PestAware the pest control blog from BPCA

PestAware is a blog for anyone with public health pest control problems or concerns. PestAware is packed with professional advice from leading experts in the pest control industry and is designed to help you tackle your domestic or commercial pest problems.

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23 January 2023

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Think twice before tackling winter rats, says trade body

Experts at British Pest Control Association (BPCA) are advising householders to think twice before attempting DIY measures to control rats.

29 November 2017

Pest advice for controlling Booklice (Psocids)

Booklice (Psocids) are very common but harmless household pests. They are not caused by poor hygiene as they are just as common in scrupulously clean homes.

29 November 2017

Pest advice for controlling Body Lice

Small, flat, wingless, grey parasites about 2mm long with strong claw legs and which feed on human blood. They are similar in appearance to head lice and can easily be confused.

29 November 2017

Pest advice for controlling Brown House Moth

The commonest of the so-called clothes moths, with characteristic golden-bronze wings, flecked with black, folded flat along its back. The adult is about 8mm long and prefers to run rather than fly.

29 November 2017

Pest advice for controlling Brown Rats

The Common, Brown or Norway Rat, also known as the sewer rat, and are prevalent across the whole of the UK.

29 November 2017

Pest advice for controlling Carpet Beetle

The larvae (known as “woolly bears”) of these small, oval beetles have outstripped the clothes moths as the major British textile pest. The Variegated Carpet Beetle is 2 to 4mm long, like a small, mottled brown, grey and cream ladybird. The related F

29 November 2017

Pest advice for controlling Cats

As mouse-killers their efficiency varies enormously. Few of them really come up to scratch as they cannot often get into areas where mice can live in a building.

29 November 2017

Pest advice for controlling Cheese Skipper

A small shiny black fly with reddish eyes whose slender grubs “skip” by curving their body into a ring and releasing themselves. The larvae burrow into cheese or ham and can cause internal irritation if eaten.

29 November 2017

Pest advice for controlling Clothes Moths

There are several species of clothes moths, all of them characterised by folding their wings tent-wise along their backs. The adult Common Clothes Moth is 6 to 7mm long with pale, plain golden-buff wings fringed with hair. The rarer Case-Bearing Clot

29 November 2017

Pest advice for controlling Cluster Flies

These are dark greyish flies about 8mm long with yellowish hairs on the back and with overlapping wings. In autumn they congregate in large numbers in upper rooms or roof spaces of houses to hibernate. They will then reemerge in Spring to seek out eg

29 November 2017

Pest advice for controlling Cockchafers

Large blundering insects are also known as May-bugs which are attracted to artificial light and fly into houses or collide with windows on warm evenings in May and June.

29 November 2017

Pest advice for controlling Crane Fly (Daddy-Longlegs)

The familiar Daddy-Longlegs. A large mosquito-like fly with a long narrow body, which enters buildings in late summer. Harmless, although unpleasant in appearance. Its larva is the “leather- jacket” which damages grass roots.

29 November 2017

Pest advice for controlling Crickets

Closely related to the Cockroaches, most species of cricket live outdoors, only rarely entering premises. One species, however; the House Cricket, may live within buildings throughout the year. 16mm long and yellow-brown with darker markings on head

29 November 2017

Pest advice for controlling Death Watch Beetle

A wood-boring beetle whose grubs eat old hardwood structural timbers. Practically common in stately homes in which the beetle family has probably lived since they were built.

29 November 2017

Pest advice for controlling Earwigs

A long, narrow, brown insect 10 to 14mm long with characteristic “pincers” at one end, the earwig is often carried indoors in cut flowers or house plants.

29 November 2017

Pest advice for controlling Field Mice

Outdoor cousins of the House Mouse, which tend to move indoors in the winter seeking their creature comforts.

29 November 2017

Pest advice for controlling Flies

A family of two-winged polluters that is, too often, tolerated within our homes. Apart from the biting flies, all species feed by vomiting saliva onto the food surface and sucking up the resulting liquid. In the course of doing so, the fly contaminat

29 November 2017

Pest advice for controlling Flour Beetles

Small reddish-brown beetles about 3-4mm long that feed on flour and cereal debris in warm buildings. These beetles are often accidentally introduced into the larder in packaging or the ingredients themselves. The commonest species are the Rust Red Fl

28 November 2017

Pest advice for controlling Flour Mites

A tiny, slow-moving, white or pale-brown creature measuring a barely visible 0.5mm long, with eight legs. A pest of cereals and cereal products especially if they are damp.

28 November 2017

Pest advice for controlling Flour Moths

Moths whose grubs feed on stored food - especially cereals, chocolate, cocoa, dried fruit, nuts and any flour product. Adults are mottled grey and brown and measure 10-15mm long. Larvae are a dirty white colour with brown heads and grow up to 12-15mm

28 November 2017

Pest advice for controlling Foxes

Many people are concerned about foxes affected by mange. A scruffy looking fox is not necessarily an ill fox. When moulting in spring, foxes look quite rough, but this does not mean they are mangy. They are typically found in woodland and open countr

28 November 2017

Pest advice for controlling Fruit Flies

A family of very small (about 3mm) flies, some with prominent red eyes, characterised by a slow hovering flight in which the abdomen hangs down. All are associated with rotting fruit and vegetables or fermenting liquids. One species breeds in sour mi

28 November 2017

Pest advice for controlling Fur Beetle

An oval black beetle 4-6mm long with a white spot on each wing case. Grubs are about 6mm long, with a tuft of golden hairs on the end of their bodies. They can often be detected by their cast-off skins as they moult. Grubs feed on fur, hair, skins, f

28 November 2017

Pest advice for controlling Furniture Beetles

A small brown beetle, 2.5-5mm long, that is the adult form of woodworm. Emerges from infested wood between May and September, especially in June and July, leaving round exit holes 1-2mm in diameter.

28 November 2017

Pest advice for controlling Gnats

The insect normally referred to as a gnat is actually a small mosquito - correct name: Culex pipiens. It is common in gardens on warm evenings. Another species, the true Window Gnat, is a slow-flying insect about 8mm long with wings more rounded than

28 November 2017

Pest advice for controlling Green Bottles

Large buzzing flies about 9mm long with a characteristic bottle-green sheen on the back. Mostly carrion feeders that enter houses to seek places to hibernate and, in passing, may well alight on exposed foodstuffs.

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06 June 2022

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Daera reopen Northern Ireland Wild Bird Licence Consultation

Daera/Northern Ireland Environment Agency is currently considering the wild bird general licences for 2022/2023 and beyond.

13 June 2019

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Defra release three new general licences for bird control

Three new general licences for the killing or taking of wild birds in England will be issued at 00:01 on Friday 14 June, says Defra.

29 November 2017

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Pest advice for controlling Bed bugs

Found some unexplained reddish brown spots on your bedding? Been bitten while slumbering? And have you ever wondered if bed bugs live anywhere other than your mattress?

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23 January 2023

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