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Common household pests in the UK

Mice

They’re active all year and like nesting in warm, quiet places such as lofts or cavity walls. They constantly gnaw at furniture, and will chew through packaging to get at food. Mice are known to spread disease and often use cables to climb to higher areas.

Moths

Clothes moths can be very stubborn to get rid of. You may think it’s the moths that are eating your clothes, carpets and fabrics, but it’s actually their white caterpillar larvae – the eggs they leave behind – doing most of the damage. Left untreated, they can ruin carpets as well as your favourite clothes.

Rats

Brown rats are the most common in the UK. The black rat, or ship rat, is rarely found in the UK anymore. Rats need to gnaw to keep their constantly growing incisor teeth worn down. They damage woodwork, plastic, bricks and lead pipes, and will strip insulation from electrical cables – which is a fire hazard. Much like mice, they can potentially spread disease.

Bed bugs

Bed bugs get around because of how much we travel, as well as the use of second hand furniture - it’s even suspected that they’ve built up tolerances to some pesticides. They’re more likely to occur in multi-occupancy buildings or places with fast turnover of tenants, and they feed on human blood. If you’re suffering from the dreaded bed bug, it’s always a good idea to a get a professional in quickly, as they’re stubborn and difficult to eradicate.

Wasps

Wasps live in nests and have complex social structures. They’re most active in the spring and summer, when the queens start to build new nests and the resulting wasps go out to find food. They’re most attracted to sweet foods, and will start to die off in the winter as natural supplies like fruit grow short.

The queen then goes into hibernation ready to start again the following spring. Large wasp nests can contain up to 30,000 wasps, and can be found in places where the nest is protected from the elements and will be undisturbed. Common locations include lofts, wall cavities, trees, bushes and underground. Treating a nest, especially inside a home, should be left to the professionals as wasps can become very aggressive.

Flies

Flies can contaminate food when they come into contact with it, and can transmit food poisoning, dysentery, typhoid or cholera. Good hygiene and quick disposal of rubbish is an effective way of getting rid of them, as well as fly screens on windows, and not leaving food uncovered.

Ants

Ants are attracted to sweet food which they take back to their nest to feed to the larvae and queen. The nests are often found on lawns, in warm, dry soil and under paving - look for finely powdered soil. There are treatments you can use yourself, like pouring boiling water into the entrance of the nests, followed by an insecticidal powder.

Spiders

Spiders have a bad reputation and are often considered a pest, but in the UK they’re mainly harmless. They can actually help in some circumstances as they eat flies in the home. If you happen to have a lot of spiders, this can be dealt with by simply removing them, their webs and their prey (flies).

The qualifications your pest controller needs

Pest controllers can get specific technical training through the British Pest Control Association (BPCA), who run a full range of courses.

Insurance for pest control work

Like most trades who are working on your home, they’ll need public liability insurance to protect you against any damage that could potentially happen.

Questions you should ask a pest controller

• Do they have public liability insurance and what does this cover?
• How long have they been trading for?
• Who will be carrying out the work and have they undergone training with the BPCA?
• Do they specialise in particular pests?
• What chemicals and pesticides will they be using and what effects could they have on your home?
• Will they guarantee the work, and will they come back if the pest persists?

Pest control ideas

Read about how one of our staff members struggled and dealt with a clothes moth infestation. Here’s some tips on how to get rid of mice, wasps and ants, and last but not least, have a go at pest-proofing your place with this blog post.