Pest control
From the 1 April 2024, our pest control service is chargeable for domestic properties within Bridgend County Borough.
Please note: We do not treat commercial properties.
Fees
The fees for pest control treatments are as follows:
- Rats - £59.00
- Mice - £61.00
- Cockroaches - £95.00
- Bedbugs - £110.00
- Wasps - £68.95
- Fleas - £103.43
Book and appointment
When booking an appointment, please ensure your contact and address details are correct as our pest control contractor will use these details to contact you.
The contractor will attempt to contact you firstly by telephone to arrange an appointment. If you cannot be reached by telephone after two attempts, they will attend the property detailed on the booking.
If there isn’t anyone at the property when the contractor attends, your appointment will be cancelled, and 50% of the call-out charge will be refunded as a booking charge will apply.
If you still require treatment following a cancelled appointment, you will need to book another appointment which will incur a further charge.
Rodent treatments cover the initial visit and a follow up visit to remove unused bait and any traps placed.
Once an appointment has been made, a technician will attend to investigate the problem and decide the most effective solution such as laying baits and or traps. They will also look for possible entry points and advise on proofing or methods needed to help prevent future problems.
The technician will book a follow up visit during your initial appointment. During the follow-up appointment the technician will check the baits have been taken or the rodent has been caught and will then remove any unused bait and the traps.
Should the problem reoccur then a new appointment, including payment will be required.
If you do not wish to book an appointment but require assistance with preventing pests, further advice can be found below.
If you are renting your property, you should report any pest concerns to your landlord as they may be able to carry out any treatment for you.
If you are experiencing an infestation of any pest listed above, we can arrange a visit from our pest control team by clicking the link below. You will need to pay the relevant fee at the time of booking.
To book a visit from our Pest Control team, please complete an online appointment form. You will need to pay the relevant fee at the time of booking.
Please note:If you are renting your property, you should report any pest concerns to your landlord as they may be able to carry out any treatment for you.
Bees
We do not treat Bees inside or outside properties. If there are Bees inside or outside your property, please contact Bridgend Beekeepers:
Advice and Guidance
Signs of a rodent infestation include:
- Rats and mice typically have a very strong ammonia smell.
- On top of their foul odour, rodents are often very noisy.
- Rats excrete pellet-shaped droppings up to 14mm, while mice droppings are typically 5mm and spindle shaped.
- Grease and dirt from their bodies may leave smudges on surfaces and skirting boards. Due to their poor eyesight they tend to use established routes.
- Rats can leave foot and tail marks in dusty, less-used areas of buildings such as cellars.
- Secure food - store food in sealed containers to prevent rodents from accessing it, and to minimise any smells that may attract them. Also, ensure that any outdoor bins have secure lids and that food waste is kept to a minimum, with compost bins fastened tightly. Rodents can easily gain access to food placed within refuse bags.
- Seal any holes larger than a quarter of an inch, which is the width of a biro pen, as rodents can quickly chew through all sorts of materials to create larger openings. Gaps around pipes can easily be proofed using stainless steel pan scourers. Place a scourer into the hole and ensure it is secured, the outside can then be filled with cement or filler. Do NOT use expanding foam as rats/mice can easily gnaw through. If the gap is bigger than a scourer, any fine metal mesh can be effective. If there is a gap at the base of a door, fixing brush strips to the base can act as a deterrent.
- Cleanliness is key - regularly clean under stoves, fridges, cupboards as well as any other hard-to-reach areas.
- Check your drains regularly - rodents can enter buildings through damaged drains, check these are well maintained.
If rats have been sighted outside of the living space (attic, cavity wall, garages and gardens) please attempt these preventative measures before using traps and poison.
- Cut off outside food sources - do not feed any animals outdoors such as birds, stray cats, or squirrels. Ensure any animal droppings from domestic pets are cleared as these can all feed rats.
- Remove cover for rats - ensure there is no overgrown grass or plants. Remove places they can hide such as old furniture, building materials or timber stacked against walls. This removes shelter for rats.
- Protect food waste containers - ensure all food waste containers are sealed and shut away so no animal can access them. Rodents can easily gain access to food through refuse bags left outside.
- It must be a consistent problem rather than just seeing one rat in passing which isn’t seen again. If a rat can’t find food or shelter, it has no reason to return to a garden.
- If using your own bait or traps - as per the label on rat poison, it is the responsibility of the person who placed the bait to check it and collect any carcasses. Do not place traps outside without protecting it from pets, hedgehogs etc. Peanut butter is a good attractant to use on traps as it has a strong smell and also is a preferred food to most rodents. Any caught rodents can simply be placed in the general refuse for disposal. Our pest control contractor will not attend to check your own bait or pick up carcasses from your own rat poison.
- Check and wash pets - Regularly check and wash your pets for fleas with a flea comb. This will catch a potential problem early and prevent fleas from settling in carpets and bedding.
- Frequent bedding wash - Wash pet bedding weekly, ideally at temperatures above 50 degrees to kill any dormant fleas and eggs.
- Vacuum floors - Vacuum floors and furniture regularly. Ensure you cover hard to reach places as fleas like to hide in cracks in floorboards and crevices.
- Shake rugs and bedding - Shake or beat rugs and pet bedding outdoors so that fleas and eggs fall off.
- Consider beds’ locations - Consider placing pet beds in areas without carpets. This may include wooden floors, but only if they’re well sealed. If there are gaps between the boards, it may make the pest much harder to treat.
- Inspect any new property - When moving into a new home inspect carpets and flooring carefully for signs of eggs or ‘flea dirt’. If the previous owners had pets, the flea larvae might be waiting for you.
Signs of a cockroach problem include:
- Unusual smell - An established cockroach infestation produces a lingering and unpleasant odour that taints items the cockroaches touch.
- Cockroach droppings - If little water is available, cockroaches will produce brown/black cylindrical droppings which are about 2mm long.
- Smear marks - If water is abundant, cockroaches will produce brown and irregular shaped smears. Check for marks on horizontal surfaces and at wall-floor junctions where cockroaches scuttle along.
- Shed skins - Cockroaches shed five to eight skins as they mature into adults. These shed skins are usually found close to where the cockroaches are sheltering.
Prevent a cockroach infestation
Secure food - The most effective way to deter cockroaches is to deny them food, water and shelter by:
- not leaving liquids in sinks or buckets
- not leaving food sitting out on counters
- storing dry foods in tightly sealed containers
- rinsing cans, bottles and plastics before putting them in recycling bins
- emptying your rubbish every day
Clean - Clear all waste food and liquid spillage. That includes cleaning up food debris from food preparation areas, under sinks and appliances. Remove pet food, drink and litter trays before nightfall.
De-clutter - Cockroaches release an aggregation pheromone in their droppings telling others they have found a safe place. Remove old stacks of newspapers and magazines, unused cardboard boxes and other clutter from the floor or bottom of cupboards where cockroaches have easy access.
Take preventive measures
These include:
- varnishing or painting wood shelves to seal them, and wiping them clean regularly
- checking key risk areas where cockroaches may gain entry into the home such as cracks, crevices, vents, sewers and drainpipes
- reducing potential hiding areas by sealing areas such as cracks in walls, around skirting boards, behind electrical sockets, under kitchen sinks and bathroom cabinets
Before you travel, check sites like Trip Advisor for reviews
If the hotel has had a problem with bed bugs previously, it’s likely customers will have shared their experience of it in online review sites.
In hotels, bed bugs are usually found on and around the bed and will hide in mattress seams, headboards and crevices in bedside furniture. They can even be found in skirting boards. Because of this, ensure you thoroughly search before you settle into your room. Check your luggage too in case you have picked up any bugs in the aircraft hold.
Many people put their luggage on their bed when they arrive in their room. However, it’s recommended that you place your case in a bath or shower so that you can check the bed for bugs first. This helps to reduce the risk of bugs crawling from the bedding to your clothing and vice versa.
Ask to change rooms - If you do suspect bed bugs are present, ask to change hotel rooms. Also, ask for a room on a different floor which isn’t directly above or below the suspected room, as bed bugs can travel between rooms.
Search and wash your belongings as soon as you get home - Put your case in a bath and check for signs of the insects before you start unpacking your belongings. Wash any clothing you took on a 60 degree wash, which will help kill any live bed bugs or eggs.