Cold weather and pests – what to watch out for
Coming into the colder months we see some pests on the move and others almost disappear. What can you expect when old man winter is nipping at the heals of Autumn in terms of pest movements and what you may see in and around your home or place of business.
Typically, but not always we see a reduction in activity in insects in winter and more activity from rodents like rats and mice who often try to find warmth inside the walls and inside the ceiling of homes in Brisbane.
What kind of pests are more active in colder months like Autumn and Winter?
When it comes to the colder months there are two types of pests we see more of than any other rodents (rats and mice) and cockroaches. When the colder weather rolls around in Brisbane (usually May through September) rodents seek warmth and food in homes all over Brisbane. The colder weather brings them inside looking for food (usually human food in bins or food in cupboards) as much of their food sources like seeds, grains, fruits, berries and insects tend to be a little more scarce in the winter months so they substitute their diets by making their way inside our homes or outdoor areas to scoop up any scraps that are lying around (leftover dog food, birdseed, compost piles, fruit on benches, opened packets in cupboards, etc) to make up for a reduction in the availability of their normal foodstuffs.
Can you stop mice coming into your house in winter?
The short answer is, not really. There are some mice and rat ultrasonic repellents available on the market today, but we’ve heard very mixed reports from customers about these. Likely a customer is more aware they have a rodent problem so at the same time as setting up a sound based repellent they’ve also likely made sure foodstuffs are away and kept their homes tidy to make sure there is no food lying around for them to eat.
These types of devices tend to annoy rodents more than scare them away so if there are easy pickings in your home when it comes to food for rodents, it’s likely they’re still going to hit the buffet whilst you’re asleep, so to speak.
If you’ve got a rodent problem there are a few things you can do:-
- Make sure you put all food away
- Don’t leave open containers in your cupboard
- Put food that comes in cardboard containers into plastic
- Make sure food crumbs are swept or vacuumed up immediately
- Get a sealed composting bin (if you have an open bin or pile)
- Don’t leave large piles of grass clippings in your garden (nest making gold for rodents)
- Don’t leave pet food lying around (wet and dry)'
- Call Abolish Pest Control if you can’t seem to get rid of rodents or have tried everything else and it hasn’t worked
Do cockroaches come into your home when it’s cold?
Most species of cockroaches tend to die off in the winter or at least reduce their activity in your home, but there are a couple of species of roaches that are still active in the colder months and these are German and Oriental cockroaches (of which we have both species in Brisbane). So whilst you may see a decrease in cockroach activity in the colder months in Brisbane, it’s still very likely you’ve got them around, you’re just not seeing them as much.
Similar to stopping rodents in your home it’s a good idea when dealing with cockroaches to:-
- Make sure all food scraps are cleaned up
- Sweep or vacuum floors for crumbs and scraps of food
- Don’t leave open containers in your cupboard
- Don’t leave dirty dishes overnight (particularly if they have food on them)
- Rinse dishes if you’re leaving them in the sink
If you think you may have a cockroach problem, please feel free to contact us on 1300 057 067 and we would be more than happy to come out and conduct an inspection on your property.