10 household pests and how to deal with them

10 household pests and how to deal with them

Pest control in the home

Every month the Good Housekeeping Institute helps with everyday household problems, everything from choosing appliances to finding that elusive service. Click through this gallery to identify 10 common household pests and find out how to keep your home invasion free.

Click here to read more about the Good Housekeeping Institute and the work they do.

Ants

What? The type most commonly seen indoors is the black garden ant. Flying ants are mating males and females setting up new colonies.

When? April to October, peaking in July and August.

Where? They often make nests close to the house under paving, patios or in plant pots. And they\'re attracted to food, particularly if it\'s sticky and sugary.

Prevention? Clean up spills and store open food and drink in the fridge.

Action: If there are large numbers, follow the line of ants back to the nest entrance and pour a kettleful of boiling water over it. If the nest is hard to find, spray them with an insecticide that\'s carried back to the nest.

Useful product: Nippon Ant Killer Liquid, £1.65. Available from vitax.co.uk

Did you know? An ant can carry up to 20 times it\'s own weight in it\'s jaws.

Bedbugs

What? Usually detected by the maddeningly itchy bites they leave. Bedbugs are reddish brown, a flattened oval shape about the size of an apple pip, and are fatter when they are fed.

When? All year round.

Where? Despite their name, they can hide out anywhere, particularly where the carpet meets the wall at the head end of the bed and under loose wallpaper. Attracted by the warmth and carbon dioxide of sleeping bodies, they feed at night. Look out for telltale specks of blood on the sheets.

Prevention: Keep cluttered areas under and around the bed to a minimum. Check and vacuum skirting boards and sleeping areas regularly.

Action: They are easily spread via suitcases and hard to get rid of; professional treatment may be needed.

Did you know? A bedbug can eat its own weight in blood in 15 minutes and it\'s body can swell up to six times it\'s hungry weight.

Rats and mice

What? Rats and mice are becoming a common household pest and can reproduce quickly to become a real headache.

When? All year round

Where? They have a compulsive need to knaw to keep their teeth worn down to a constant length. They can cause extensive damage to electric cables, pipes, pastics and woodwork but most importantly can cause food poisoning.

Prevention: A matter of keeping food areas clean and food well contained in lidded containers or in the fridge. Block potential entrance holes.

Action: Set traps in areas where droppings are obvious at right angles to walls. Put down poison, keeping it away from children and pets. Call the professionals is you think there is more than one mouse - there usually is.

Did you know? Despite what we are led to believe, cheese is a poor mouse baiter, chocolate peanut bars are far more appealing.

Cockroaches

What? These fast moving insects have long, whip-like antennae and flat oval bodies. The worst part is that they breed rapidly and pick up disease-causing bacteria from filth, which can cause serious food poisoning, eczema and asthma.

When? All year round

Where? A musty smell can indicate their presence. They thrive in warm. humid places so check around pipes, stoves and sinks.

Prevention: Live hygienically - keep food in sealed containers, clean up food spills and remove uneaten pet food at night

Action: Seal up any entry areas or crevices where cockroaches could be hiding. They\'re tricky to catch as they\'re most active at night and you may miss their eggs, which can hatch out 16-30 \'nymphs\' at a time. Getting rid of them efficiently is a job for the professionals.

Did you know? Cockroaches are survivors: they\'ve been around for more than 250 million years.

Clothes moths

What? The adults are small and golden in colour and tend to run rather than fly. The larvae are creamy white grubs with brown heads and it\'s these that create havoc among woollens, carpets and soft furnishings.

When? All year round

Where? The first sign will usually be tell-tale holes in your favourite woollies. Moths love the dark, so they usually hide in the back of wardrobes and drawers seeking out clothes soiled with food or perspiration.

Prevention: Keep dark areas unclutted and clean. Wash clothes after wearing; launder or dry-clean winter woollies and vacuum-pack them over the summer.

Action: Empty, vacuum and wash out your wardrobes and drawers. Kill the larvae by washing everything at the highest recommended temperature, or pop clothes in a plastic bag and freeze for at least 24 hours.

Did you know? Cedarwood oil deters moths, but a little cedarwood ball is unlikely to be effective.

Fleas

What? The most common fleas found in the home are cat fleas, but bird and dog fleas can also be a problem. The cat variety are reddish brown and about 2mm long. Their bites are maddening and can lead to eczema. If your pet is affected, it\'s likely its bed is host to thousands of tiny larvae.

When? All year round

Where? On your pet, pet bedding and carpet. Fleas don\'t live on humans but will often bite feet and lower legs.

Prevention: Give your pet a routine flea treatment from the vet. Shake out and beat pet bedding outdoors and wash it once a fortnight at the hottest recommended temperature.

Action: Vacuum areas used by pets using a strong suction, then dispose of vacuum bags immediately and with care. You may need to call in the professionals if the problem is extensive.

Did you know? A flea cocoon can remain dormant for up to two years until disturbed, at which point fleas will hatch and start to bite.

House fly

What? \'If you followed a fly for an hour, you wouldn\'t eat for a week\' So the saying goes, because the common house fly can cause food poisoning, dysentry and worms through it\'s unsavoury eating habits.

When? Summer and warmer autumn months

Where? Flies will feed from faeces, then food and back again, which can cause bacterial transfer - both from the hairs on the fly\'s feet and from the way they vomit on their food before eating it. They can lay up to 600 eggs in one day, which hatch 48 hours later.

Prevention: Keep food covered and wipe up spills immediately. Empty bins frequently during warm weather. If large numbers of flies are a constant problem, it\'s worth fitting mesh screens to frequently used doors and windows.

Action: Swat or spray individual flies. Fly paper should keep down large numbers

Did you know? The larvae of the flour moth spin silk webbing as they feed, which is left behind on dried food

House dust mites

What? Just visible to the naked eye, dust mites feed on dead skin cells and are harmless to most people but can cause allergies and aggravate asthma in others.

When? All year round

Where? All homes have dust mites, but they\'re particularly partial to soft furnishings and bedding, and any environment that\'s damp and warm. The older the bed, the more dust mites there are likely to be.

Prevention: Change bedding frequently, wash at 60 degrees or hotter, and expose to sunlight when the weather permits. Vacuum your mattresses often, preferably with a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter. Eliminate damp - the mites can\'t survive in a dry atmosphere.

Action: Dust mites can never be eradicated, but replacing carpet with wooden floors will help.

Did you know? A typical household mattress could be providing a home to many thousands of dust mites

Wasps

What? A sugar lover with a nasty sting in the tail, this yellow and black insect is the gate-crasher at many a barbecue. Don\'t worry about single wasps, but large numbers that persist could mean there\'s a nest nearby.

When? Numbers peak during late summer, in August and September

Where? Wherever there is sweet food

Prevention: Hard to prevent but best left alone. Stand still rather than waving your arms around, as wasps can detect moving objects more easily than stationary ones.

Action: Wasps never return to an old nest, so remove and dispose of it - you can do this yourself, as long as the nest is empty. Keep an eye out for signs of a new one, though. It\'s best to leave a live nest alone as the wasps will depart as soon as the weather gets cold. If it\'s in an area you use regularly, call in the experts.

Did you know? Wasps are useful in the garden. They\'re efficient eaters of garden pests such as caterpillars and grubs.

Woodworm

What? The destructive larvae of wood boring beetles, particularly the furniture beetle. The first signs are usually 2mm round holes in wooden surfaces, next to which you\'ll find piles of wood dust.

When? Between May and September

Where? Larvae bore into wooden surfaces such as floorboards and structural timbers.

Prevention: Hard to avoid if you\'re an antique collector, but anti-woodworm polish may help

Useful product: Rentokil Classic Wax Polish from www.pestcontroldirect.co.uk

Action: Treat with a proprietary woodworm killer. Extensive cases in structural woodwork should be left to the experts.

Click here to read more about the Good Housekeeping Institute and the work they do.