chemicals disrupt the mosquito nervous system and cause paralysis. Fogging is usually effective for 2-3 days.
• Residual barrier treatments
  We use this for smaller, more targeted areas, aiming to stop adult mosquitoes from entering your home by lingering on surfaces where they may land. We commonly apply this treatment to fences, eaves, walls, vegetation or foliage and it is known to last for up to 6-8 weeks.

Bees play a key role in sustaining our natural environment as they pollinate plants to help with fertilisation and reproduction. So, as your garden begins to bloom in spring, it’s perfectly natural to notice more bees around.

That’s because they come out from a long winter hibernation and become more active during October to December. They are hungry and looking for places to fill their bellies with floral nectar.

Bee outbreaks can quickly get out of control as they have a short reproductive cycle and Queen Bees can lay plenty of eggs to boost the colony in a short time.

Most of us dread encountering a noisy bee swarm and being met with a persistent buzzing sound that can be quite distracting and disruptive.

As they forage for food sources in different places, their fine hairs can pick up germs and spread diseases. Not to mention, they’ll leave behind messy and sticky honey stains wherever they go and attract other pests as a result.

Bees can certainly be dangerous as they will sting if they feel threatened. These stings are painful and for some people, can even trigger swelling and allergies.

If you have flowers and plants in your backyard, it’s likely that you’ll be visited by bees at some point. But, are there ways from stopping these casual visitors from becoming a swarm? Absolutely!

We recommend starting off with removing all potential food sources from the garden, including fallen fruit which is high in sugar and a real treat for hungry bees. Dispose of uneaten pet food and avoid leaving food and drinks uncovered, especially meat and dairy products and sweets.

Where possible, we recommend choosing more gentle, natural bee deterrents. This way, the bees are safe from physical harm. This includes using ultrasonic electronic bug repellent products which are readily available from hardware stores.

You can opt to populate your garden with plants that bees are less keen to frequent, such as mint, eucalyptus, citronella, marigold and geranium.

As bee antennae are highly receptive to scents, you can use products with strong smells which are unpleasant to bees. Scented candles and mothballs are useful, as well as sprays made with water mixed with essential oils or herbs. This includes lemon, lime, vinegar, lavender and peppermint. It’s thought that sliced cucumber laid on aluminium sheets also has an off-putting odour as well.

The first recommendation we make to all clients who enquire about pest bees is to not disturb the hive and aggravate the bees. Do avoid making sudden movements.

Since bees play an important role in the environment, we prefer to relocate pest beehives to a safer location rather than relying on extermination where possible.

Our team will first locate the beehive and try to identify the species of pest bee to determine the level of danger posed to you and your family.

If we’re unable to remove the beehive, our technicians will apply a targeted control dust into the beehive cavity to prevente the colony. This will deter new colonies from occupying the hive. To ensure that the treatment is effective, we’ll continue to review it if needed.

If the outbreak is severe, we may even call in local professional beekeepers for assistance.

Don’t forget, we have a 24/7 emergency bee removal service to help you at any time.

Let’s introduce you to the most widely found fabric pests in Adelaide:

Varied carpet beetles

Known for their characteristic wing pattern of light and dark brown transverse bands, and white, brown and yellow scales, adult varied carpet beetles are 2-3mm long and take 2-5 months to reach full maturity. Their larvae are brown and 4-5mm long.

They often make their way inside homes through bird and wasp nests, where females normally lay eggs.

While fully matured adults feed on pollen from flowers, the larvae are known to attack carpets, animal hides, feathers and fabrics such as cotton, wool and silk, particularly if they contain traces of food or fluid. Varied carpet beetles also eat corn, red capsicum and rye meal.

If left unchecked, an outbreak of fabric pests can cause widespread damage to your personal belongings such as clothing, carpet, rugs, curtains and furniture.

They also leave a mess behind with their shed skins, silk threads and cocoons during the maturation process.

As scavengers, they will often eat stored food products and cause contamination.

Being small in size, they can easily crawl into small hiding places to evade treatment and lay eggs, making an infestation so much harder to control.

You can take small steps, which can make a big difference to protecting your home and belongings from a fabric pest outbreak. Here are some ideas:

• Regularly vacuum and steam clean carpets to reduce dirt build-up, especially if they are made of wool or a wool blend, taking care to check behind and under furniture. You’ll want to remove dust, hair, fish food, spices and cigars or cigarettes that larvae can feed on. Pay attention to wardrobes, closets and walk-in robes.
• Regularly inspect clothes, including underneath cuffs, collars and patches. Consider washing clothing and fabric even if it is less frequently used
• For clothes and bedding and that aren’t used in your regular rotation, you can store these away in tightly sealed plastic bags
• Place mothballs, Camphor or adhesive strips inside closets, linen cupboards, wardrobes and also inside pianos
• Seal off entry points to the building, including cracks, crevices, gaps and holes in walls, skirting boards, windows, doors. Ensure that fly screens are well fitted and maintained and cover vents with mesh. Consider door seals for all outside entrance doors
• Remove bird and wasp nests on buildings as they are a common place of shelter for carpet beetles
• Avoid purchasing second hand furniture/clothes, and if you do, carefully inspect them for fabric pests before bringing them inside
• Keep food sealed in sturdy, airtight containers 
• Consider using a dehumidifier
• To keep away silverfish, you can use strong smelling cleaners with citrus, lavender and cinnamon essential oils. Moth balls, Borax and diatomaceous earth are useful as well

To protect large items such as furniture or large rugs, we recommend contacting Allstate for more specific advice.

It can certainly be stressful to open up your wardrobe and find fabric pests flying and crawling around and ruining your favourite clothes. Fortunately, Allstate can help prevente the problem before it gets worse.

Family owned and established in 1986, Allstate has provided pest control services across all metropolitan suburbs of Adelaide in commercial, industrial and residential settings.

Our experienced, highly trained team is fully equipped to resolve all fabric pest outbreaks with modern and up-to-date solutions and advice. You can rest assured that all our treatments are nontoxic towards children, pets and the environment.

Available 24/7 to respond to urgent callouts and emergencies, we also have interest-free payment plans available to make it easier to access our services. To maintain quality, we have a a 100% money-back satisfaction guarantee and competitive warranty on all our services.

The most common pests you’ll find in autumn are usually rodents, cockroaches and ants. However, some species of termites are also very active, particularly if your yard has woodpiles, fallen tree trunks or damp and shady areas.

Taking some small steps to prepare your home or business in the summer months is the key to keeping pests away in autumn. Here’s our recommendations:

Block entry points

Rodents can easily squeeze through small gaps to enter your home, so it’s useful to regularly inspect for potential entry points and either cover or fill them. This can include fitting door seals underneath exterior doors, sealing holes and cracks within pipes and gaps in kitchen cupboards or installing mesh or screens over larger openings such as water tanks, chimneys and vents.

Learn more about sealing rodent entry points with our guide here How Rats get in your House

Building maintenance

With ants being very small in size and cockroaches having a flatter profile, this means that they can easily enter buildings through easily overlooked tiny cracks and crevices. However, these can easily be sealed over with filler and expanding foam. Look out for damaged drains and pipes which should be replaced quickly, as water leaks can attract cockroaches.

Garden maintenance

Regularly trimming your plants, bushes, shrubs, trees and mowing the lawn doesn’t just keep your yard looking tidy. It also limits hiding and nesting spots for rodents.
By reducing the amount of vegetation touching your building, this limits access points for ants and cockroaches.
Remove piles of organic waste, pet waste and fallen fruit also reduces the availability of potential food sources which attract pests.

Keep less frequented areas tidy

Storage areas such as garages, sheds and attics are preferred safe areas for pests to hide out, but not if you regularly clean and declutter.

Practice safe food handling, preparation and storage

Reduce pest access to food sources and avoid leaving food uncovered. Keep all food items stored away in the fridge, cupboards or drawers in sturdy, tightly sealed containers or packaging. Make sure all food preparation utensils, cutlery and dining surfaces are clean and wipe away spills immediately.

Practice proper waste disposal

Ensure that rubbish bins are properly covered and that bin bags are intact and tightly sealed.