Insect control, starting with what the insect actually is

Little silver things in the linen cupboard. Tiny brown beetles in the flour. Millipedes curled up on the kitchen floor every morning after rain. Not every insect problem has a name you can search for, so here's where to start.

Good insect control starts with knowing exactly which insect you have, because each one lives, breeds and feeds differently, and the treatment that kills one may barely touch another. Fishmoths need their damp hiding places treated and dried out. Pantry beetles need the infested food found and thrown away. Millipedes need a barrier outside, because they're coming in from the garden. A general spray around the skirtings is the reason so many of these problems keep coming back.

We treat the full range of household and commercial insects across the Garden Route and Klein Karoo. This page covers the ones that don't have a page of their own. For the big ones, go straight to cockroach control, ant control, flea and tick control or bed bug treatment.

Start with where you found it

In the kitchen cupboard

Tiny dark beetles walking on the shelf, small moths fluttering out when you open the door, webbing in the corner of the oats packet: these are stored product insects. Weevils, flour beetles and Indian meal moths arrive inside a bag of flour, rice, pasta, cereal, nuts, birdseed or pet food and breed from there. Spraying the cupboard won't fix it. The infested food has to go, the cupboard needs a thorough vacuum and clean, and everything new goes into sealed containers. For shops, mills and warehouses with infested stock, fumigation may be needed. See our stored product insects profile.

In books, linen and boxes

Silvery, carrot-shaped insects that run when you lift a box are fishmoths (silverfish). Tiny, pale, almost invisible insects moving across old books or damp papers are booklice. Both love damp, still air, and both are common in coastal Garden Route homes, holiday houses that stay closed for months, and garages. Fishmoths eat starchy things: paper, glue, book bindings, wallpaper, cotton. Drying the house out is half the cure, as our damp homes guide explains, and the fishmoth and booklice profiles show what to look for.

In carpets, rugs and wardrobes

Irregular holes in a wool jersey, bare patches on a Persian rug, small fuzzy striped larvae under the edge of the carpet: that's carpet beetles. The adults are tiny round beetles, often seen on windowsills in spring. The larvae do the damage, eating wool, silk, fur, feathers and leather in dark, undisturbed places. Treatment means finding where they're feeding, vacuuming hard, treating the edges and under furniture, and cleaning or freezing affected items. See our carpet beetle profile.

On floors and walls after rain

Shiny, curled-up brown or black millipedes, sometimes dozens a morning, are common in the Garden Route after the first big rains, especially in homes next to bush and on the edge of fynbos. They live in leaf litter and mulch, and move indoors when the ground floods or dries out. They're harmless, but they smell when crushed and stain. A barrier treatment around the outside of the house and a clear strip between garden beds and the walls makes a big difference. Read about millipedes after rain and in our millipede profile.

Around outside lights and windows

Moths, beetles, midges near the lakes and lagoons, flying ants after rain, crickets on the stoep: most are attracted by light. Yellow bulbs and moving lights away from doors helps more than spraying. If they're flying ants, check whether they're termites before you relax.

How we treat

1. Identify We find out exactly what it is, from a sample, a photo or what we see on site. If you can catch one in a jar or take a clear photo, WhatsApp it to us before we come.
2. Find the source The cupboard, the damp corner, the mulched bed, the wool rug. Where the insects come from matters more than where they're seen.
3. Treat to suit An odourless, non-staining residual treatment in cracks, voids and skirtings, a barrier around the outside, baits where they suit the insect, or nothing at all where removing the source is the cure.
4. Fix the conditions Damp, clutter, open food, mulch against the walls. We'll tell you what to change, honestly, including when the change on your side matters more than our treatment.

An ordinary insect treatment doesn't mean moving out or emptying cupboards. Keep the children and pets off treated surfaces until they've dried, and that's it. Fish tanks, birds and other small pets need a little more thought, which our guide on whether pest control is safe for pets and children explains.

Insects in the towns

Insect pressure changes along the coast and inland. Damp, shaded houses in Knysna, Wilderness and Sedgefield get more fishmoths and booklice. The hot Klein Karoo brings more crawling insects and scorpions in summer. We have local insect control pages for every main town, including George, Knysna, Mossel Bay and Oudtshoorn.

What it costs

It depends on which insect it is, how widespread it is, the size of the house and whether outside areas need treating. Some problems, like a pantry moth outbreak, may need no treatment from us at all, just clear advice. Others, like carpet beetles in a house full of rugs, take a proper treatment. We'll tell you which before you spend money.

Give us a call on 044 012 5011 or write to us. If you're not sure what the insect is, start with our identification guide.