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In the current financial climate it is understandable that some businesses are finding trading difficult and are looking to cut back on expenditure. Some companies may feel that pest control services and contracts are an area where savings are possible. However, be warned that the long term cost of cutting back on pest prevention and pest control may far outweigh any short term financial gain.
A pest control contract should be viewed as an insurance policy. It should be seen as part of a ‘due diligence’ defence for a business owner to show that they have done what is reasonably practicable to protect people and products from pest infestation. As with all insurance policies, you need to adhere to certain conditions, and these will be the recommendations given by the pest controller in their report. So if you decide to go without an insurance policy, then what are the risks?

One of the main risks associated with pests is disease. These can be passed on to staff or on to customers via contaminated products. Rats, for example, carry Weil’s disease in their urine, an infection that presents with flu like symptoms but can be deadly. Cockroaches and housefly can transfer a number of illnesses due to their unsavoury feeding habits, and birds such as pigeons and their droppings can carry disease and cause respiratory illness. Any employer who ignored such pest activity and allowed employees or customers to fall ill would find themselves in serious trouble with enforcement bodies such as the Environmental Health department, with heavy fines and jail being possible. Combined with the bad publicity that surrounds Environmental Health prosecutions, businesses can struggle to survive.

The cost of a pest infestation can also be heavy in terms of damage to stock and equipment. Mice for example feed ‘little and often’, taking food from dozens of locations in a single night. Mice are also incontinent and freely urinate and defecate on every surface they come in to contact with. This can result in the destruction of huge quantities of stock contaminated by mouse activity. Rodents must also gnaw to stunt the growth of their incisor teeth. This again leads to damage, often shutting machinery down when power cables are chewed through. Every year, a number of properties are damaged and destroyed by rodents causing fires and floods with their gnawing habits.

As you can see, the cost of pest infestation can be high. Disease, damage, prosecution and bad publicity can all be caused by unchecked pest infestations. A pest control contract with a suitably insured, trained and qualified company will not necessarily guarantee no pest activity. However, regular inspection visits with a competent contractor will act as an early warning system, with which pest activity can be flagged and dealt with before it becomes a threat to the business. A contract that contains a call out programme is also highly beneficial as it ensures that any pest activity, taking place between routine visits can be rapidly dealt with. If you would like more information on visit frequency, scope of contract and our charges, please contact Vermatech Pest Control on 0800 781 4059 or 0118 972 4895. We are full members of the British Pest Control Association www.bpca.org.uk 01332 294288.

We are now well into the wasp nest season and are having a busy summer. Our wasp (or hornet) nest treatment charge is from £45 plus VAT.

This year wasps seem to be doing particularly well and we are finding that most of our customers have more than one nest. So before you phone us to book an appointment have a look good round your property to see if you can find anymore, as it is cheaper to have the nests treated together rather than on separate occasions.

When you phone please let us know where the nest is (i.e. eaves, shed etc.) and we will then make an appointment for one of our professional technicians (Andrew, Roy or Wez) to come out to you.

So don’t get stung this summer give us a buzz on 0118 972 4895 or 0800 781 4059

Congratulations to our technician Wez for passing his RSPH/BPCA Level 2 examination.

This qualification is principally aimed at people working in pest control, who will be better equipped to carry out their professional duties safely, efficiently and humanely. It is designed to provide an understanding of public health pests and their control, and fulfils the legal requirement relating to the training of pest control technicians as set out in the Control of Pesticides Regulations 1986.

Holders of this qualification will have a good understanding of rodent control, invertebrate control, health and safety and accident prevention, legislation, customer care and control of non-rodent mammals and birds. The qualification is divided into two units (Vertebrate Pests and Invertebrate Pests) and one half unit (Health, Safety and Legal Aspects).

A swarm in May — is worth a load of hay
A swarm in June — is worth a silver spoon
A swarm in July — isn’t worth a fly

The following information has been taken from BBC Berkshire  “Bee Part Of It” campaign see http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/berkshire/hi/people_and_places/nature/newsid_8684000/8684538.stm

Swarming Bees
Swarming is the natural means of reproduction of honeybee colonies. A new honeybee colony is formed when the queen bee leaves the colony with a large group of worker bees, a process called swarming. In the prime swarm, about 60 per cent of the worker bees leave the original hive location with the old queen. Secondary afterswarms may happen but are rare. Afterswarms are usually smaller and are accompanied by one or more virgin queens. Sometimes a beehive will swarm in succession until it is almost totally depleted of workers.

An individual bee without a colony cannot survive for long. It also needs a certain colony size to reproduce. In the process of swarming the original single colony reproduces to two and sometimes more colonies.
Swarming is mainly a spring phenomenon, usually within a two or three-week period depending on the locale. But occasional swarms can happen throughout the producing season.

A swarm of bees sometimes frightens people, though the bees are usually not aggressive at this stage of their life cycle.

This is principally due to the swarming bees’ lack of a hive to defend and their interest in finding a new nesting location for their queen.

This does not mean that bees from a swarm will not attack if they perceive a threat; however, most bees only attack in response to intrusions against their hive.

Swarm clusters, hanging off of a tree branch, will move on and find a suitable nesting location in a day or two.

UK – National Swarm Coordinators
For more information contact their nearest honeybee swarm coordinator on the British Beekeepers’ Association website at www.britishbee.org.uk/swarm_collection.php

You will be asked to supply the exact location of the swarm. Most beekeepers would make a charge for removal of a swarm from your garden depending on travelling distances to cover costs of petrol etc.

We have a wasp nest in our shed!  At the moment (16 May 2010) the queen wasp is a very hard working single mum; she has to build the nest and look after her young.  As you will see from the photograph the nest is quite small about the size of a golf ball.  The queen is constructing her nest from chewed up wood mixed with salvia which she makes into a paste (a bit like paper mache) she then builds her nest layer by layer.  When her young hatch they will take over the building of the nest and foraging of food for the wasp grubs. The nest (if left untreated) will grow rapidly throughout the summer months.

Queen wasp building her wasp nest

At the moment, unless you can actually see the wasp nest, you will probably not know it is there.  During the summer months when activity increases you may spot a steady stream of wasps coming and going from one area.  It is best to leave treatment of wasp nests to the experts as wasps will know when their nest is under attack and defend it. So don’t get stung this summer give us a buzz on 0800 781 4059.  We charge £45 plus VAT to treat a wasp nest.

When a fly lands on your food, as flies cannot chew they have to suck up their food, in order to soften it up they vomit on it, the digestive juices, enzymes, and saliva in the vomit begin to break down and dissolve the food. The fly can then suck up the liquid food with its sponge-like mouth parts and its proboscis. The fly’s feeding technique underlies, the main mode of food contamination with disease pathogens and spoilage organisms.

The fly is a highly mobile pest, able to fly from filth to food carrying with it a wide range of disease-causing organisms on its body. There are many thousands of species of flies; however, relatively few interact with humans. Those that do are among the most destructive of pest species, spreading diseases to man and domesticated animals as well as contaminating food and packaging.

It is every company’s responsibility to ensure adequate measures are being taken to avoid infestations by flying insects, especially where food is being prepared, packed or stored. At the same time home owners are becoming more aware of the risks and also want to offer the same high standards of care to their families.

Fly control is integrated; this means that no one specific method of control will control flying insects 100% of the time. As a result of this, flying insect control has to be integrated for example with fly screens on open windows or fly screen doors.

HACCP House Rules in relation to Flyscreens

• Windows opening directly into food preparation areas must be fitted with screens capable of resisting common flying insects (ideally apertures should be of 2mm2 or less)
• Screens must be removable to allow for cleaning
• Kitchen doors which open to the outside air and which are opened for lengthy periods must also be suitably screened using a close-fitting insect-proof screen door

Vermatech supply and install bespoke flyscreens for commercial customers only such as schools, restaurants, public houses. Please contact us to arrange a survey of your premises either by using our online contact form or by telephoning us on 0800 781 4059.

When should you change the ultra violet bulb in your fly killer?

Ultraviolet light is invisible to humans and deteriorates over a short period of time, usually around 12 months. Blue light will still be emitted from the tube, but this will not attract the insects. Just because a tube lights up that does not mean that it is producing enough of the correct range of UV to attract flying insects. It is therefore important to change tubes at least every 12 months, preferably at the onset of warmer weather. We sell a wide range of ultra violet tubes please see our online Internet shop at www.hygieneshop.co.uk or phone us on 0800 781 4059 to ensure you are ready for the fly season.

Fly Control Units

We also sell a wide range of British made fly control units both electric grid and glueboard. Please see our Internet shop at www.hygieneshop.co.uk or phone us on 0800 781 4059.

We treat a number of different species of ants but the most common is the black garden ant (Lasius niger). These ants tend to nest in gardens, around footings of houses and under paving slabs favouring sandy dry soil in sunny sites. Small piles of fine earth brought up to the surface by the ants can easily distinguish nest openings. Sometimes nests are well inside buildings with the ants exploiting proofing defects such as cracks in the building fabric. Garden ants are not regarded as a significant risk to public health; they are more of a nuisance when they find their way inside properties.

Ants, wasps and bees belong to one of the largest orders of insects the Hymenoptera order. Ants have complex social structures with one queen per nest, males and a large number of workers (infertile females) tending to various functions. The queen may live for up to 15 years. Ants collect food for their colony from nectar, organic material and high protein foodstuffs.

It is the workers we usually see foraging for food. Foraging workers can be a nuisance when they find their way inside houses, office kitchens, bars in search of sugary substances.

Ant nests may survive for many years but young queens together with reproductive males will leave the nest as ‘flying ants’ in July and August usually triggered by weather conditions, this used to be known as “the ants’ wedding day”. This is a common sight on a hot sunny afternoon and will only last a few hours. The winged ants fly away mating in the air. The males die off leaving some of the mated females (who shed their wings and return to the ground) to attempt to start a new ant colony.

Before you call us, it is worthwhile carrying out simple cleaning measures to try and persuade ants to forage elsewhere i.e. clearing up food and drink spillages, putting away sugary food/fruit etc.

Vermatech can carry out one off treatments to control garden ants that are finding their way inside your home or work place and causing a nuisance. We will treat internal areas and if applicable the external perimeter of the property. For commercial premises we would recommend the use of ant bait to avoid out of hours treatments, however patience is required to allow this method of control to work. We will only use insecticides that are appropriate for the situation.

Please note we will not treat ants in gardens or on lawns, after all, that is where they live and can actually be a beneficial insect and of course ants are food for birds (such as woodpeckers).

Queen Wasps

Now at last the weather has started to warm up we have begun to receive enquiries from customers saying “they have a wasp nest”.  We can assure you that wasps will not have begun to make their nests in April.  This time of year queen wasps (which are larger than the worker wasps which we see during the summer months) are emerging from hibernation.   The queen wasps are transient individuals during the Spring so we are unable to control them.   As a general rule we do not start treating wasp nests until mid June.  During the spring and early summer wasps can be regarded as beneficial insects as they kill an enormous number of flies, caterpillars and other insects to feed to their young.  However, as their numbers increase in the summer they can become a nuisance and that is when we can help by treating wasp nests.

Don’t Panic! It’s only a Bee

It is so lovely to see bumble bees buzzing busily around the garden searching for pollen and nectar to turn into honey and food for their newly hatching brood.   Where would we be without our bees? They are a very important part of our food chain, one third of the food we eat would not be available but for bees.

Mason and Mining Solitary Bees

Did you know that there are approximately 270 different types of solitary bee in this country?  Solitary bees are excellent pollinators often attracted to one type of flower so when that flower’s season ends so does the bees activity.

The fertile female bees live alone in a hole or burrow for about 6-8 weeks of the year while they lay eggs.  The burrow may be in well drained dry soil (mining bee) or in soft brick mortar (mason bee).   Sometimes as these bees can congregate together their numbers can be quite alarming but please do not let them frighten you.  They are very interesting to watch as they go backwards and forwards with mud to block up the entrance to their burrow.  You can even purchase nesting boxes for them from wildlife shops/garden centres or see http://www.arkwildlife.co.uk/acatalog/Bird_Food_Bees_42.html#aFGSB_2d00 (or make your own, as we have done by cutting down a piece of guttering and put short lengths of garden cane inside see photo below). Put the bee house up on a sunny side of your house.

Our Mason Bee House

Solitary bees have a short lifespan, living as adults for only about 6 to 8 weeks. So activity can cease as quickly as it is started.  Most solitary bees have no sting. For more information see http://www.insectpix.net/solitary_bees_gallery.htm

Honey bees

The poor honey bee is having a tough time of it.  Not only struggling with the varroa mite but now the Asian Hornet is threatening the British honey bee see link http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/beekeeping/7585774/Asian-hornet-threatens-British-bees.html

Thanks for visiting our new website, we look forward to working with you to solve your pest control problems.

We will be posting our latest news right here – check back soon!

From the Vermatech Pest Control Team