About Us PESTWISE are an environmentally friendly company using natural, biodegradeable products to reduce & avoid, where possible, pollution of land, air and waterways. All our pest control procedures are tried & tested & all the pests & animals are dealt with humanely & in accordance with current legislation. We will turn up on time, offer advice & provide a solution to all your pest problems. We offer a quick & efficient service & always deliver what we promise. Services Possums Possums are native nocturnal marsupials. In suburban areas possums will take advantage of broken tiles, loose iron sheeting or unfinished work to enter roof voids and floor cavities to shelter during the day. As well as the noise & nuisance of having a possum in your roof or wall cavity, there is also the added mess and damage they cause to ceilings and roofs. Possums will also gnaw electrical wiring which can lead to fires. We Will - Seal the possum entry points, Replace any broken tiles, re-nail loose iron sheeting, check all ridge caps & re-cement where necessary, use one way possum exits or cages to remove the possums from your roof, install a possum box if required, weekly possum cage hire is also available. All work is fully guaranteed, department of sustainability & environment approved and licensed. RATS & MICE Rats & Mice are often attracted to buildings & homes for food & shelter, bringing with them noise, smell & damage. Rats & Mice can live in your roof cavity as well as in burrows under your home or garage. They deposit their droppings on all surfaces over which they travel, and this together with grease smearing & gnawings of wood or food are good indications of rodent presence. Diseases caused by rodents include salmonellosis, murine typhus & trichinosis. Another danger is the fact that both rats & mice enjoy gnawing wiring which has the potential to cause a house fire. ANTS Some ants inflict severe bites but most are a nuisance pest invading even the cleanest of homes in search of food & water. Ants can nest in wall cavities & roof voids as well as in soil, timber & under pavers/rocks around the home Identification of the ant species is important when it comes to providing an effective solution. Some "Do it Yourself" products may provide short term relief but may also make the problem worse. Killing foraging ants will not cure the problem, the nest needs to be eliminated. CARPET BEETLE Carpet beetles live mainly in gardens feeding on pollen & nectar but can enter the home via cut flowers, open doors & windows. Dark in colour & between 3mm to 5mm in length the adult beetle will lay its eggs in dark undisturbed areas such as under furnishings & skirtings. Once the larvae have hatched they will feed on dry materials of animal origin such as wool, leather, silk & fur causing damage to carpets, rugs, clothing & wall hangings. If left, damage to carpet may be so bad, removal of carpet & treatment of the flooring beneath may be recommended. COCKROACHES Cockroaches are normally found in areas where food is prepared & stored. Domestically they can be found in areas other than kitchens, searching for food & water. They are more active at night spending most of the day sheltering in cracks & crevices. They cause disease such as samonella, dysentery & typhis by feeding or excreting on, as well as walking on, food & food preparation areas,. Often, they move from drains or sewers into areas of human occupation. A chemical treatment is usually required for their removal. SILVERFISH Most Silverfish are nocturnal & fast moving. In the home they live in dark places such as wardrobes, bookshelves, cupboards & drawers. Coming out at night to feed on materials with a high starch content e.g paper, glue & food. They can therefore cause damage to books, pictures & old documents etc. SPIDERS Spiders are most active during the night leaving the protection of their shelters to feed. Many spiders live alongside humans resting in cracks and crevices, holes and vents around the home or forming webs around windows, cornices,in roof voids and sub floors. No human deaths have occurred since the introduction of antivenoms but as well as being painful and causing swelling a spider bite can bring on nausea, vomitting, sweating and giddiness. BEES & WASPS Colonies begin in the spring. Nests can be found in rockeries, tree stumps & behind sleeper walls but it is becoming more common place for bees & wasps to enter wall cavities & roof voids through holes & air vents. Treating a bee or wasp nest yourself can be dangerous. European wasps sting repeatedly. It is extremely painful & highly inflammatory if you are stung on the throat, in the mouth or on a glandular part of the body then death can occur. A swarm of bees can be extremely aggressive & are known to attack a person in such large numbers as to cause death. In some cases death may arise to people who have an allergic reaction to the venom. FLIES Flies will thrive anywhere there is food, moisture & egg laying sites. Flies pose considerable health risks to humans as they transmit diseases such as Salmonella, Dysentery, Cholera, Hepatitis & Typhoid Fever. Flies feed on a wide range of materials but can not eat solids, instead they vomit onto solids using chemicals in their saliva to break the food down & then suck up what they can. Flies also excrete prior to a meal or just after spreading germs & diseases that we cannot see. MOSQUITOES Mosquitoes are bloodsucking insects which do not only cause a nuisance to residents but are capable of transmitting diseases to humans and animals. The most common diseases spread by mosquitoes are Ross River Virus (RRV), Barmah Forest Virus (BFV), Malaria & Human Filariasis. Heartworm in dogs is also transmitted by mosquitoes. BED BUGS Bed Bugs are one of the great travelers of the world, transported via luggage, clothing, Bedding & Furniture. Bed Bugs are oval shaped, wingless, blood sucking insects, 5mm long when fully grown & rust brown in colour. this changes to a deeper red-brown following a blood meal. Bed Bugs will usually feed at night, taking shelter during the day in a variety of dark locations close to where people sleep. these include under mattresses, floorboards, carpets, bed frames, furniture, cracks & crevices in walls & skirtings or behind paintings & loose wallpaper. They wait until the host is deeply asleep before responding to his/her body heat & quickly move in to feed. Bed Bugs may test pierce (bite) several times before settling for 3-5 minutes to fully gorge on blood. they then retreat to a safe hiding place. The cryptic nature of bed bugs means they will be protected from pesticides unless applied thoroughly & correctly BIRDS As well as creating noise and odours, the presence of birds around the home or workplace constitutes a serious health risk to humans. Birds can carry more than 60 different transmittable diseases. Most air-borne bacteria from bird droppings. In some cases these can be very serious leading to high fevers, acute gastro-enteritis & even death. The bird nest is also a haven for many other pests including fleas, ticks, mites & carpet beetle which can invade the home causing damage & stress indoors. FLEAS Fleas are small, wingless insects with a flattened body & legs adapted for jumping. Usually found around pet baskets, blankets & carpets but can be found anywhere. They like warm, humid conditions so are therefore more active in the summer. They spend time on & off their host & can swap hosts thereby transmitting serious diseases such as murine typhus. Ten fleas can potentially produce up to 250,000 in only 30 days! Therefore it is best to treat them before the numbers build up.