Services

We specialise in providing our clients with regular visual timber pest inspections and these are generally an annual inspection that most property owners rely upon. Regular visual timber pest inspections are also a great way to keep informed of the condition of investment properties.

We also provide pre-purchase inspections, which can be requested by both the buyer and seller of a property. A buyer would use this inspection to have a clear idea of the status of the property from a timber pest stand-point. A seller may also request this service to be able to ready their property for sale by rectifying or adjusting the price of the property according to the likely cost of repairs if termites are present.

An inspection can tell you a lot about your property at the time of inspection, such as –

• Are termites active?
• Is fungal decay (wood rot) occurring, which may be the cause of moisture issues, rusted or blocked gutters, poor flashing, leaking wet areas – bathrooms & showers, etc.
• Have termites been active in the past? Sometimes evidence of previous termite activity can be found and may indicate the possibility of unseen termite damage.
• What termite management is currently in place or is needed to adequately protect your investment?
• What conducive to timber pest conditions are present that need to be addressed to help alleviate the pest pressure? This might be from poor drainage and leaking plumbing or moisture outlets draining  too close to sensitive areas, timber debris or stored timbers, dead or suspect trees, termite nests close to buildings, and the list goes on.

Recommendations are there to be followed and are there to reduce the risk of future damage to your property.

Cockroaches enter your home in many ways – they can fly in, be carried in with your groceries or delivery boxes, they can make their way in through drains and under doorways. There are numerous ways for them to enter a dwelling unseen, so making your home less homely is the key. Practicing good hygiene in relation to food and dishes, sealing entry points where possible and rectifying any moisture issues are a few ways to do this. Cockroaches are positively thigmotactic, which means they seek contact with other objects. Reducing the amount of clutter in a premises gives them less options on where to hide and allows for more adequate cleaning of potential harbourage spaces.

Treatment is most often assessed by asking a few questions and doing a little investigating. Often cockroach treatment can be as simple as using a gel near their harbourages or treating under a wet area via the use of an aerosol to draw them out. But often cockroaches fly in or enter through gaps such as weepholes, tongue and groove walls, joints/gaps in concrete, and it is necessary to treat these external areas as well. Cockroaches also harbour in sheds and fly into dwellings at night, so treatment of sheds and other outdoor spaces can be advantageous.

When inspecting a building with an ant concern, we attempt to follow where the ants are tracking, to find their entry point. If this can be established, we will consider how to inhibit their entry. Gel baits, a food grade source with imbedded chemical, work very well to eliminate ant and cockroach colonies. The use of granular ant baits is also very effective, whereby the ants return the granules to the nest which eventually eliminates the colony. If the queen dies and is no longer reproducing, the colony cannot survive. Chemical spray applications are also very effective in treating large areas. Our ant treatment options are broad and effective for many and varied situations.

Spiders make their webs to catch their prey, for some spiders these webs are eaten in the morning by their owners, to feed on the micro-organisms caught by the webs. But more often the webs are permanent, and families are raised in these little homes. The webs of our most common house spiders are located on external walls, eaves and gutters, window and doorway gores {esp. screen doors}, behind and under stored items and furnishings. Internally, spiders – most commonly the Daddy-long-legs – can be found webbing in corners, around light and fan fittings, vents and underneath everything. Red-backs are often hiding around your eaves and gutters, around the lips of planter-boxes and outbuildings and underneath everything and anything. Spider management is my speciality and I enjoy treating badly infested homes! If your premises are infested it is strongly recommended that you clean down your house and de-web your internal areas just prior to our arrival. This is because we have a comprehensive method of treatment and a clean house will remain clean of webs and spiders after treatment. We do not recommend cleaning your property after treatment as it will affect the longevity of the service.

Rodents are feared for good reason, they are disease carrying and destructive. The term rodents used here refers to rats and mice who may enter your dwelling via overhanging foliage from trees and other vegetation, or via such things as air conditioner conduits/shrouds and open doors, holes in eaves and gaps in walls. Long grass and thick vegetation can make ideal homes for rodents to breed and forage safely. It could be that you live behind some scrub or perhaps your neighbours are not too particular with their yard/s allowing populations to harbour.

 Rodents can be treated easily enough in most situations in suburbia via the use of rodenticides. Most often the rodenticide is in block or sachet form and is skewered onto a wire or plastic catch inside a tamper proof station, to prevent children and dogs from accessing the contents. The rodent can readily enter one of these stations and access the delicious bait inside, however baiting mice and rats still requires consideration. Rats are neophobic (they fear anything new) and therefore won’t just wander into a station, they will be afraid of the different situation and maybe even completely avoid it if it is not placed well. Rodents tend to follow known safe routes and placing stations on these routes is key to fast control. Mice aren’t so afraid of change and are more likely to go out of their way occasionally. Obviously rats are larger than mice and therefore require a larger dose of poison to be lethal. Neither mouse nor rat will just sit at a station and munch on all of the placed bait, they tend to feed throughout the night in various areas, making it is necessary to place stations in several areas so as to ensure feeding happens at more than one location. Once the rodent has fed on enough bait, they will may look for a water source and will often die at that location. This could be behind your fridge, the water in a bird cage or pet bowls.

Non chemical control methods such as traps and glue pads are also available however CPI avoid these techniques in preference of methods that produce a swifter, more humane result. There are some very good trap systems available however,  into which rodents can be lured using grains or any number of attractive food sources.

If you do have pets, it is likely that your flea and tick issues will be more persistent. Cats and dogs don’t sweat like we do, they sweat through their tongues and fleas enjoy this environment. If you let your pets inside the house, and especially if you have carpet or timber floors you have a high chance of introducing fleas into your living areas. Even if you don’t let your pets in, you may bring the fleas in via your socks so always take them off before re-entering your dwelling. Fleas can be an issue even if you don’t own a pet. A heavy downpour of rain can shift fleas from one area to another, but treatment is also made more effective with this knowledge. By wetting the flea effected areas prior to application of chemical you get a more desirable outcome. This is because fleas can’t breath under water and rise to the surface where they come in contact with the active ingredient and die. It is very important that your pet/s are also treated for fleas and ticks on the same day as a treatment is carried on a dwelling.

Fleas are most active in shady areas, and at certain times of the day. You may find they get on your lower legs or ankles while you’re outside and on one side of the house, but only in the mornings for example. This is because of the shadow thrown by the house and so we concentrate on these areas when carrying out treatments. If infestation has occurred inside the dwelling, application of flea treatment will need to be applied to carpets and sometimes in between floorboards. Keeping pets out until flea activity has ceased is strongly recommended. After treatment has been completed it is best to let your dog back out into the yard or under your house to run and play as usual as this will cause the vibrations that bring the rest to the surface to meet their doom!

Treatment for ticks is generally easy, but does require a bit more detailed application. It is recommended that overgrown lawns and overhanging, low foliage be trimmed and mown prior to service being delivered. In fact, this is recommended prior to both flea and tick treatments as it allows for better chemical coverage. Just remember to get rid of clippings straight away or get them treated as well.

Ticks are usually not a problem inside a dwelling, although the construction methods of some houses may provide harborage. If this is the case then treatment inside the dwelling should be carried out as well.

Flies tend to land on surfaces near door and window screens, wheelie bins, faeces and dead animals – all great food sources and entry points to obtain food.

As with most pests, knowing where flies are concentrated can help in controlling their numbers. This can be achieved with well placed fly traps, or through the application of a fly specific product to the surfaces on which flies commonly land. Through the practice of some simple steps around the home, fly populations can also be reduced. These include –

• use a bin liner in wheelie bins and seal rubbish bags before depositing them
• clean all bins regularly
• flush floor waste drains regularly
• dispose of pet faeces daily
• ensure surfaces are free from food waste
• seal food containers once they have been opened
• ensure toilets are cleaned regularly