EXPERT ADVICE TO PROTECT YOUR HOME FROM INVADERS
Don Burgess
Residents are dealing with the most significant surge of centipedes the island has seen in seven years. But they are not one of the top five pests homeowners have to deal with. This is from Justin Tavares, operations manager at Bermuda Pest Control. Mr Tavares offered advice on how to lessen the appearance of centipedes and other common pests found on the island. “We’ve been getting a lot of calls about centipedes lately, and they love decaying material,” Mr Tavares said. His words of wisdom? “Make sure leaf litter is cleaned up.”
While centipedes are a huge problem this year, there are five others that typically require extermination on a more frequent basis. “Ants, cockroaches, termites, rats and flies. Those are the big ones,” Mr Tavares said.
“We get other pest calls now and then, but those are the big ones.”
He said the best thing a homeowner can do to protect their home from invasion is to ensure all the cracks in the walls and ceilings are adequately sealed. “A lot of people have cracks and crevices that might not seem like much, but they extend all the way into the house. “They might have doors that are not fitted properly. If you close your door and you can still see light come through your door, then it’s not sealed correctly. Ants and cockroaches can waltz right on in.”
People think termites are active only when they’re swarming, but all these pests are still around even in the off-season.
And what about the bigger vermin? “Rats can get in from any hole the size of a quarter, and mice can get in from any hole the size of a dime. People will have the windows open in the summer and then will call saying, ‘I don’t know how these rats got into my house.’” Mr Tavares said, where applicable, make sure all windows and doors have screens. One job that residents need to rely upon professionals for help is termites. “People think termites are active only when they’re swarming, but all these pests are still around even in the off-season.
“They are still chomping through the beams. They’re still looking for food. From April to August, termites have a swarming season.” Winged termites, called alates, spread as they search for a new home to start a colony.
“There’s no way to definitely tell where the termites came from, so you can’t blame a neighbour even if their house has termites,” Mr Tavares said. “You can have a new termite colony in St George’s, and the original pair came from Somerset.”
