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There are thousands of insect species in UK, with many classed as pests. In Scotland you may encounter insects (also myriapoda, crustacea and arachnida) associated with dampness and moist, insects that are associated with certain materials they feed on and others typically linked to a particular environment or host.
Frequent pest crawling insects in Scotland
Pest insects may be introduced into your home in many ways; such as being brought on furniture, luggage, in boxes, with food, on clothes, some just may crawl in from the outside or from your neighbour’s or fly in through an open window. While a couple of ants won’t cause you havoc in your home, some other species like cockroaches or bed bugs would be more serious.
From amongst the insects I deal with cockroaches are not the easiest pests to eradicate. Be advised that it is not possible to get rid of cockroach infestation in one treatment, no matter what you might be told; I have heard about ‘’pest controllers’’ misleading customers into a wrong belief that one application of roach gel or one off spray treatment would solve their problem. On the contrary, if an integrated approach is not utilized in cockroach control, including monitoring and repeated inspections and treatments, the insects likely develop resistance against the chemical had been used and it could make it more difficult to effectively treat it in the future. Always ask your pest controller for a service report that would list the pesticides he/she applied. This would help insect control pro in cases of the previous treatment failure determine the right insecticide to use in such situations for a proper treatment.
There have been rise in Bed Bugs in recent years. Within Glasgow there are areas with greater risks of bed bugs situated on the Southside, particularly in Govanhill, Pollokshaws, Shawlands, and Pollokshields; however, because of increased global traveling and a slump in the quality of housing and overcrowding in some places bed bugs may now be found just about anywhere. I would say that greater risk to encounter bugs is in cities than in small towns or rural areas but exceptions do apply. Bed bugs are one of the most difficult insects to control and you would likely not succeed with DIY pest control in getting rid of them. You’d be better off hiring a professional straight away to do it for you.
Another very frequent insect pest I come across is Dermestes Beetle, common name Hide Beetle, variations called Leather Beetle and Larder Beetle. Adult beetles are usually shiny black colour, 7-9 millimetres in length, larvae brownish, up to 14 millimetres. You could try controlling these insects by DIY, using spray applied residual insecticides available from DIY stores applied into structural cracks and crevices and hard-to-access areas, e.g under kitchen units, behind washing machine, cooker etc., focusing on the kitchen area but treating the whole house, insect smoke bombs are of limited effectiveness. Good housekeeping is a very important factor in Dermestes Beetle control. Calling in an insect control pro for widespread and heavy infestations may be more effective than DIY treatments and sometimes it can even prove inevitable at the end.
There are many other insect pests I commonly deal with; if you struggled with yours you may find helpful asking me for free advice or an on-line insect identification.
Czechmate Pest Control provides insect control services for homes and local businesses across Ayrshire, Inverclyde, Dunbartonshire, Renfrewshire, Glasgow and Lanarkshire.