Ants
Ants - Lasius niger
There are 2.5 million ants on earth... per person. That’s about 20 quadrillion total. A big big number. So it’s pretty likely you’ll encounter them at some stage in your life. In the UK we deal with 2 types of ants - both the Black Garden Ant (Lasius niger) and the Pharaoh’s Ant (Monomorium pharaonis). They’re both ants but very different in action and control.
What to look for?
- Look around the top of the bed, pull the mattress back. They have a distinct red, brown colour,oval shape and are flattened if not recently fed.
- Not tiny, roughly half a centimetre in length.
- In heavy infestations - a distinctive odour will be noted originating in their excrement and scent glands.
- Check for blood spots on the bedding.
- Though it's called a bedbug, you will also find them in furniture, wallpaper, skirting boards and structural cracks.
Where to look...
- More likely a pest of high density accommodation - hotels, student accommodation, apartment blocks.
- They are often transferred to domestic environments through travel - on suitcases, planes, trains etc.
- Therefore most likely to see an infestation post travelling, moving home etc.
- This is one of the tougher pests to control yourself but we'll give it a go.
- Hygiene! Thoroughly clean the room, vacuuming all cracks and crevices.
- Wash clothes at high temperatures (where suitable) - above 60°C.
- Wash bedding as frequently as you are able - also above 60°C.
- Frame beds are far less susceptible than divan beds.
- Don't throw a bed away without first engaging a professional company to see if it's salvagable.
Entry level treatment that due to the hardiness of bedbugs generally needs to be conducted 2 or 3 times to achieve effectiveness.
This is a powerful, residual insecticide meaning it has an effect after application. It's application as a spray means it is best conducted with additional, more extensive treatments.
The nature of the spray requires premises to be vacated for 4 hours post treatment
Fumigation: A far reaching treatment which gets into cracks and crevices. This is normally applied concurrently with a spray as it lacks a residual effect.
This is a vapour based insecticide output from an industrial fogger. It is quick and effective at bedbug control but over the long term has minimal effect.
Premises must be vacated for 4 hours post application.
A completely non-toxic treatment which acts on bedbugs sensitivity to temperature changes. This treatment eliminates both bedbugs and eggs completely.
This is applied either through a superheated steam which reaches all the cracks and crevices we find bedbugs in.
Alternatively - it is possible to heat the entire room to a high temperature however this is very energy intensive.
