Known for their fish-like scales, silverfish are segmented insects that grow 2-18mm in length, have antennae flat in shape with a wider head and tapered rear, and while they are often silver in colour, they can also be bronze, gold or even brown. They are usually covered in fine hairs, and have weak jaws, but strong chewing teeth.

Silverfish have long lifespans and can live for up to 6 years, with females laying up to 60 eggs at a time.

Although they don’t bite humans, cockroaches are able to transmit a range of nasty diseases and germs from one place to another.

This is because they live and feed in sewers, rubbish bins and other unsanitary places which are brimming with bacteria, viruses and parasites. These harmful organisms can accumulate and then be passed on through cockroach droppings and saliva. Some can even hitchhike to other places by latching onto the cockroach’s legs.

If you happen to ingest food or drink that has been in contact with a cockroach, it could well be contaminated and cause potentially serious illness. This is particularly problematic not just for homes, but also for hospitality businesses.

Skilled at surviving in different environments, cockroaches can be just as comfortable living in your rubbish bin as they are in your pantry or bathroom. However, this means that they can contaminate once-sterile surfaces and places and cause a wide range of illnesses and diseases. This includes diarrhoea, food poisoning, typhoid fever, cholera, dysentery, hepatitis A and leprosy.

With sharp teeth and strong jaws, they can chew through plastic, fabric, furniture, books and leather goods.

Cockroach droppings also contain pheromones which attract more cockroaches to the same area.

Some people may even experience allergic reactions to cockroach droppings, shed skins, and saliva. Those with asthma may need to take extra precautions.

We recommend keeping cockroaches out of your home or business in the first place, as well as reducing available food sources and hiding spots.

Cockroaches will eat almost anything, including meat and vegetables, sweet or greasy foods, paper, leather and fabric. This means that it’s essential to store all food tightly and keep your kitchen and dining areas clean. Wipe away spills and grease, wash cutlery and keep sinks and drains clear. Practice good hygiene when handling food—clean tables and benches as well after use. Don’t forget to tightly seal and cover rubbish and discard pet waste.

Regular building maintenance also plays a key role in keeping cockroaches away. Being small and flat, they can crawl through small gaps to gain entry, so you’ll need to carefully check for all potential entry points and seal them with gap filler or expanding foam.

Leaking pipes and drains create a damp environment for cockroaches to thrive, so we suggest checking for leaks and repairing them as quickly as possible.

At Allstate, we understand that the last thing anyone needs is an outbreak of cockroaches in your home or business while you’ve been away for holidays. But thankfully, with the right treatment, you can have the problem under control quickly.

Since 1986, we have been providing pest control services to all suburbs of Adelaide. With a 24/7 availability, our highly trained team can provide advice for urgent enquiries in residential, commercial and industrial settings. Rest assured that our treatments are non-toxic to children, pets and the environment.

All our services come with competitive warranties and a 100% satisfaction guarantee. We can even provide finance options, allowing you to access our effective cockroach management treatments easily and without delay.

Although flies can survive all year round, they certainly seem to hang around more often during summer.

This is because the hot weather provides ideal conditions for them to breed. In fact, it significantly speeds up the time needed for their eggs to hatch and for their larvae to mature into adults.

The heat can also drive them indoors to cooler places like your home, to seek out shade and protection, and look for breeding sites.

Houseflies
Attracted to food scraps, compost and waste, houseflies are dull grey in colour, with 4 stripes on their thorax. They grow up to 1/4 inch long.

Bushflies
With a similar appearance to house flies, bush flies can grow up to 2-6mm long. They are drawn to body fluids on mammals, such as sweat, saliva and tears, as well as animal waste.

Blowflies
Large and shiny looking, blowflies are usually 2-18mm long, dull grey or black coloured and covered with hairs. They prefer to feed on rotten food including waste from hospitality venues, as well as dead animals such as birds and rodents.

Horseflies
Feeding on blood from mammals, horseflies are drawn to livestock and humans. They are quite large and easy to spot, as they grow up to 10-30mm long, and have a grey or black colour.

Mosquitoes
Well known for their itchy bites as they draw blood to feast on, mosquitoes are a type of fly. They are mostly grey coloured and grow between 0.1-0.4 inches long.

Physically covering all potential entry points is a good starting point. Consider installing fly screens over windows and doors, particularly in the kitchen and waste areas. Seal gaps around doors and windows.

We also recommend avoiding leaving food out in the open and keeping waste covered. With their highly sensitive antennae, they’re able to detect food sources from long distances away. So, you can consider regularly cleaning your kitchen by wiping and clearing away food debris and spills from tables, benches and sinks, washing dishes and cutlery, as well as mopping floors. Remove garbage and pet waste regularly and make sure bins have tight-fitting lids.

Remove water sources by fixing leaking taps, pipes and drains. Also, don’t forget to remove food blockages from pipes and drains.

That’s why at Allstate, our expert pest control technicians are fully equipped to combat all fly outbreaks in residential, commercial and industrial settings across all suburbs of Adelaide. Available 24/7, we are always ready to answer your urgent enquiries.

As a family-owned business, we’ve been providing pest control since 1986. We use modern, innovative treatments which are nontoxic for pets, people and the environment.

Covered by competitive warranties and a 100% satisfaction guarantee for all our services, you can even make use of our payment plans to access fast fly extermination at any time.

Subterranean Termites (White Ants)

These are the most destructive termite species. Subterranean termite species such as Coptotermes acinaciformis build massive underground tunnels and subterranean nests that can house millions of worker termites.

They feed on timber structures, tree stumps, and even roof timbers, often without being noticed until major damage is done.

Drywood Termites

Unlike subterranean termites, drywood termites don’t need soil moisture to survive. They nest directly inside dry timber, such as furniture, door frames, and roof timbers.

Colonies are smaller, but they spread silently, often discovered only when a wooden item crumbles under pressure.

Ghost Termites

Ghost termites, more formally known as compass termites (Amitermes meridionalis), are found in the Northern Territory, especially in low‑lying grasslands around Darwin. These termites build distinctive north–south aligned mounds. They build striking pole nests shaped like tall, narrow mounds pointing north to south.

While not as aggressive in South Australia, their presence highlights how varied Australian termites can be across coastal and mountain regions.

South Australia’s climate creates ideal conditions for termite activity. Subterranean nests thrive where soil moisture is high, especially near tree stumps or decaying wood.

The cost of termite damage in Australia exceeds $1.5 billion each year, and most insurance policies do not cover it.

Protecting timber structures early ensures long-term safety and avoids reactive maintenance costs down the track.

DIY methods can’t tackle an entire colony. Termite baiting, safe treatments, and barrier systems require expert knowledge. At Allstate Pest Control, we customise solutions for your property, whether you’re dealing with dampwood termites in tree wood or subterranean termite colonies attacking timber structures. Our team provides long-term protection with safe, effective treatments tailored for South Australian conditions.

For fast, reliable termite control in Adelaide and across South Australia, call Allstate Pest Control today on (08) 8371 1277.

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 requiring immediate medical attention. The good news is that antivenom treatments are readily available, so you should be fine if you see a doctor quickly.

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 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 to 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 dry habitats and secluded locations such as window frames, gutters, eaves, bricks, garages, sheds, and even toilets. Outdoors, you may encounter them among rocks, 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 and 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 wear gloves when gardening in case you disturb some hidden 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 offered pest control services with a 100% satisfaction guarantee, backed by competitive warranties. With our new payment plans, we can promptly address your spider issues using innovative, long-lasting treatments. Our expert team is ready to help you now.

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.