Advanced Pest Control

Where to Find Spider Nests

Often regarded as a pest themselves, spiders can actually help with pest control in your home, eating insects like ants, flies and moths. Noticing a few spiders around your home is nothing to be alarmed about but spider nests are something you don’t want to find as your abode could easily become overrun with arachnids once the babies hatch.

Likely places for a spiders nest

Different species of spider will build their nest in different locations, usually dependent on whether the spider is web spinning or ground dwelling. Spiders that spin webs will likely build their nests above ground level whereas spiders that live in the ground will build their nests there.

Web spinning spiders include:

• Red back spider           
• Black house spider       
• White tailed spider        

Ground dwelling spiders include:

• Funnel web spiders      
• Trap door spiders         
• Wolf spiders    

If a spider decides to build a nest inside your home, it’s likely to be in a dark, cluttered space where a nest could be easily built and isn’t likely to be disturbed. Check overhangs, eaves and corners inside the home and remember to look in the attic or garage, checking under boxes and large items. Web spinning spiders will build nests close to areas where insects can be found so check around windows and doors.

Ground dwelling spiders will build their nests at or beneath ground level. Funnel web spiders don’t like sunshine so shady spots, such as beneath trees or inside tree trunks are common nesting places. Spiders that don’t mind the sunshine, such as mouse or trapdoor spiders, will build their burrows wherever they find a suitable space.

If you find a spider nest inside your home do not attempt to remove it yourself. Contact professionals in spider control Perth so nests can be removed safely and effectively. Advanced Pest Control in Perth provides a full service pest control solution - call 08 6500 0712 for an obligation free quote.

Essential Facts about Weil's Disease

Conditions like Weil’s disease should act as a reminder of the importance of pest control both in your home and at work. Weil’s Disease develops from Leptospirosis, a bacterial disease that can affect both humans and animals.

How is Weil’s disease contracted?

The infection is generally spread through contact with water that has been contaminated with infected animal urine, mostly from rodents as well as cattle and pigs.

Leptospirosis typically enters the body through cuts, scrapes and grazes and can also get into your system via nose, mouth, throat and eyes.

Symptoms of Weil’s disease

The initial symptoms of Weil’s disease include fever, severe headache, sore muscles, chills, vomiting, and red eyes. Symptoms develop and can become more severe, including kidney failure, jaundice and meningitis. Hospitalisation is required in severe cases and occasionally Weil’s disease can be fatal.

Avoid Weil’s disease

There are many ways to reduce your chances of contracting Weil’s disease. Good basic hygiene (washing your hands thoroughly with water and soap) helps to reduce contraction of a plethora of bacteria as does keeping any cuts or grazes covered with a waterproof dressing.

You should avoid swimming or wading in water which could be contaminated and wear gloves when gardening. Rodent problems around the home or at work should be dealt with promptly. It is important to keep your home and workplace free of rubbish and debris; garbage attracts rats into your home, making it much more likely that bacteria is spread between rats and humans. Rats can contaminate a number of household surfaces, from doors and kitchen surfaces to upholstery, books, wires and cables.

Anyone working with animals should wear protective clothing and avoid eating or smoking until washing hands thoroughly after handling animals.

If you have a pest problem such as white ants or rats, it’s time to enlist professional help. Advanced Pest Control in Perth service all Perth metro areas so call 08 6500 0712 today to arrange an appointment.

Stop Worrying About Spiders: Some Top Tips

If you tend to fret about spiders in your home then take a look at some facts and figures to put your mind at ease. Spider proofing your home will also help your spider stress levels, whether you opt to take action yourself or seek the help of experts.

Spider statistics

It is estimated that Australia is home to over 10,000 different species of spiders, from a range of different eco-systems. From city centres to rural areas, you can find spiders just about anywhere in Australia.

Despite their widespread prevalence, spiders in Australia do not cause fatalities and there have been no deaths in the country from a confirmed spider bite since 1979. In comparison, around 1000 people die each year in Australia due to road traffic accidents so you’re much more likely to encounter danger on the roads than from a spider.

Spiders live in a variety of different places. The most dangerous, funnel web spiders, are commonly found along the East Coast, from Tasmania right up to Queensland, as well as some areas of South Australia. Funnel webs usually live in holes in moist soil so your garden is a likely place to spot one.

Redback and white-tailed spiders are found all over Australia. Redbacks like to live in sheltered areas, such as garden sheds whilst white-tails are commonly found in cool, tiled areas like the bathroom.

Huntsman spiders are feared due to their size but fret not as these shy arachnids are harmless and are highly likely to scuttle off if disturbed. Their favoured spot is under rocks or bark and inside crevices.

If you’re still feeling a little unsure about Australia’s varied collection of spiders, take some time to spider proof your home. For help with spider control Perth, get in touch with Advanced Pest Control on 08 6500 0712 today.

Signs that a home has termites

In this video from eHow, American pest control specialist Tyler Royce talks about indications that a building has termites. If you think your home might have a termite infestation, check your walls carefully with Tyler’s advice in mind.

Identifying a termite infestation

As Tyler indicates, signs of termite infestation include bubbling or paint flaking on inside walls. Another sign is what Tyler calls ‘honeycombing’ of the skirting boards – that is, the boards are structurally weakened by being partially eaten by termites. If you can indent the boards with just the pressure of your finger that’s a sure sign that that boards are being eaten away.

Another sign to look for is the development of shelter tubes around the base of external walls. These are thin, snaking protuberances that lead from ground level up to the woodwork of a building. Termites are fragile insects that are vulnerable to many predators such as ants. These shelter tubes, made of a mixture of faeces, plant matter, saliva and soil, provide protection from hostile environments, allowing them to find entry points into buildings without exposing themselves to predators along the way.

Tyler says that most termite discoveries are made during renovating, and that in most cases, termites will usually have been in walls for around two years and have done considerable damage before being discovered. This is because, until it gets really bad, termite damage is mostly on the interior of walls and so not readily identifiable from the outside. So look closely at your walls using Tyler’s tips; the sooner you can catch any termite problem the better.

If you think you home or business might be infested with termites or other pests, contact the professionals at Advanced Pest Control on 08 6500 0712 for an obligation-free quote.

Getting to know termites

A termite infestation in your home can be major problem. And while the little critters are nothing but a pest when it comes to buildings, in their own environment termites are as much a part of the ecosystem as any other creature. In this excerpt from the BBC’s Life in the Undergrowth, David Attenborough provides an insight into the miniature world of the termite colony.

Life and death in the termite castle

In South Africa, David shows off a termite mound that stands taller than he does. These mounds – which can also be found in northern parts of Australia – are a specialised feat of engineering, designed to utilise wind to extract hot air from the underground colony beneath it and replace this with cool fresh air. These colonies can host as many as 100,000 termites per square metre – a staggering figure that helps explain why termite infestations can be such a problem, and all the more reason to be constantly on the lookout for them.

Next we see an invasion of the mound by a hoard of matabele ants, one of the termite's natural predators. Termites are relatively defenceless against predators such as ants, which is why they mostly remain underground and hidden inside trees and timber. The ants force their way into the colony with all the ruthlessness of an invading army. Special soldier termites put up a brave fight, but in the end they are no match for the ants’ superior strength, and the invaders make off with the spoils of war: the bodies of many of the termites to feast upon.

Advanced Pest Control offers safe and effective pest extermination solutions for termites and a wide range of other infestation problems. Call 08 6500 0712 for an obligation-free quote today.