Family-friendly pest control for Fraai Uitsig homes

Is pest control safe with toddlers and pets in the house? Done properly, yes. For a normal insect treatment in your Fraai Uitsig home, you don't need to move out or empty cupboards. You just keep children and pets off treated surfaces until they're dry. For rodents, we use lockable bait stations that small hands and curious noses can't open. The risk in most family homes isn't a professional treatment. It's the cupboard full of half-used sprays and loose poison.

What "safe for the family" actually means

We use odourless, non-staining residual sprays applied in targeted areas: skirting boards, door frames, the backs of cupboards and the outside walls of the house. They're not misted into the air or sprayed over beds and toys. Once dry, the treated surfaces are safe for children and pets.

For cockroaches and ants, we lean on baits. Gel bait goes into cracks and behind appliances, in tiny amounts, well out of reach. Ant bait is placed where the ants are trailing so they carry it back to the nest. Both mean far less product in your house than a spray-everything approach.

For rodents, it's tamper-resistant bait stations or traps, and if there's any reason to worry about a pet getting near poison, we'll use traps only. We'll tell you exactly where everything is.

Gas fumigation is the one treatment where you do need to leave. It's rarely needed in a home, and if it is, we'll explain how long the space has to stay sealed and empty before you go back in.

The usual suspects in Fraai Uitsig homes

Fraai Uitsig is a residential area in the Groot Brak River area, mostly family homes with gardens. The pests that bother families here are the same ones that bother families across the Garden Route, with the garden often playing a part:

• Ants marching into the kitchen, especially after rain or when there's juice spilled on the floor.
• Fleas from the dog or cat, often noticed first as bites around children's ankles.
• German cockroaches in the kitchen, often arriving in grocery boxes or secondhand appliances.
• Mice and rats, attracted by pet food, bird feeders, compost and fruit trees.
• Pantry moths and weevils in cereal, flour and the bag of dog biscuits.
• Spiders in the corners, especially where there are a lot of other insects.

Our visit, start to finish

1. We listen. You tell us what you've seen, where and when, and who lives in the house, including pets.
2. We inspect. Inside and out, we look for nests, trails, entry points and food sources.
3. We explain. Before treating, we tell you what we've found and what we'll use where.
4. We treat. Barrier spray, baits or rodent stations, depending on what's needed.
5. We tell you what to do next. How long to keep the kids off the floors, what to clean and what not to wipe, and when to call if anything comes back.

Garden habits that make a difference

• Pick up fallen fruit from under the trees. Rats and flies love it.
• Feed pets in the morning and lift the bowl at night.
• Keep compost in a closed bin rather than an open heap.
• Sweep up spilled bird seed under the feeder.
• Keep the kids' sandpit covered when it's not in use, so cats don't use it as a litter box and bring in fleas.

The local tip: on this mild, damp stretch of coast, shady corners of a garden seldom dry out properly. Woodpiles, stacked bricks and old toys left against the house wall in a shady corner become shelter for rodents and cockroaches. Clear a strip along the walls and you take away a lot of hiding places.

Where well-meaning parents go wrong

Mixing products. A supermarket spray here, a bug bomb there, rat pellets thrown into the ceiling, all in the same week. It doesn't fix the problem, and it leaves more chemicals in the house than a single targeted treatment. If you've already used something, just tell us what it was.

How much will it cost?

It depends on the size of the house and garden, what we're treating and how established it is. A general insect treatment for a family home is fairly straightforward. A rodent problem with gaps to proof and follow-up visits, or fleas spread through the house and garden, takes more. We quote free and tell you what's included up front.

If you've got a single ant trail after a rainy day, a wipe-down and some ant bait may be all you need. If it keeps happening, call us.

Our treatments carry a 3-month guarantee, we're SAPCA registered, and we've worked in the Garden Route for more than 25 years. For rats and mice, see rodent control in Fraai Uitsig, or for other insects, insect control in Fraai Uitsig.

Call us on 044 012 5011. Tell us who's in the house and what you've seen, and we'll take it from there.