Black House Spider

Summer is virtually here in the Upper Hunter region, and here come the spiders. In particular, the Black House Spider and the Red Back Spider.

These and other spiders will build webs around the exterior surfaces of your home, under eaves, on fences, trees and pot plants in your yard – in fact, anywhere an insect meal may be available.

The most common spiders found in house yards in the Upper Hunter are the Black House Spider (commonly found on walls, eaves and fences), the Redback Spider (found around weep holes, pot plants and stored items), and several species of Orb Weaver Spiders (often found on foliage in garden areas). If left untreated, the numbers of spiders will grow, and you may then start to see them internally, around windows etc.

Controlling the spider populations

Redback Spider

To control an existing population of webbing spiders, the process may require different types of treatment methods for successful management. One example of a treatment method that doesn’t involve spraying is by simply turning off unnecessary exterior lights or placing sensor lights. This way, fewer insects will be attracted to your home, so there will be less for the spiders to eat, and in turn there should be less spiders. This is just one example of a simple treatment method that you can easily try out for yourself at home.

When a qualified Amalgamated Pest Control technician visits your home or business to deal with your spider problem, the first thing he will do is a thorough site assessment. This is to determine the extent of your problem, and to devise a strategic treatment plan to suit your specific situation.

Where the appropriate method involves a spray treatment, the entire surface area of the external walls, eaves, guttering and fascia’s are sprayed extensively (very carefully around windows), as well as fences, retaining walls, sheds and garden foliage. This ensures that all spiders on the exterior are treated.

Checking for Redback spiders

The products we use to treat your home are all registered, regulated and certified to be safe, and will not harm plants or external surfaces.

Spiders inside your home can often be controlled be removing them with a broom or vacuum cleaner. Where possible, we prefer to look for non-chemical methods of control inside your home. If the infestation is high, or if you prefer an internal spray treatment, however, we certainly have highly effective, registered products that can be used inside your homes safely.

Treatment is often also applied to roof voids, wall cavities. In extreme cases, sub-floors may also need to be treated.

How long does the treatment last?

Most webbing spiders produce one generation per year. Amalgamated Pest Controls treatment procedures for spider control target every webbing spider that can be calling your home, their home.

We will provide you with a full 12 month service warranty for the webbing spider treatment, backed by our Guaranteed Gone promise to you. This means that if the webbing spiders come back, so will we – at no additional cost to you.

If you have a problem with spiders, or any other pest at your place, give us a call today and we can take care of it for you – Guaranteed Gone.

Protect your home this summer, call Amalgamated Pest Control Muswellbrook on 6535 2107.

During these colder months, there is a belief out there that there’s no need to have a pest control treatment done on your home at all, as it’s winter and there are no bugs around.  In reality, there are some pests that aren’t too concerned with the weather outside, because it’s inside that they make their homes.  Inside, where humans like to use heaters to keep warm.  Inside, around your kitchen where there are warm electrical appliances such as fridges, dishwashers and the like.  Inside, where there is plenty of food and water at their disposal.

One pest that will infest your home this winter are German Cockroaches.  The vast majority of German Cockroach infestations occur in kitchens or indoors where humans live. They seek out cracks and crevices to hide, normally close to a food and water source, preferably in areas providing warmth where they will hide themselves during the day.

This means the early stages of an infestation usually goes un-noticed. If you are seeing them in the day time, it usually means the infestation is well established. This cockroach can live up to its full breeding potential through the winter months, making it a significant winter pest. Infestations usually start in an area such as a kitchen, where food and water is abundant, and move out from there.

German Cockroaches under the sink

This photo shows a common place that German Cockroaches love to hide – below the kitchen sink. In cupboards such as this, there are almost always cracks and crevices for them to hide, and very often the household bin may even be in these cupboards.

The only way to prevent cockroaches from living here is to effectively treat all of these cracks and crevices using the techniques that we here at Amalgamated Pest Control use, which is what allows us to provide a 12 month service warranty for this pest. If they come back, so will we.

Once populations become too large for the kitchen, they spread out, and if not managed will infest the whole home, taking up hiding places in living areas and bedrooms. This photo below was taken from the bedroom of a home that had a large infestation. You can see that they have made the gap between the blinds and the timber their home.

For German cockroaches to spread into areas other than the kitchen, bathroom and laundry, the infestation needs to be very well established. If you are seeing them in bedrooms, living rooms and the like, you will need professional help to bring the already well established population under control.

German Cockroaches above the blinds

The ability of cockroaches to affect the health of humans is well known, and is the foremost reason why we do not want them in our homes. Something that is not as well-known is their ability to damage and break electrical appliances. Electrical appliances provide a dark, warm and protected place for cockroaches to live and breed, which is why they often seek out items such as televisions, fridges, toasters, alarm clocks and other similar products.

This television pictured here was ruined by German Cockroaches, as they damaged the electronics and the television had to be replaced.

German Cockroaches infesting the television

German Cockroach Prevention Tips

• Seal any cracks and crevices in your cupboards and other areas that German Cockroaches may want to hide, take out their hiding places.
• Ensure your rubbish is in tightly sealed garbage bins. Empty the inside garbage regularly.
• Clean regularly, wipe down surfaces to clean crumbs straight away. Deny them as much food as possible. Pay attention to ovens, stoves, benchtops, tables and chairs, sinks etc.
• Sweep and Mop the floor regularly. Remove sticky residues from the floor. Ensure that when you do mop the floor you do not leave any excess water. You need to deny them any water, as they can live for a long time without food but only several days without water.
• Store food in sealed containers.

When all else fails, call Amalgamated Pest Control for your Guaranteed Gone Solution to German Cockroaches. Our 12 month Service Warranty on cockroaches means if the pests come back, so will we.

With the colder months upon us, there is one unwelcome house guest in particular that is waiting to get into a nice warm home to raise their families.  Rats and Mice will attempt to enter homes from now and continue throughout winter.  This time of year is what the Pest Control industry refers to as ‘Rodent Season’.  The fact is, rodents are breeding all year around – they breed just as much in summer as they do in winter.  The difference in the colder months is that now our homes provide a fantastic warm place for rodents to continue to live during winter.

External conditions are starting to become less attractive for Rats and Mice.  This image shows a Norway Rat (often simply called a brown rat) about to enter a home.  These rats prefer to burrow, but have actually started to nest within the home due to the weather getting colder.  These are warm blooded mammals, and the warmth of an insulated roof space or cavity is much more appealing than a hole in the ground outside in the cold.

Norway rat entering home

Just like humans, rodents like to live in warm environments.  Rats and mice find their way into a structure through small holes, make their way through the wall cavities and exploit almost any area inside your home.  The roof void, wall cavities and other confined voids in and around your home make excellent nesting areas.  Apart from being a nice warm place to nest this time of year, once in your home food and water is more easily accessed, often directly from your very own kitchen.

Apart from the obvious threat of disease, rats will also cause a lot of damage.  Rodent’s teeth continue to grow throughout their lifetime, and if they do not continuously gnaw to keep them in check, their teeth will become too large and essentially useless to them.  Interestingly, the name Rodent comes from a Latin word which basically means to gnaw.

Wall damage from rats

Some of the damage caused by these pests will be noticeable and repairable, like this hole made in a wall by rats, giving them further access to wall cavities and other areas of your home.

Some damage, however, is a lot harder to spot, like these internal electrical wires that have been chewed back to bare copper.

In cases like these, you will most likely not notice anything at all until there are problems with your power, or even worse, a potential fire. Remember, rats and mice will always be gnawing on something, and it’s well documented that they have been the cause of many fires.

Electrical wiring damaged by rodents

There are things that you can do around your home that will help make your property less attractive for rodents to live.

1. Ensure all of your household garbage is in tightly sealed bins which rats and mice cannot access. This helps to restrict their access to food as much as possible. Rodents are opportunistic feeders – while they have their preferred food sources, they will still eat almost anything.
2. Alter your building so that Rodents cannot gain entry. Look for access holes that rats can use, such as where pipes enter buildings, gaps under external doors, etc. Sealing these and other similar points will make it harder for rodents to enter. Using a gutter guard can also be helpful to stop them entering the roof via the gutters.
3. Trim excess trees and shrubs from around the perimeter of structure especially trees that overhang the roof. This will both take away harbourage areas and make accessing the roof a little bit harder for them.

When all else fails, other control measures will need to be implemented. Here at Amalgamated Pest Control, we are the experts at assessing all of your options and presenting the available solutions to you.

What will you do for me?

If we are called to your home because you suspect or know you have a rodent problem, the first thing we will do is conduct a full rodent inspection. We look at all areas of known activity, internally and externally, including the roof void and the sub-floor. This inspection allows us to identify the rodent species, any nesting areas, travel routes, and where they are getting food and water from.

With this crucial information, we can than implement a control strategy best suited to the problem and the property. We will also provide you with important recommendations on things you can alter or fix to manage the environment and make it less appealing to rodents. Once management has been implemented, we will keep coming back to check the bait/trap placement until the problem is controlled. We will also point out all the proofing measures that can be undertaken to keep rodents out in the future.

Remember – if the rodents come back, so will we.

If you even think you may have a rodent problem, call us here at your local Amalgamated Pest Control today.

One of the biggest pests in the upper Hunter region this time of year are spiders. In particular, the Black House Spider.

Spiders will build webs around the external walls of your home, under eaves, on fascia’s and gutters, trees and plants in your garden basically anywhere advantageous to them catching insect meals. The most common spider encountered around homes in Sydney is known as the Black House Spider. These mostly make webs around the external areas of the home itself. As populations grow they will be start to be seen internally around windows or commonly cornices.

Spiders disperse to new areas via a process known as ballooning, which is when spiderlings leave the web and attach a thread of silk and literally float like a balloon to a new place to make a web. The weather has warmed up so that means more insects to flying around to get caught in webs. The warmer months of summer produce a lot more insects. In the evening when the lights come on at home, insects start to move to the lights and this is where spiders are waiting in their webs on your home.

How to Get Rid of Spiders.

To control this spider and most other webbing spiders the treatment involves both chemical and non-chemical means of management. Treatments are also recommended for insects around the home. The fewer insects there are living around or resting on your property, the fewer insects there will be for spiders to eat and in turn there should be less spiders.

After we complete a site assessment, the external area is where we usually start. The entire surface area of external walls is treated. This ensures that all spiders and seldom seen spiderlings that will be on the walls are treated. Sometimes a wall may look like there are no spiders on it, especially brick walls, once treated they can be crawling with spiderlings that were too small and well hidden to be seen when they’re not moving.

Eaves, guttering, fascia’s are treated. Treatment is applied carefully around windows and if applied correctly and carefully will not run or mark windows. Gardens, plants, shrubs and the like will be treated. The chemicals we apply will not harm plants. All other areas of a home and yard where spiders are known to be are also treated.

If spiders are a problem inside your home, we will always look for non-chemical methods of control or removal first. Spiders can be removed and controlled internally simply by vacuuming or brushing the spiders down. If the infestation is high certain registered products can be used inside homes safely will be used.
Treatment is often also applied to roof voids, wall cavities. Sometimes sub-floors may also need to be treated in extreme cases.

Most webbing spiders produce one generation per year and Amalgamated Pest Controls treatment procedures for spider control target every spider that can be calling your home, their home. We will provide you with a 12 month service warranty for the spider treatment. That means if spiders come back, we will too. At no additional cost to you.

If you have a problem with spiders and need a Guaranteed Gone solution and take advantage of our Summer Special covering cockroaches, ants and spiders to keep your home protected through summer.

Protect your home this summer, call Amalgamated Pest Control Muswellbrook.

(02) 6535 2107

Spring is well and truly here in Muswellbrook and that means it’s time for many of those nasty pests that we all hate to come out and invade our homes.

Spring Pests

Birds and Bird Mites will pose an immediate threat from here on. Ensure that birds cannot gain entry to your roof spaces and other areas of your home. Keeping birds out must be a priority. Birds carry Bird Mites which are tiny and can be in there thousands in a bird nest. The problem with these pests is that once the baby bird have grown up have left the nest these Bird Mites will disperse through your home in search of a new blood meal, the occupants of the house.

Bees and Wasps are another pest of spring that will invade homes. Paper Wasps build a nest in areas such as under eaves and other similar places. They will usually construct their nests on northern and western facing areas, as this is the direction the sun moves. Sometimes they can be concealed in foliage. If you see paper wasps, it’s recommended that you leave their removal to a professional as their sting can be very painful and each wasp can sting multiple times.

Bees will start to swarm.  Swarming is a natural part of the reproductive lifecycle of bees. The warmer weather and increases of nectar and pollen in the environment cause the colony to increase in population, leading to overcrowding of the hive. This over-population is what prompts the bees to begin to swarm and reproduce. The swarm will usually come to rest in a cluster on reasonably nearby objects such as trees, shrubs and manmade objects such as signs, fences and buildings. The swarm will usually stay clustered it the desired area from anywhere between a few hours up to two days. After this time they will move on to a new site to and permanent nesting site. When bees are in this swarming state, stay away from them and do not interfere with them. Contact a professional to assess the situation and take the appropriate measures that may be required. Do not attempt to remove the resting swarm yourself.

During spring, certain pests will start to pose an increased threat to our homes. These pests can include cockroaches, ants, spiders, ticks, mosquitos and many more.

Spring Pest Checklist

Some of these pests there is not too much you can do to prevent them coming to your property. But for pests like cockroaches, ants, spiders and mosquitos, there are some measures you can take to make your home less susceptible to them

• Prevent their Entry: Ensure that your fly screens are properly fitted and have no holes in them. This will stop insects that fly in to your home.
• Reduce Clutter: Have a spring clean.Many pests love cluttered stored items as it provides very good hiding places for them. The big the problems is that if insects like to harbor within clutter, that’s where spiders such as Redbacks will hide. That’s were there food will be
• External Walls an Eaves: Check these areas for wasp’s nests and spiders. If you find a wasp nest – don’t attempt to remove it yourself, their stings are painful. Spiders commonly found on external walls are black house spiders. While these spiders aren’t the most harmful, they do attract other spiders that love to eat them such as the toxic White Tail Spider. Spiders can be easily controlled by Amalgamated Pest Control with a 12 month service warranty.
• Trees and Foliage: Keep trees and foliage trimmed well back from the external walls of your home. This is commonly how ants and other pests will access your home. If you have had a pest control treatment at your home this is especially important as ants will bypass the barriers will place and access you home
• Clean Out Gutters: Guttering that is full of leaves and other matter can mean that water is built up within and not flowing away as it should. This will be a good source of water for ants, mosquitos and other pests.
• Garbage Bins: Keep your bins sealed. Inside and out. If pests are able to access your outside bins, they will. There is plenty of food for them in there. Pest like flies, cockroaches and ants will take advantage of bins.
• These are just some of things that you can do to make your home less susceptible to invasion of spring pests.

We will treat your home for pests such as cockroaches, ants and spiders and provide you with a 12 month service warranty which means you can be assured that through spring and into summer, you and your property are protected against pests. If the pests come back within the service warranty period, so will Amalgamated Pest Control.

Still concerned?

If you believe or suspect that you have a spring pest problem, contact Amalgamated Pest Control Muswellbrook for further advice.

(02 6535 2107