Another common pest in the Cairns area we deal with is cockroaches, and similar to ants they can quickly develop into a severe infestation with little noticeable evidence that they are around. They are nocturnal creatures so it's easy for them to evade detection while growing in numbers, sometimes the first sign of cockroaches in your home is the sign of droppings in your cupboards and drawers. There are several different species of cockroach that we deal with in Cairns and some are more troublesome to eradicate than others. Read here for some more information on cockroaches. 

​Subterranean termites are also another common pest in the Cairns area in which we deal with regularly, Many home owners have had the experience where they notice a soft spot/bubbling in their wall only to discover they have active termites in their house. 
One of the common mistakes home owners can make is that they panic and grab a can of insecticide spray and start spraying the active termites. The reason this isn't a good idea is that the insecticide spray will kill the termites that are sprayed but not the rest of the colony, the termites will then shut off their galleries in the sprayed area and start targeting somewhere else in the house.
Pest control technicians these days have access to chemicals that have a transfer effect which they can inject into the active workings and the termites then unknowingly take this back to the colony and essentially spread a disease throughout the whole colony and wiping themselves out. Read here if you are interested in some tips to help prevent a termite infestation in your home.

Any questions please don't hesitate to contact us 

​Gavin & Kate Stoter

​Fleas in the home can be an irritating and annoying problem. The major pests are the Cat Flea and Dog Flea. The small, black flea, often called a ground flea or sand flea is in fact a newly emerged, unfed Cat or Dog Flea. Many people do not realise that most of the life cycle of the flea occurs off the pet. For every five fleas found on your dog, there may be ninety-five in the carpet! This sounds hard to believe, but note that for much of its life, the flea does not look like the small brown insect people recognize. The other stages in its life cycle are: a small (less than 0.5mm) white egg; a grey maggot (5mm long); a pupa in a camouflaged cocoon (about 4x2mm) or a dark, newly emerged adult.
The female flea is capable of laying up to five hundred eggs over a life time which spans weeks or even months. The eggs are usually laid in bedding of pets, dust or carpet. The larvae may hatch as soon as two days after eggs are laid if conditions are favourable or they can remain in the environment for some weeks prior to hatching. After growing for 9-15 days, the larvae spin silken cocoons and in these tiny envelopes they pupate for 7-14 days before emerging as adults. Fleas can lie dormant in their cocoons for several months waiting for vibrations to stir them into action. Adults emerging from the pupal cases are small and black until they feed. They can remain alive for three months without food.