The 12 Pests of Christmas
Christmas is a time for settling down around a cosy fire, stuffing our faces with festive food, and enjoying time to catch up with our loved ones. However, nuisance pests of Christmas might be lurking to put a stop to your fun.
Here are 12 things to keep an eye out for over the festive season:
1. You’d like to enjoy a silent night but can hear the pitter-patter of mice running around your kitchen
Nothing can ruin your Christmas quite like having mice scurrying around your floor. Mice don’t hibernate and are commonly found around homes over the winter period. This is due to them seeking warmth and shelter, along with there being excess food around that’s too tempting for them to turn down.
The best deterrent is to ensure there are no entry points they can squeeze through to gain access to your home. Check around doors and windows, and look for holes or cracks in walls. If you find any, seal them up sharpish.
If the mice are already inside and causing mayhem, we offer a mouse control service to eliminate the problem.
2. Ants have moved into your gingerbread house
Ants travel large distances to discover food. Once one of their number has found something interesting, they will send a message to other colony members, and before long, you’ll find yourself with an infestation.
To save your gingerbread house and your own home from these tenants, it’s always wise to remove temptation by not leaving leftover food out. Keep food within a container or covered in the fridge. It’s also important to throw food away into a sealed bin and make sure to empty indoor bins regularly. Need further ant control tips?
3. Your Christmas stockings have cockroaches inside
Cockroaches tend to seek out quiet, warm places to nest, where they can get quick access to food sources. So, your kids might find some unwanted gifts nibbling on their Christmas chocolates.
Cockroaches reproduce extremely quickly and can be tricky to remove, so it’s important to deal with the problem promptly.
4. The Christmas pudding appears to have added chocolate drops
Rats thrive in urban environments and seek out where to set up a home. They eat just about anything and can produce up to 40 droppings per night – so that’s one tell-tale sign to look out for around your home. Denying them access to food, water, and shelter is the best thing that you can do to keep your home rat-free. Take a look at our preventive measures to deter them or get in touch if you think you have a rat infestation.
5. Flies are tucking into your buffet
Flies taste with their feet, and they certainly aren’t picky about what they eat. This can be anything from animal faeces to your lunch, wandering from one thing to another, regurgitating digestive juices onto solid foods to break them down into bite-sized pieces. Because of how they eat, they can spread a number of harmful bacteria, such as Salmonella and E.coli.
If you find yourself with a cluster-fly infestation, we have services that can assist.
6. Bugs are consuming your firewood
A roaring fireplace provides an inviting atmosphere in a home…a little too welcoming for some insects to resist joining you. Though they may be harmless to people, they can be rather destructive if brought indoors. Luckily, there are many ways to prevent this from happening.
7. Squirrels are stealing your roasted chestnuts
Squirrels can be active in the colder months. Generally, they are most active in the daytime whilst they are foraging for food, storing nuts ready to eat during winter.
One major problem that many people find is that squirrels have inhabited their loft space, where they have gnawed through wooden beams or electrical wiring. Here’s what to do if you find this to be the case.
8. Bed bugs are nipping at your toes
Yep, it’s not Jack Frost that has come nipping; it’s bed bugs. There has actually been quite a rise in the number of bed bugs recently due to many Brits bringing them home from their travels.
Contrary to their name, bed bugs don’t just hide in your bedding. They are also commonly found in areas such as structural cracks, furniture, picture frames, behind wallpaper, skirting boards, and even on electrical items
Here are some common signs to look out for if you suspect you have a bedbug problem.
9. Your guests are dancing around giant house spiders
At this time of year, it’s common to see giant house spiders roaming around our homes. They are brought inside with Christmas trees and firewood, or they’ve been there all along but are actively searching to mate.
Though spiders in Britain are mainly harmless and provide additional benefits for your home, you might not want them crashing your party. If this is the case, we advise using the ‘cup and card’ tactic to trap the spider and release them outside.
10. Forget lords-a-leaping, the fleas are
Though flea season in the UK is typically higher in the spring and summer months, they can be a year-round threat. This is mainly due to our central heating providing an ideal breeding ground. So, it’s important to keep your pets up-to-date with flea treatments and regularly wash their bedding. If you find that you have an infestation that’s gotten out of hand, we offer flea control and flea removal.
11. It’s not just the guests making mountains out of mole hills
Moles don’t hibernate. They tend to be active all year round and are more noticeable to humans in winter.
Moles can be a real nuisance if they’ve found their way into your garden. As they are expert diggers, they can cause significant damage to lawns and flowerbeds. Though there are some deterrents out there, the only truly effective solution to removing a mole problem is to enlist the help of a professional.
12. We’ll let you decide if any of our 12 pests of Christmas are on the naughty or nice list
If any of the 12 pests of Christmas are causing chaos, and are clearly on the naughty list, don’t worry – we have an emergency pest control service that can make sure your Christmas remains pest-free.
