Don’t let pigeons, Indian myna birds and other pest bird problems overtake your commercial facility.

Propest offers a complete range of pigeon control and other bird control services. We care about the safe and humane treatment of all birds and we focus on non-lethal bird deterrents, removal and harassment techniques as in the first instance.

Our bird control services include:

• Trapping

• Sharp Shooting

• Winter poisoning techniques

• Exclusion installations

• Structural modifications, netting and spiking, etc.

• Nest and roost removal

• Roost decontamination

• Flock dispersion (sound)

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Attain: Propest Attains a comprehensive Site Survey.

Attaining information is the key to each Propest service visit. Propest begins with a full inspection of your property both residential and commercial. The aim is to recognise and understand what makes your home or business attractive to pests, what circumstances, issues or structural conditions could attract pests and where invasive pests could damage reputation, brand and product. Looking for anything that points to how pests can get in or why they might want to is our primary goal.

Looking for anything that points to how pests can get in or why they might want to is our primary goal.

Implement: Propest Implements a service approach that meets your needs.

One for all service solutions or DIY ‘off the shelf products’ are often not effective. Guided by on our property inspection findings, Propest works with you to develop a 360 Pest Protection Plan™ that meets your unique requirements. Propest reinforces proactive techniques, such as physical exclusion and barrier treatments, hygiene and non-chemical treatment options to help prevent pests before they become an issue. Each client will receive friendly advice on how to ensure your cleaning and maintenance programs reduce pest incursions. Then, if a product is needed, your Propest Commercial Pest Technician will tailor the most effective pest treatment with the least impact on your family environment, employees and workplace. Using the latest ‘Pest Tool Kit’ and Pest technology, your technician will tackle the source of your pest issues and set-up control measures to make sure it is appropriately dealt with. We’re serious about our Pest tool Kit

Using the latest ‘Pest Tool Kit’ and Pest technology, your technician will tackle the source of your pest issues.

Manage: Propest Manages your continued protection.

Continued protection through consistent, planned maintenance programs and conducted in an environment of two-way communication are essential to the success of your business. Propest are pest specialists and are available 24/7 – throughout the year to ensure you, your family, your work team, clients and contractors are protected. Through frequent planned inspections, Propest technicians will monitor each program and treatment efficacy outcomes. He’ll check for signs of pest activity and look for any new conditions conducive to pest activity that may have surfaced since his last visit. He will document all services performed, pest activity and any other recommendations noticed. Propest will assist your Quality Assurance plans.

Propest will assist your Quality Assurance plans.

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• Depending on the species, the life expectancy of a fly is eight days to two months or, in some cases, up to a year.

• Flies belong to the order Diptera, meaning two wings.

• Flies plague every part of the world except the polar ice caps.

• One pair of flies can produce more than 1 million offspring through their offsprings’ offspring in a matter of weeks.

• Millions of microorganisms may flourish in a single fly’s gut, while a half-billion more swarm over its body and legs.

• Flies spread diseases readily because they move quickly from rotting, disease-laden garbage and animal feces to exposed human foods, food preparation surfaces, kitchen machinery and utensils.

• Because they only have two wings, flies land often and therefore can deposit thousands of bacteria each time they land.

• There is no data to hand for the value of conaminated agricultural products in New Zealand – yet the U.S. Department of Agriculture sources reveal that flies contaminate or destroy US$10 billion worth of agricultural products annually.

• Every time a fly lands, it sloughs off thousands of microbes. If a fly lands on food, food preparation surfaces, kitchen machinery and utensils, customers may ingest germs that can trigger serious illness such as diarrhea, food poisoning, meningitis and bloodstream infections. When flies feed on waste, they collect pathogens on their legs and mouths. These pathogens are then transferred to food on tables or counters when a fly lands again. Flies regurgitate on solid food then they eat the liquid. They are capable of transmitting disease when they vomit, groom themselves, or just walk on surfaces.

The best way to repel flies is through simple, preventive measures. Flies prefer warm temperatures and are most active from late spring to early autumn. In order to best repel flies during this time, limit access to your home as much as possible, keeping doors and windows closed. You may also choose to screen windows, doors and vents. Keep garbage cans clean and securely closed. Keeping surfaces clean will make your home less appealing to flies. For best results, contact a pest control professional to discuss extermination options.

The different types of flies we see as pests:

• Domestic house fly. These come in a variety of sizes and colours.

• Blue or Green Bottle or Blow Fly

• Cluster fly. As the name suggests they are found in groups or clusters.

• Fruit fly. Can be found in houses when fruit becomes over ripe. Common in bars and restaurants.

• Moth fly or drain fly. Moth flies need nutrient rich water for their life cycle to work.

Why do I have them?

• House flies are a seasonal pest. In the hotter months they increase in numbers and become a pest in homes and businesses.

• Cluster flies appear in mass when you have a lot of earth worms in your garden. They move inside your house or business when the weather cools down. Once inside they lay down a pheromone resulting in clusters or groups of flies. Due to the cool temperatures they are docile and slow moving.

• Fruit flies are often found in restaurants, cafes and bars. Their reproduction occurs inside pipes and drains and decaying fruit inside bins and boxes.

• Moth and or Drain flies need a nutrient rich water for their life cycle to work. This is often a sign there is a drain and or sewerage blockage issue or a water trap issue that will need to be attended to.

It is recommended that anyone experiencing a fly infestation contact a Propest professional to arrange for a consultation. Propest is trained not only to address current infestations but also to prevent future infestations.

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How do I know if I have bed bugs? What do bed bugs look like? Here’s a quick description:

• Adults are approximately the size of an apple seed and mahogany brown in colour.

• Babies can be quite small, about the size of a grain of sand and are tan in colour until they feed for the first time.

• They are quite elusive, hiding very well inside cracks and crevices between feedings making them very difficult to locate.

• Often the only signs of infestations are small drops of blood on the sheets that are excreted as they feed.

• Shed skins, fecal stains (which look like pepper glued to a surface) and eggs may also be observed tucked away in hidden locations.

• Identifications should never be based solely on bites shown.

• It is extremely difficult to see any signs of bed bugs during early infestation.

What are the effects of bed Bugs?

While bed bugs do not cause structural property damage to your home or business, they will infest mattresses and curtains which may need to be disposed of in a manner, limiting the transfer of the infestation. They will bite as blood is their only source of food. Although no disease transmission has been attributed to bed bugs, their bites may cause swelling and intense itching in some people. Secondary infections due to scratching may occur in some persons. While over the counter medications may help, many persons bitten exhibit intense itching that can last for days.

How did I get bed bugs?

Bed bugs are amazing and accomplished hitchhikers and may have been picked up virtually anywhere. Gym lockers, Public transportation, infested hotel/motel/back packer rooms, movie theaters, schools and just about any other place where the potential for contact with items from other persons with infested buildings and poscessions may spread this pest. While you may have an idea where they came from, there is no certain way of knowing for sure. Often this pest goes undetected for several months before being noticed by maid service or operational motel/hotel staff due to their secretive nature.

What can I do to help get rid of bed bugs?

Eliminating clutter helps to reduce potential pest harbourages and aids greatly in the treatment process. Laundering potentially infested clothing and washable items in hot water and running them through the dryer on high heat will also help to kill this pest. Spray insecticide into vacuum cleaner bags from time to time whilst the vacuum is switched on. Most over the counter products utilized in bed bug control are largely ineffective, especially if you lack experience in controlling this pest. Over the counter pesticide applications may actually make long term control of this pest more difficult as repellency may drive them even deeper into their hidden locations. Hiring an experienced professional is always the best when dealing with this pest.

How Propest protects you and your property from bed bugs

Propest has worked a successful control program that relies on the latest integrated approaches to bed bug treatment. The products used for control are carefully selected with equal emphasis on both safety and effectiveness. The products are applied by trained and highly experienced staff who understands the intricacies of bed bug control. Please contact us for a free inspection and treatment options customised for your unique situation.

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• Entry: Cockroaches can enter your property in many different ways, from the outside through cracks and crevices, vents, sewer and drain pipes. We even bring them in on products like grocery bags, boxes, purses and on our person!

• Ideal environment: Your home is an ideal breeding ground for certain pest species of cockroaches. With plenty of food, warmth, water and nesting sites, they can remain active all year round.

• Reproduction: Cockroaches reproduce quickly. For every one you see there can be many, many more hiding and multiplying behind your walls.

• Evasiveness: Because cockroaches typically are nocturnal, if you’ve seen one, you probably haven’t seen them all. The few cockroaches you see by day could mean they were likely forced out by overcrowding; a possible sign of severe infestation.

• Allergies/Asthma: The debris created by cast-off cockroach skins, dead bodies and droppings can aggravate allergies, especially in children and sensitive individuals.

• Do-it-yourself ineffectiveness: Cockroaches are better at hiding than you are at finding them, and their eggs are naturally protected from many over-the-counter insecticides. Without special equipment, materials and know-how, cockroach control can be a losing battle.

Cockroaches impacting New Zealand

German Cockroach

The German Cockroach is a very common problem in the greater Auckland area. Originating from Africa and named during the German colonial influence on the continent, this cockroach needs to be warm. It prefers the warm areas around fridge motors, hot water cylinders and dishwashers. The German Cockroach is small to medium sized and rectangular in shape. Able to spread disease, the German Cockroach is considered a significant health risk and has been implicated in causing asthma.

Gisborne Cockroach

The Gisborne cockroach is a forest cockroach preferring damp, decaying bark and logs to live in. They can grow very long. Some have been found up to two inches long. ‘Gisborne’s’ mostly come into properties when the weather cools down.

Propest find many Gisborne Cockroaches have established themselves inside the garages and laundries of homes and warehousing, storage areas of businesses. Air conditioned offices and rooms are too dry for Gisborne’s and are not ideal conditions for them to survive. The adults are dark brown (mistaken for black) and have a tan stripe down the each side of their head/body.

American Cockroach

The American Cockroach breeds in damp, wet conditions. They like drains and sewers and are found around many parts of Auckland. The American Cockroach becomes a very real problem where drainage systems are faulty or in need of repair. Wet damp floor boards and leaking toilet facilities and loose flooring such as vinyl and tiles are perfect harbouring areas. They gain access to businesses and dwellings through gaps and crevices and once settled with poulate rapidly. The American cockroach is a dark red colour and very large in size. American Cockroaches can appear in large numbers and are a significant health risk.

NZ Native Cockroach

The Native Cockroach is a small forest cockroach and is a light brown (red) colour and oval in shape. They invade homes when the temperature drops but rarely establish themselves. Not classified as a real threat to your home – they can also be found in fire wood piles and bark/decaying wood/stumps.

It is recommended that anyone experiencing a cockroach infestation contact a Propest professional to arrange for a consultation. Propest is trained not only to address current infestations, but also to prevent future infestations.

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Rats

• Instincts: Rats are instinctively wary of things new to their environment, including rat control measures such as traps and bait, and colonise in attics, burrows, under concrete and porches, in wall voids and other hard-to-reach places.

• Disease: Rats can harbor and transmit a number of serious diseases. They can also introduce disease-carrying parasites such as fleas and ticks into your home.

Mice

• Access: They invade your home seeking food, water and warmth.

• Contamination: Each mouse can contaminate much more food than it eats.

Rodents are warm-blooded mammals that, like humans, can be found throughout the world. They have oversized front teeth for gnawing and check teeth, which are adapted for chewing. Rodents must chew on a variety of items available to them in order to keep a usable length of their front teeth. They cause great damage in and around domestic and commercial properties with many fires and floods attributed to rodents eating through electrical cables and plastic water pipes.

Rodents are prolific breeders! Some species breed year-round, and populations are maintained through constant reproduction. Because of the rodents’ body plan, they are capable of squeezing through spaces that appear to be much too small for them. All such holes should be sealed to prevent entry and reentry of rodents. A Propest professional should be contacted for assistance. Rats and mice are both extremely destructive. A number of species feed on seeds and grains and will destroy stored product within logistics and warehousing facilities. As rodents are incontinent to a degree – Their feces and urine may contaminate surfaces with which they come into contact.

Disease Information

It is not advisable to handle any wild rodent. They are equipped with large teeth and are capable of transmitting a variety of bacteria, viruses and diseases through their saliva, feces and urine. Dead rats and mice should be handles with disposable gloves. If you locate a rodent within your property, it is best to contact a Propest professional for removal and identification. The presence of one rodent within a property could signal an infestation many times bigger than expected and it is only with experience that a Propest professional will be able to assertain the nesessary treatment to control the issue. Keep all children and pets away from the rodent. If cornered, the rodent will bite to defend itself.

Prevention Tips

Prevention methods should be implemented early in order to maintain a rodent-free home. Rodents reproduce rapidly, and small populations become full-blown infestations in very little time. Keep any possible food sources away from rodents. Small crumbs and garbage are popular sources of infestation, as are dry goods such as grains and cereals. These should be kept in sealed metal or glass containers to prevent contamination. Fruits and vegetables should also be stored properly, and resulting waste should never be left in sinks or on counters. Cardboard objects prove attractive to rodents, as they tend to chew them up for use in their nests.

Infestations & Control

Rodents are some of the most adaptable creatures on the planet and can be extremely difficult to exterminate. Rodent infestations can cause considerable damage to infested buildings and local agriculture. Rodents are also known carriers of many diseases and prove a health hazard to humans. Rodent populations grow quickly and steadily. Rodent control is best started prior to infestations. In order to protect your home, garden and health from existing rodent infestations, professional, customized solutions are often necessary. Unified efforts on the part of neighbors can prove extremely effective in preventing infestations. Within apartment buildings and neighborhoods, coordination of prevention measures may include cleaning efforts and landscape alteration. On an individual level, homes can be rodent-proofed through identifying and sealing as many possible entry points. It is recommended that anyone experiencing a rodent infestation contact a Propest professional to arrange for a consultation. Propest are trained not only to address current infestations but also to prevent future infestations.

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• Entry: Ants can enter through even the tiniest cracks, seeking water and sweet or greasy food substances in the kitchen pantry or storeroom areas.

• Scent trails: Ants leave an invisible chemical trail which contains pheromones for others to follow once they locate the food source.

• Nest locations: They can nest just about anywhere in and around your property; in lawns, walls, ceilings, stumps, even under pavers, cobbles and foundations.

• Colony size: Colonies can number up to 300,000 to 500,000, and whole colonies can uproot and relocate quickly when threatened.

• Colony Lifetime: A colony can live a relatively long lifetime. Worker ants may live seven years, and the queen may live as long as 15 years.

• Do-it-yourself ineffectiveness: Most do-it-yourself ant control approaches kill only the ants you see. Some truly effective treatments can penetrate and destroy nests to help prevent these pests from returning. Also, home remedies don’t account for the fact that different kinds of ant infestations require different treatments.

• Ant life cycle:  The ant life cycle has four distinct and very different life stages: egg, larvae, pupae and adult. This is known as complete metamorphosis. It generally takes from several weeks to several months to complete the life cycle, depending upon the ant species and environmental factors.

Eggs

A female ant that successfully mates with a male ant will become a queen ant that lays eggs. Fertile queens select a sheltered place to begin a nest (colony) and begin laying eggs. Ant eggs are very small – only about a half of a millimeter in diameter. The eggs are also oval, white and transparent.

Larvae

After about 1-2 weeks in the egg stage, a grub-like, legless ant larvae hatches. This stage has a voracious appetite, and the adult ants spend much of their time feeding the larvae with food and liquids they digest and regurgitate.

Pupae

After the larvae molt and shed their skin, they change into the pupal stage. Pupae appear somewhat like adults except their legs and antennae are folded and pressed against the pupal body. Initially, ant pupae are usually white, but slowly become darker in color as they age. Depending upon the ant species, pupae may be housed in a protective cocoon.

Adult

Once the pupal stage is complete, the adult ant comes on the scene. At the time of emergence, the adult ant is fully grown, but darkens in color as it ages. Adult ants are one of three different colony castes; queens, workers or males. Queens are fertile females that lay all the eggs in a colony. Workers are females that do not reproduce, but do gather food; feed the larvae; and maintain and clean the nest. Workers are wingless, and it is the worker stage that is seen foraging around for food or defending the colony from intruders. The male ants are winged, but their only job is to mate with the queens during the swarming process.

How Propest protects you and your property from ants

Propest has worked a successful control program that relies on the latest integrated approaches to ant treatments. The products used for control are carefully selected with equal emphasis on both safety and effectiveness. The products are applied by trained and highly experienced staff who understands the intricacies of ant control. Please contact us for a free inspection and treatment options customised for your unique situation.

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