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Exterminating & Pest Prevention
Greater Glasgow and Ayrshire
We investigate, detect, identify, and treat for biting insects and mites throughout Greater Glasgow and Ayrshire. All about the blood-sucking and irritating pests, how we control them, and how much it costs.
Bed bugs
Cimex lectularius
Bedbugs are #1 blood-sucking insect pests of the past and the presence. In the recent years, they have been spotted in big towns and cities of Scotland, in Great Britain, and across the world. Bed bugs are closely associated with humans and they follow their travelling activities. They hitch hike in peoples cars, on the buses and trains, or even in airplanes. Do not get mistaken into thinking that bed bugs are caused by dirt; the main causes responsible for spreading bed bugs are overcrowding and the traffic of people coming and going. Although bed bugs are not significant disease carriers, they may spread diseases by feeding off different persons. Bed bug bites are itchy, and in some people, they may trigger allergic reactions of their skin. Our customers told me how they had accidentally brought bed bugs home from staying in hotels, hostels, holiday apartments, short-term rental flats, business accommodations etc., another common cause was a second-hand furniture brought into their houses. Bed bugs can crawl horizontally, vertically, and upside-down, and they can move between rooms and apartments in all directions, possessing the risk of infesting whole buildings if left unchecked.
Appearance, size, and life cycle of bed bugs
Bed Bug is nocturnal parasite, all stages feeding on mammalian blood, principally human but also dog, cat or rodents. Bed bugs hide by day in crevices in beds, furniture, wallpaper, skirting boards and emerge when hungry, usually every few days, to feed. When breeding, bed bugs have full metamorphosis i.e. egg-nymph-adult. Adult bedbugs are 6 millimetres in length, mahogany-brown in colour; nymphs live a feed alongside adults. Before their first feeding, the nymphs are translucent, after feeding on blood, they turn red. the nymphs need to feed before each of their 5 moults to reach maturity and be able to multiply. Bed bug nymphs don't develop in temperatures lower than 13°C. At an average room temperature, it takes bed bugs 4 months to reach maturity. Adult female bed bug can have up-to 200 eggs, laid at a rate of 4 or 5 a day into cracks and crevices, usually on or around the bed.
Tell-tale signs of bed bugs
In 1 feeding that takes about 10 minutes, bed bugs can ingest up-to 7 times their bodyweight in blood (in 1 meal). To return into their usual harbourages after feeding, bed bugs defecate near the harbourages (to lose some of the extra volume). Bed bug excrement spots may show you the locations of such harbourages, helping to detect the presence of bed bugs. You can look for them around head boards, bed frames, seams of the mattress, skirt boards. Blood spots on your bedding may have been caused by bed bugs biting you at night. It is unlikely that feeding bed bugs would wake you up because they release anaesthetic with their saliva into the wound when biting that makes them stealth. If you see bed bugs crawling about your bed room during the day, it is either some other insect species that may look similar, or you have a heavy bed-bug infestation and definitely need a good exterminator.
How we control bed bugs
An example of our bed-bug treatment:
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A ''clean-out'' rate of a high-performance residual pyrethroid insecticide best suited for bedbug control administered with a compression sprayer. Products tested and approved for professional use in homes as well as in commercial accommodation (e.g. hostels and hotels)
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Contained synergist makes our insecticides stronger without a need for increased dosage beyond recommendations. It also helps beat down insecticide tolerance through digestion in tough bed bug populations.
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To prevent bedbug nymphs from hatching out of bed bug eggs and to stop bed bug nymphs from reaching sexual maturity (would be) required for bedbugs to multiply, we administer Insect growth regulator (IGR) alongside our bed-bug treatments. The juvenile hormone contained, prevents bed bugs from maturing.
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Non-toxic desiccant (Diatomaceous Earth) effectively supports our bed bug treatments by attacking and disrupting the exoskeleton (bed bug skin) which causes dehydration of bed bugs and opens up the way for synthetic insecticides used alongside in the liquid spray.
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ULV fogging (ultra-low volume spraying) of insecticide to flush out hiding bedbugs out of their harbourages. We use a product that contains pyrethrin and insect growth regulator (IGR).
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The time required to administer our full bed-bug treatment is from 1 hour for 1 bedroom to a half day in a 4 bedroomed flat.
Maintenance-&-inspection bed bug treatment:
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Machine misting/cold fogging, done with an electric atomizer, of natural pyrethrins to flush bed bugs out of their harbourages along with IGR to inhibit development and growth in bedbugs (that are potentially present). The misting is consequently followed up by a thorough visual inspection.
£76 1 single bedroom
£90 1 double or twin bedroom
How much it costs to exterminate bed bugs in Glasgow and Ayrshire
The focus of our combined insecticidal treatments for bed bugs is put on the beds and near the beds but all of the other internal areas in the infested bedrooms, flats and houses are treated too. The costs vary by the size of the property to be treated.
£159 1 single-bedroom only
£180 1 double-bedroom only
£231 1-bed flat or studio
£327 2-bed flat or house
£423 3-bed flat or house
£518 4-bed flat or house
Survey, monitoring, detection, and identification of bed bugs
You might need our help with identification of bed bugs. It happens all the time people mistake other pest species for bed bugs. You are welcome to use our pest identification aid on a dedicated page of the website, or take a close up photograph of the insect you believe or suspect it to be a bed bug and email it to us for identification. You can also request a bed bug survey of your home by our technician. He or she would arrive (in an unmarked car) within days of your request. The surveying visit costs £50 but the customer can receive a full refund against a bed-bug treatment on the next visit within 1 month. A pre-treatment survey is important before a bed-bug treatment. An essential part of the survey, if bed bugs are confirmed or detected, is a tailor-made advice by our technician to the customer for how to prepare the house before our treatment. The survey could be extended for (optional) monitoring with traps done over 2 visits on request made by the customer at no additional cost but the customer waiving the refund. If we don't detect any bed bugs, but you would like something to be still done in your house for preventing bed bugs and other biting species, I recommend our maintenance-&-inspection bed bug treatment.
How to prepare your house before our bed-bug treatment
Arrangements to be made before bed bug treatment if you have pets
If you have any pet(s) such as cats or dogs, rabbits, hamsters etc. arrange for them to be out of the house during spray treatment and for at least 4 hours afterwards or longer - until all sprayed surfaces are dry and safe. Fish, amphibians and pet snakes should be removed prior to bed bug treatment (to return the next day) alternatively the tanks properly covered.
Cleaning before bed bug removal treatment
It is better to vacuum and mop the floor and wipe down surfaces before bed bug treatment as you will be advised to avoid cleaning of treated surfaces on its completion for 3 weeks. Do not apply any DIY insect control products prior to an arranged bed bug treatment. Do not use aggressive detergents or bleach in cleaning operations before our combined insecticidal treatment. Anything you do not want to be sprayed, please put in plastic bags. Strip beds of bedding.
Access required for bed bug treatment
During our bed bug treatments, beds are dismantled, other furniture (especially close to occupied beds) such as bed side cabinets, sofas, chests of drawers etc. taken apart as much as reasonably practicable to allow for treatment to be carried out. Due care is taken by our team to prevent or minimise damage(s) to the furniture and furnishings. Move beds off the walls. Open built-in drawers and unfold spare beds. Due to substantial quantities of chemical/insecticidal products dispersed in the bug treatments, in respect to health & safety, our customers are advised to stay out (of the treated property) while we administer the treatment and for a minimum of 6 hours after we complete it. People with known respiratory issues and cats, dogs and other free-running pets are recommended to not return home until 10 hours after the insecticidal treatment (to protect own health and the health of the pets).
Our advice after a bed-bug treatment
Ventilate thoroughly on return. Avoid contact of bare skin with treated surfaces immediately after spray application; it takes approximately 4-5 hours to dry. Slight chemical odour present immediately on the application will be effectively removed by ventilation that also speeds up the drying process. All spray-treated surfaces will be safe once dry. A treated room can be safely used in 2 hours after administering our bed-bug maintenance & detection treatment. Reduce or reasonably minimise cleaning to all treated surfaces in the property for 3 weeks on completion of a bed bug treatment. First results such as considerably reduced numbers of live bed bugs in the property will be noticeable from day 1 on completion of the treatment. Complete eradication of bed bug infestation should be achieved within 3 weeks.
Monitoring after bed-bug treatments, repeat treatments, optional aftercare and guarantee
There would be a requirement for a repeat bed bug treatment If bed-bug activity persists beyond 3 weeks on completion of a treatment. If no aftercare has been agreed, repeat treatments can be discounted by 20 %. Our customers can choose an (optional) aftercare. For an extra 60% of the original cost, our bed bug aftercare features a 4-month guarantee for eradication of bedbugs, a minimum of 3 follow-up visits, monitoring with traps, and unlimited number of repeat treatments (in the discretion of our attending technicians). First of the 3 planned follow-up visits normally is in 3 weeks, the second follow-up is in 9 weeks (from the initial bed-bug treatment), and the final one in 3 months (from the initial bed-bug treatment). I recommend to arrange for our bed bug aftercare if your bedbug issue is anything more than a starting, light infestation. Our customers can decide to add the (optional) aftercare before the bed-bug treatment or within 2 weeks after it. Not all our bed bug jobs are eligible for aftercare, e.g. a treatment in a bedroom only. There may be attached conditions to the aftercare such as the customer must dispose of certain pieces of bed bug infested furniture or of other infested items as advised by our attending technician and/or the mattress must be fitted with a bed-bug proof protective cover.
Bed bug prevention and additional costs
We advise to carefully inspect for bed bugs any used furniture you might be bringing into your apartment. Regularly check bed frames, headboards and mattresses for signs of bed bugs. Check your luggage on return from holidays, or indeed, you can check your bags or rucksack after every overnight stay. Purchase and fit your mattress with a purpose-made bedbug-proof encasement.
Preventive bed bug survey
If you are not sure whether you have bed bugs, or you might think you brought bed bugs home, you can arrange for our bed bug survey. The cost of the surveying visit is £50. If we proceed to schedule a bed bug treatment, you will be automatically granted £50 discount off the treatment to follow. This could be extended for (optional) monitoring with traps done over 2 visits on request by the customer.
Pest control vehicle parking surcharge in Glasgow city centre
The customers with properties located within some areas of the restricted/regulated parking zones in Glasgow city centre may be asked to pay a parking surcharge to our attending technician on service visits exceeding 1 hour.
Contact our insect control expert for advice, insect ID, and/or to confirm the cost of the pest control service you require. Book a callout.
Beetles, booklice, and woodworm
All about the pest beetles commonly encountered in Glasgow and Ayrshire and our treatments to control them, including prices.
All about wasps, bees, ants, and about our treatments (e.g. wasp nest removal) to control them, including prices.
All about German and Oriental cockroaches, and about our treatments to control them, including prices.
All about flies such as blow fly, house fly, cluster fly, fruit fly, drain fly, how we control them, and how much it costs.
Millipedes, centipedes, woodlice, springtails, silverfish, and spiders
Information about millipedes, centipedes, woodlice, springtails, silverfish, spiders, how we control them, and the prices of our insecticidal treatments
Payments
Payments are due on completion of each job. Where a job consists of a number of visits, the quoted sum is due on completion of the first visit, unless agreed otherwise. We accept cash, by cards and use mobile payment links. More information on how to make your payment can be accessed here.
Czm8's biting insect removal services are available in the following areas:
East Ayrshire - Fenwick, Patna, Dalmellington, Cumnock, Kilmarnock, Darvel, Kilmaurs, Stewarton and more;
South Ayrshire - Troon, Prestwick, Ayr, Mauchline, Muirkirk, Alloway Symington, Tarbolton, Mossblown, Maybole, Girvan, Barrhill and more;
North Ayrshire - Stevenston, Saltcoats, Ardrossan, Kilwinning, Largs, Skelmorlie, West Kilbride, Fairlie, Dalry, Beith, Irvine and more
East Renfrewshire - Newton Mearns, Giffnock, Uplawmoor, Neilston, Barrhead, Eaglesham, Clarkston and more;
Renfrewshire - Paisley, Renfrew, Inchinnan, Bishopton, Erskine, Lochwinnoch, Kilbarchan, Elderslie, Johnstone and more;
Glasgow City - Glasgow town, Cardonald, Hillington, Mosspark, Govan, Pollokshaws, Kings Park, Pollokshields, Shawlands, Govanhill, Langside, Battlefield, Hillpark, Cathcart, Mount Florida, Southside of Glasgow, Eastwood, Thornliebank, Gorbals, Busby, Rutherglen, Toryglen, Cambuslang, Partick, Cessnock, Bearsden, Milngavie, Maryhill, Bishopbriggs, Glasgow west end, Shettleston, Dennistoun, Baillieston, Glasgow East End, Anniesland, Glasgow North, Clydebank, Eastwood, Lenzie, Kirkintilloch and more;
North Lanarkshire - Bellshill, Wishaw, Newarthill, Chapelhall, Airdrie, Motherwell, Glenboig, Chryston, Kilsyth, Cumbernauld, Caldercruix, Harthill, Shotts and more;
South Lanarkshire - Douglas, Lesmahagow, Lanark, Strathaven, Biggar, Forth, Carluke, Hamilton, Blantyre, East Kilbride and more
Fleas
Ctenocepphalides felis, Ctenocephalides canis, Pulex irritans
The fleas most commonly encountered by our customers are cat and dog fleas in the urban and suburban areas, but also human fleas in rural areas across Ayrshire, Renfrewshire, Lanarkshire, and Glasgow. Many flea species are known to be vectors of human diseases; the best known example is the spread of plague by the Oriental rat flea. Human flea and dog, and cat fleas cause irritation to skin by biting when going for a blood meal. Dog fleas can carry and transmit tape worms. Flea bites are caused by adult fleas; flea larvae usually develop on or near the floor level. Unlike adult fleas, the larvae are not predatory and they feed on dust, detritus, faeces, dry skin scales, etc. Cat and dog fleas are usually parasite of cats and dogs but also bite humans; human fleas can parasitize on hedgehogs, foxes, wild animals, pigs, and on humans.
Appearance, size, and life cycle of fleas
The length of an adult flea is 2 millimetres. Adult fleas are laterally flat and grey to mahogany-brown in colour. It is them that bite. Larvae are whitish, legless, ap-to 5 millimetres in length. All the species of fleas have well developed hind legs for jumping, especially the human flea. Fleas have complete metamorphosis - i.e. egg-larva-pupa-adult. Eggs are laid in fur of a host animal or on clothing of a human host. The eggs usually fall off onto the floor where they hatch in a few days, followed by about 3 weeks of a larval stage before pupating in silky cocoons and normally emerging in 2-4 weeks. Young adult fleas wait inside the cocoon until they are stimulated by vibrations of a nearby potential hosts and emerge rapidly to attack and feed. Fleas are known to survive well long periods of starvation and it is not uncommon for old flea infestations in houses that were unoccupied for years to suddenly re-appear with young fleas emerging from cocoons. The larvae like dirt and humidity.
How we control fleas
The safe & efficient use of advanced flea control chemical products and methods to eradicate stubborn infestations of fleas
There are two steps in applying our flea treatments: 1. A coarse spray of liquid and 2. safe application of fog with an electric atomizer. The flea treatment typically takes us about 40 minutes to administer in a 3-bed house.
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A 'clean-out' rate of a high performance (pyrethroid) insecticide with rapid knockdown (synergized for greater strength) and long residual life up-to 1 month on application, with no loss of its strength at all for the first 2 weeks through bio-degradation of pesticide.. The liquid is administered with a compression sprayer and/or electric atomiser onto the floor, soft furnishings and walls up to a knee-hight in all internal areas of the property to be treated.
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IGR (insect) growth regulator disrupts flea life-cycle by preventing flea eggs from hatching, larvae don't pupate and new adult fleas won't emerge thanks to a juvenile hormone that inhibits the insect development. The liquid is dispersed as a cold fog with an electric atomizer. Pyrethrins plus synergist that are also contained in the fog make it an instant and ultimate flea killer to compliment the treatment.
How much it costs to exterminate fleas in Glasgow and Ayrshire
Czm8's insecticidal treatment (as described in the next section below - 'Flea Treatment') to eradicate fleas from your property is administered in all rooms, including the hallway and utilities. The price depends on the size of your property as follows:
£100 for any 1 room (residential)
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£110 1-bed flat or studio
£127 2-bed flat or bungalow
£143 3-bed flat or 2-bed house over 2 levels
£160 4-bed flat or 3-bed house over 2 levels
£179 4-bed house or 5-bed flat
To eradicate severe flea infestations where the breeding of fleas that have already completed their lifecycle has occurred, repeat treatments may occasionally be required for their reliable eradication. A 20% discount is available for a repeat flea treatment.
Survey, monitoring, and detection of fleas
We always do a survey before any insect treatment; however, you may request a survey and (optional) monitoring with insect traps to be done on a separate visit (prior to our visit for treatment) which would cost you extra £50. A follow-up visit to inspect our insect monitors would bear no additional cost. If you arrange for an insecticidal treatment within 1 month of the survey (that was done on a separate visit other than the treatment), and no monitoring with traps and a separate follow-up check were involved, you are eligible for a £20 discount off the insecticidal treatment.
If you arrange for a flea treatment within 1 month of the surveying visit (with no monitoring), you will be granted a discount of £20 off the cost of our insecticidal flea treatment that follows.
How to prepare your house before our flea treatment
Arrangements for pets with respect to fleas
If you have any pet(s) such as cats or dogs, rabbits, hamsters etc. living in the flea-infested property, have them treated first. See your vet or chemist for available products, treatments and advice. Arrange for your pet(s) to be out of the house during treatment and for at least 6 hours afterwards or longer, until all sprayed surfaces are dry and safe. Dispose of flea-infested pet bedding or wash it at a minimum temperature of 60C in a washing machine to reliably and without any risk to your pet kill all adult fleas, their larvae and eggs in them. Fish, amphibians and pet snakes should be removed prior to flea treatment; alternatively, the tanks properly covered.
Cleaning before flea removal treatment
Do not apply any DIY insect control products immediately before our flea removal treatment. Wash the entire floor and/or vacuum the carpets. Empty the vacuum cleaner for any flea eggs that could otherwise remain inside and re-infest your house later. Do not use aggressive cleaning products or bleach in the cleaning.
Access required for flea treatment
Where possible, prior to flea treatment, move furniture 1 foot away from the walls to allow the pest control operator access to spray behind it. The time our technician requires to work in your house will be up to 1 hour for which you are recommended to stay out; although (not recommended) you may remain inside the property and follow safety instructions given to you by the pest control technician on site.
Advice for what to do after a flea treatment of your home and repeat treatments
Flea removal - health & safety
Avoid contact of bare skin with treated surfaces while wet after spray application; it takes 3-6 hours to dry. A slight chemical odour can be effectively removed by ventilation which also speeds up the drying process. All treated surfaces will be safe once dry.
After flea treatment - cleaning and maintenance
Avoid mopping the floor and vacuuming carpets for 2-3 weeks on application in order to maintain its effectiveness. Do not apply other chemical products to the floor during this time; they could cross-react with insecticide applied in the flea removal treatment. Clean the floor and vacuum carpets thoroughly thereafter.
Eradication of fleas - progress
A rapid result is noticeable immediately on completion of the flea treatment, although complete eradication of the flea infestation may take longer, usually up to 3 weeks on administering 1 single treatment, or 6 weeks with 1 repeat treatment.
Occasionally, there might be a requirement for a repeat flea treatment
If flea activity persists over 3 weeks after a flea treatment, you should arrange with us for a repeat treatment. You would get a 20% discount for a repeated treatment.
House Dust Mite
Dermatophagoides spp.
House dust mites, Arachnida by Class and Acarina by Sub-Class, are the smallest arthropods that we can help you control. They are the kind of mites often present in household dust. They feed on moults present on scales of dead human skin, and on fragments of broken hair. Infestations of house d. mites are more active during summer months in Scotland and Great Britain, calming down during winter. Large number of people are allergic to house dust and house dust mites. The allergic reaction in people is caused by their contact with either house d. mites, their dead bodies or their fragments, and faecal excretions.
Appearance, size, and life cycle of mites
The length of adult house dust mites is 0.4 millimetre, their eggs, larvae and nymphs even smaller. House d. mites follow incomplete metamorphosis, however they have eggs, larvae, nymphs, and adults. The adults are hard to find and difficult to sample, pay-grey to brown in colour. Single eggs are deposited amongst fibres on mattresses, blankets, carpets, etc. The eggs take not long to hatch into larvae that moult into nymphs after their first feeding. The nymphs go through a few more moultings as they grow while they feed alongside adult house d. mites. They all remain in their favoured bedding and only come in contact with human body by accident, they are not ectoparasites. Other species of mites can be found on foods, including cereals, dried and tanned animal hides, smoked meat products, as well as on mattrasses and furniture.
How we control mites
We spray small droplets of acaricide in the form of a cold mist and fog by using electric atomizers. House d. mites can be controlled but it is difficult to eradicate them.
How much it costs to exterminate mites in Glasgow and Ayrshire
Our treatments for mites vary by the degree and extent of infestations. The prices of our treatments are by the size of the properties that are to be treated (or of its part). All the prices (on this page) are for 1 survey and 1 insecticidal treatment on 1 pest control service visit. House dust mites often require repeat treatments to achieve a consistent control by keeping the mite populations within acceptable levels, although these levels may have a small threshold in sensitive people with allergies. We offer 20% discounts on repeat treatments. We do not recommend administering a follow-up treatment in less than 1 month after an initial treatment or less than a couple of months between preventive treatments.
£86 1 room
£99 1-bedroom flat or a studio
£139 2-bedroom flat
£160 3-bedroom flat or 2-bed house over 2 levels
£177 4-bedroom flat or 3-bed house over 2 levels
Survey before treatment and identification of mites
You might need our help with identification of mites . You are welcome to use our pest identification aid on a dedicated page of the website, or take a close up photograph of your insect pest and email it to us requesting identification of the creatures. Unfortunately, due to mites tiny size, it most likely will not be possible. We always do a survey before any insect treatment; however, you may request a survey to be done on a separate visit (prior to our visit for treatment) which would cost you extra £50. If you arrange for an insecticidal treatment within 1 month of the survey (that was done on a separate visit other than the treatment), and no monitoring with traps and a separate follow-up check were involved, you are eligible for a £20 discount off the insecticidal treatment.
How to prepare your house before our treatment for house dust mites
In all rooms, please pull furniture 1ft away from walls where you can. Clean the floor and vacuum carpets before our treatment as you will be advised to not clean or vacuum them for 1 week after the treatment. If you have pets, you will need to make arrangements for them to be out of the house for the time when we administer our treatment (it takes usually up to 30 minutes) and for 2-3 hours after. For health and safety reasons, we advise you and your family to also keep out of your house during and after our arachnicidal treatment for the same length of time. For those with respiratory issues, we advise to double the time and ventilate thoroughly on the first re-entry.
What else help for house dust mites
Professional pest controllers advise frequent hoovering of your carpets and emptying the contents of the vacuum cleaner outside, washing or dry-cleaning textiles, and covering mattresses with bedbug-proof encasements.
Cable bugs
A phenomenon that does occur from time to time, usually in office environment with vinyl floors or synthetic carpets, dry atmosphere, and a lot of electronic equipment and devices. It is basically down to gradual build ups and sudden discharges of static electricity. The sudden discharges of electricity on people may feel like insect bites, and red marks resembling insect bites could be also present.
What can help against cable bugs
Anti-static mats or sprays and increasing humidity should help control the cable-bug issue.
Page last updated on 09/03/2025