Pest Management

(non-timber service only)

Our approach is first and foremost to use non-invasive methods to prevent and minimise the risk of pest infestation.

Discourage pests > Modify their environment > Use targeted treatments.

This approach has considerable advantages regarding health and safety, as it less harmful to both people and the environment. We call it Pest Management. Keeping your premises clean and free of invading pests can turn into an exhausting mission. While you keep your kitchen clean and rat-proof your outdoor bins you will often find that even the strictest precautions still allow pests to infiltrate.

Common Household Pests

Things you wished you didn’t know about common household pests.

Cockroaches

If a cockroach loses its head, it can live for about 2 weeks since it has other “brains” on its legs.

It finally dies because it has no mouth to get food and water.

Generally, cockroaches can live for four weeks without food, but cannot survive for more than two weeks without water.

You‘ve probably heard the story about cockroaches surviving a nuclear war: we die but they live! Radiologists have found that humans can safely withstand a one-time exposure of 5 rems (A “rem” is the dosage of radiation that will cause a specific, measured amount of injury to human tissue). A lethal dose is 800 rems or more (people are exposed to about 16 rems during their lifetime). Insect researchers have found that cockroaches can tolerate a much higher dose. The lethal dose for the American cockroach is 67,500 rems and for the German cockroach it is between 90,000 and 105,000 rems! In truth the amount of radiation that cockroaches can withstand is equivalent to that of a thermonuclear explosion.

Big Red Cleaning and Pest Control keeping homes, offices and commercial buildings clean, fresh and pest free

Fleas

Fleas are a parasite that feed on blood and transport themselves on rodents and other mammals. Fleas cannot fly, instead they jump from place to place. Fleas are capable of jumping 150 times their own height. If humans could do this, we would be able to jump over skyscrapers!

Fleas love both your homes indoor and outdoor environments. They will live on your pets, your curtains, rugs and carpets. Fleas carry with them a range of health risks, but the most obvious is their bites which will cause irritation and itchiness.

Fleas lay eggs while attached to the host. These eggs will drop to the ground with movement where they will remain until hatching. Flea eggs typically hatch in two to twelve days, but can lay dormant in unoccupied properties for up to six months, only hatching and creating a problem once the property becomes inhabitet again. Due to this, Flea management may take multiple treatments. Call BIG RED to rid your home of this pesky intruder.

Rats & Mice

It has been estimated that 30 baby rats are born every second, compared to one human being.
Rats can bite repeatedly at the rate of six bites per second.
Next to man, rats are considered to be the most destructive vertebrate animals on earth.
Female house mice give birth to 6 young ones about 21 days after mating. She is ready to mate again in two days. She can produce 6 to 10 litters a year. Her young will be ready to mate in two months.
The word “mouse” can be traced to the Sanskrit word “musha” which is derived from a word “to steal”.
Rats are omnivorous, eating nearly any type of food, including dead and dying members of their own species.
Rats memorize specific pathways and use the same routes habitually

Webbing Spiders

Spiders are ancient animals with a history going back many millions of years. They have always been with us, an ancient source of fear and fascination. They are abundant and widespread and are natural controllers of insect populations, however we understand when these creatures share our homes and living space it can cause distress and concern.

Webbing Spiders strategically create their webs in high traffic areas to catch their prey. Not only can these create an unkept look around your home, but when spun across doorways and walkways they create quite a spectacle when walked through by unsuspecting people, this is also known as the ‘spider dance’.

You don’t have to live in fear however, call BIG RED to discuss treatment options for your home.