Guides
Straight answers to the things people ring us about before they book anything - what it costs, who’s responsible, and what the rules actually say.
How to deal with it yourself
The real method, given away. Where DIY genuinely works we say so - and where it reliably makes things worse, we say that too.
How to get rid of cockroaches
Find where they harbour rather than where you see them - behind and under the fridge, dishwasher and oven, inside cupboard voids, around drains. Remove food and water access, seal …
Read the guideHow to get rid of fleas in the house
Treat the environment, not just the pet. The adult fleas you can see are roughly 5% of the population - the rest are eggs, larvae and pupae in carpet, bedding and floor gaps. Vacuu…
Read the guideHow to deal with a wasp nest
Only attempt a wasp nest yourself if it's small, early in the season, fully accessible from the ground, and nobody in the household reacts badly to stings. Treat at dusk when most …
Read the guideHow to get rid of ants
Stop spraying the trail. Surface spray kills foragers - a small fraction of the colony - while the nest and queen are untouched, so the trail returns within days. Use bait the ants…
Read the guideHow to get rid of rats in the roof
Find and close the entry point, then deal with the population - in that order. Trapping or baiting without proofing clears the current rats and leaves the door open for the next. M…
Read the guideHow to tell if you have bed bugs
Check the mattress seams, bed frame joins and headboard for small dark spots, shed skins or live insects. Bites in a line or small cluster are suggestive but not proof - plenty of …
Read the guideHow to get rid of silverfish
Deal with the moisture. Silverfish need damp, dark and undisturbed conditions - bathrooms, laundries, wardrobes against exterior walls, and subfloors. Improve ventilation, fix the …
Read the guideHow to keep spiders out of the house
Treat the outside, not the inside. Spiders come in from the exterior, so clearing webbing from eaves, window frames and door surrounds and treating those surfaces does far more tha…
Read the guideSigns of borer in your timber
Look for frass - fine, gritty, yellow-orange dust like sawdust, around or below small holes in timber. Frass means borer are working in there now. Holes on their own can be decades…
Read the guideRats or mice? How to tell what's in your roof
Droppings are the quickest check: mouse droppings are 3-6mm and look like dark grains of rice, rat droppings are 12-18mm and much thicker. Noise helps too - mice are light and scra…
Read the guideDoes New Zealand have termites?
Yes. The New Zealand drywood termite occurs throughout the country. What we don't have established here are the Australian subterranean termites that destroy houses - so the risk i…
Read the guideAre white-tailed spiders dangerous?
They can give a painful bite causing local redness, swelling and itching, and some people react more strongly than others. The widely repeated claim that they cause flesh-eating ul…
Read the guideWhat attracts cockroaches to a house
Warmth, moisture and food access, in that order. The warm void behind a fridge with crumbs underneath is close to ideal cockroach habitat. Damp under-sink cupboards, floor drains a…
Read the guideWhat do bed bug bites look like?
Typically small raised red bumps in a line or tight cluster, on skin exposed while sleeping - arms, shoulders, neck, legs. But reactions vary enormously, some people show nothing a…
Read the guideHow to get rid of possums in the roof
Confirm it's a possum first - the noise is much heavier than a rat, often with distinct thumps and a low growl. Then close the access, which is nearly always a branch overhanging t…
Read the guideAuckland pest seasons: what to expect when
Auckland's pest year runs roughly: ants and flies build through spring, wasps and cockroaches peak in late summer, rodents move indoors through autumn as it cools, and spiders beco…
Read the guideRentals, landlords and Healthy Homes
Who's responsible for what, and where pest problems and compliance work actually overlap.
Landlord pest control obligations in New Zealand
Under the Residential Tenancies Act, landlords must provide and maintain premises in a reasonable state of repair and fit to live in, which generally makes them responsible for an …
Read the guidePest control for rental properties in Auckland
Pest control on a rental works best at changeover: the property is empty, access is easy, and it establishes the condition at the start of the tenancy - which is the fact that matt…
Read the guidePest control for Auckland property managers
Managing pest control across a portfolio needs three things a one-off booking doesn't: consistent reporting you can file per property, scheduling that fits changeovers rather than …
Read the guideWhat things cost
What drives the price, where people overpay, and how to compare quotes properly.
What pest control costs in Auckland, and what drives the price
There's no single price for pest control because a wasp nest, a whole-house flea treatment and a commercial rodent programme are completely different jobs. Cost is driven by the pe…
Read the guideWhat borer treatment costs, and what you're paying for
Borer treatment is priced mainly on the area of timber to be treated and whether it's bare or finished. Bare timber takes a borate application that soaks in and protects for ten ye…
Read the guideWhat bed bug treatment costs in New Zealand
Bed bug treatment is priced on the number of rooms affected and how far the infestation has spread beyond the bed itself. Plan on at least two visits: eggs aren't reliably killed b…
Read the guideTalk to the professionals in pest control