Preparing For A Treatment
Some of this genuinely changes the result. Some of it just saves time. Both are worth doing.
Everything
The Short List That Applies To Any Job
Clear access. To the loft hatch, the meter cupboard, under the sink, behind the appliances, and to the outside walls. Moving a wheelie bin and a bag of compost off the path sounds trivial and it is ten minutes of the visit.
Tell us about children, pets and health conditions before we arrive, not on the doorstep. It changes what is used and where, and it is easier to plan than to improvise.
Do not treat it yourself first. Shop products scatter some pests into adjoining rooms and occasionally interfere with what we would use. If you already have, just say - it changes nothing except what we need to know.
Write down what you have seen and where. Rooms, times of day, how long. It is worth more than you think for deciding the scope.
Rodents
Rats, Mice and Squirrels
Clear the loft hatch and make sure there is a safe way up. Move stored boxes away from the eaves if you can - that is where we need to look and it is usually where they are.
Downstairs, clear under the sink and out of the cupboard the pipework runs through. Pull out what you can from behind the appliances, or tell us and we will do it.
Outside, cut back anything overhanging the roof if it is safe to do so, and clear the base of the walls so the airbricks and the soil pipe entry are visible.
Insects
Bed Bugs, Fleas, Cockroaches, Ants
Bed bugs need the most preparation and the instructions are specific to your job - they will be given to you when you book. In general: do not move mattresses or furniture to other rooms, because that is how a one-room problem becomes a three-room one. Bag laundry rather than carrying it loose.
Fleas: vacuum thoroughly including edges and under furniture, empty the machine outside, wash pet bedding hot, and make sure the pet's own treatment is up to date and actually applied. Then clear the floors so the whole area can be treated.
Cockroaches: clear the cupboards and the worktops, and do not deep-clean the areas we are about to treat - gels and residuals need the surface they are applied to.
Ants: leave the trail alone. Wiping it away before we arrive removes the thing that shows us where the nest is.
Afterwards
The Part People Get Wrong
Two rules that pull in opposite directions, which is why they get muddled.
Do not clean the treated areas until you are told. Vacuuming or washing a residual off before it has worked wastes the visit, and this applies to gels and baits as much as to sprays.
Then clean thoroughly. Once the treatment has done its job, hygiene and waste discipline are what keeps it that way.
Expect some activity to continue for a while on most jobs. It is usually part of how the treatment works rather than a sign it has not. You will be told what is normal and at what point to ring us back.
Common Questions
Do I need to move the furniture?
Not usually - we do that. Clearing worktops, cupboards and the loft hatch is the helpful part.
When can I clean again?
When you are told, and it varies by treatment. Cleaning too early is the commonest reason a job needs repeating.
I have already used a shop spray.
Not a problem, but tell us. It changes what we expect to find and occasionally what we use.
Going further
Advice Worth Reading First
What Happens On A First Visit
Nobody enjoys booking this. Here is exactly what it involves, so there are no surprises on the day.
Read more ›What It Costs, And What Changes It
One published price, and an honest account of why everything else is quoted instead of listed.
Read more ›Pests In A Rented Home: Who Is Responsible?
General information rather than legal advice, and the short answer is that it usually turns on how they got in.
Read more ›Pest Control And Your Food Hygiene Rating
The treatment is half of it. The paperwork is the half that gets scored.
Read more ›Which Trade Does What
We would rather tell you it is somebody else’s job than take the money and leave you with it.
Read more ›One-Off Treatment Or A Contract?
Contracts suit some premises and are a waste of money for others. Here is the honest test.
Read more ›Wildlife Law, And What Cannot Be Treated
Some of the things people ring about are protected, and a firm that offers to deal with them anyway is offering to break the law on your behalf.
Read more ›Pests When Buying Or Selling A House
It comes up more often than people expect, usually at the worst possible moment in the chain.
Read more ›Pest Control In A Flat Or A Block
The hardest part is rarely the pest. It is that the part of the building causing it is not yours.
Read more ›Get A Free Quote
Tell us your postcode and what you are seeing. We will come back with a time and a fixed price before anything is booked.
Local Experts You Can Trust
Fast, effective, affordable pest control for homes and businesses across the whole of Kent. Fully qualified technicians, fixed prices, every service guaranteed.