​As the weather warms and we start to spend more time outside, we tend to see more wasps in Adelaide. So we thought it was a good time to share a little information with you to help when you find wasps in your yard. 

​We deal with three main types of Wasps.
1) The European Wasp
2) The Australian Paper Wasp and
3) The Mud Wasp.
Of all three, it’s the European wasp that causes the most problems for Adelaide home owners. 

It can be hard to tell the difference between a European wasp and a bee when they’re buzzing around your bbq. There are a few tell tale signs to watch out for so you know it’s a wasp:
- thin yellow legs
- mostly yellow abdomens
- triangular black markings
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Wasps will travel up to 500m to find food or water. European wasps are also rather lazy hive makers and will build them in trees, under ledges, or underground. This can make finding and treating the hive quite difficult. (but not impossible) What you will notice when you near a nest is that there will be more activity. Take a photo of where you believe the nest is, it could be a hole in the ground or a grey paper-mache looking mound in a tree or under a ledge.

Here in Adelaide, it’s most likely that if it’s not a European wasp that it’s either an Australian Paper or Mud Wasp. Here are a couple of tips to help you tell the difference.

Paper wasps have rust coloured abdomen, eat caterpillars and other insects, and will only sting if their nest is disturbed.

Mud wasps are solitary, eat spiders and other insects, and their abdomen sits at the end of a thin yellow protuberance from the thorax.
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If you are doing all you can to deter wasps from your Adelaide home then it’s time to give MD Pest Control a call. I have options for Wasp Control that range from baits; dusting and some sprays - call and ask or book online now.

​So you’ve noticed those little silver-grey bugs scuttling into the dark corners, out from cardboard boxes, or under the skirting boards. As the weather warms and Spring rains continue, silverfish become more active. So what do you need to know about silverfish control and getting rid of silverfish?

​Silverfish are especially attracted to damp clothing and paper. They love warm and moist spaces.

Silverfish prefer to eat carbohydrates. They’re not particularly fussy and will eat paper, cardboard, grains, sugar, and some fabrics. Silverfish will also eat other plant and animal materials such as leather.

Adult silverfish can live for 2-8 years, growing all the while. The longer they live, the more eggs they lay, the bigger the silverfish control problem becomes.

One of the most common ways you’ll bring in silverfish bugs in your home is with infested pet food or on/in cardboard boxes.
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The greatest risk that silverfish bring to humans is:
- spiders love to eat them
- some people are allergic to their shed exoskeleton

After trying to control the silverfish, there are a few things you can do to get rid of them.

Place affected items in a sealed plastic bag with silica gel or diatomaceous earth. Then place this bag in the freezer for 3-7 days.

Sprinkle diatomaceous earth where you have seen silverfish. When silverfish come in contact with it, it destroys their outer waxy coating, causing them to lose moisture and die.
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You can always bring in the big guns and call a professional pest controller such as MD Pest Control. With industry expertise and specialized treatments, you know you’ll be in good hands and that the silverfish problem will soon be a thing of the past. Ready to book? You can book online now. 

​Pantry moths tend to appear in our flour and grains in the warmer months. To stop them taking over your pantry in the Summer, it’s best to prepare early. We gathered together some helpful tips to reduce your chance of a pantry moth infestation in the Summer.

​It might seem obvious or downright silly, but it can be easy for half-used boxes of cooking stuffs to get pushed to the back of the pantry, forgotten, or tipped over and create a mess. One way to help prevent this is to clean up spills when they happen or when they’re seen. The other way is to do a regular ‘Spring Clean’ of your pantry. Spring cleans are also a great way to take stock of what you have, need, or might have gone out of date. 

​If you are worried about a pack of food having pantry moth eggs on it, pop it in a plastic bag and into the freezer.
Putting the package in the freezer for a few weeks kills the eggs and larvae. When their time is up, simply pull the pack out of the freezer and put the contents in a tightly secured container. 

the food you see effected by the moths. That could be seeing the moths in the food, little holes in packets from larvae, or even larvae in the food itself. Any of these things are red pantry moth flags and means that you need to throw that food away, clear and clean the cupboard, possibly put other grains, flours and spices in the freezer for a few weeks, but definitely need to move as much of the dry foods to tightly sealed containers.
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These are also good times for you to contact Michael and the MD Pest Control team to come in and do a general spray for other kitchen pests such as silverfish, cockroaches, and ants and to bait for rodents. All of these things will help to keep your kitchen and pantry clear of common household pests.

Spring is here and soon the most common pests, cockroaches, ants, & spiders, will be trying to make our home their home. We wanted to give you some tips to help you, other than booking in a spray, keep the spring pests down.

So let’s take a trip inside and outside your home to find out what you can do to help control pests this spring.

1 – Roof
A leaking roof provides moisture that insects, particularly termites, love. Cracks and holes in the roof allow pests into your home. Blocked drains are a water source for rodents and can be a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
If you have overhanging trees, watch for insect nests.
 
2 – Air Vents
Air vents allow your home to breathe but the holes can also be a walkway straight into your kitchen, lounge, or bedroom. Make sure that you have wire mesh installed over the vents to let the air move, but not pests.
 
3 – Roof Space
Dark, warm, rarely used. It’s no wonder insects and pests like hanging out in the roof void. Swap items in cardboard, a favourite food of many insects, for plastic and keep more pests out. Watch out for termite activity in beams, rafters, and any boards.
 
4 – Bedroom
​We all like a warm and cozy bedroom and insects are no different. Make sure the flyscreens are secure and there are no gaps in the skirting boards or to outside walls. Vacuum carpets and rugs regularly to remove dust mites, moth eggs, and bed bugs. Wash bedding at 60 Celsius to destroy larvae and eggs. Make sure papers and books are tidy to deter cockroaches, silverfish, and termites.
 
When you come home from holidays, wash all of your clothes, air your luggage and reduce the risk of bringing home bed bugs.

Please contact us to quote for any other work including setting up or taking over termite management systems. ​

​Tammy & I are mindful, especially this year, of the cost of pest control on the family and business budget. That’s why we have a number of things available to our customers to make pest control more affordable. 

Each of our Newsletters contains a special price on pest control treatments for our customers. About every six weeks, we send a newsletter to your email inbox with helpful information about how to help control the pests in your home and we include at least one special price offer on pest control treatment that you’ll likely need in the following six weeks.

Make sure you’ve signed up to our email list, if you’re not already a customer, to find out our current special priced pest control treatments. 

Being part of the Jim’s group, we have access to Jim’s Pay Plan powered by OpenPay. This system gives you the ability to pay for your pest control service while you’re getting the benefits.

Michael can set up an account for you, on the spot, and depending on the value of the pest control service, you can have between four and 12 months to pay for your treatment.
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You can read more about this facility here. 

​Around Adelaide, the three most commonly hated pests are cockroaches, spiders, and mice. When you consider their reputation for causing harm, either through disease or venom – it’s easy to understand why. 

Amazingly, the rodent can eat a cockroach out of a glue trap without itself becoming entangled. Australian native rodents are insectivores, often eating cockroaches and termites. Occasionally, professionals report seeing mice or rats directly eating cockroaches or other insects.

Spiders feed on common indoor pests, such as cockroaches, Earwigs, Mosquitoes, Flies and Clothes Moths. If left alone, Spiders will consume most of the insects in your home, providing effective home pest control.
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If only we could leave these pests to control themselves!

Ok, so don’t get physical with them, especially the spiders! Actually, don’t disturb spider webs before or in the few days after spraying or you will reduce your chances of being rid of those moveable beasts.

You’ve probably guessed that I’m going to tell you to call in a professional, like myself, and you’d be right. The most effective way to be rid of them is to get in an expert, just as you would for any serious attack on your home and family.

The good news is that cockroaches and spiders are best controlled with a spray and the one we use is specially formulated to handle the hardiest of spiders, that makes it strong enough for roaches too.
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Mice need baits and we periodically send specials to people who join our newsletter list for mice baiting. So get in before the mice have their spring fling and save yourself some $$. 

​No one likes to think of the bugs, insects, or pests crawling around their home. Not to mention the damage they could be doing. But how can you trust the pest control company you’ve booked to look after you and your home or business here in Adelaide.
We’ve put together these 6 ways to tell you’ve hired one of the best Pest control companies in Adelaide. 

Customer reviews and recommendations are great. It’s always nice to know that other people who have used our services, enjoyed and recommend it. Did you know that there’s something better than that? It’s when your peers and independent bodies look at all the other pest controllers in Adelaide or Australia and compare apples with apples.
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(Did you know that we were rated in the Top 10 of all Australian Pest Control Companies?)

So you’ve read the reviews and know that the pest controller is independently recommended. That’s great but do they believe and stand by what they do?
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First thing is that they meet an independent standard, that means that all the products they use and recommend meet Australian Standards. The next thing you’ll want to make sure is that they stand by their product and they offer a full warranty.

​There’s nothing quite like the like the personalised and caring touch that you get from a family owned business. They have the time to care, to talk you through your questions, and to personally follow up.

Being taken care of like you’re part of the family is nice, it’s also nice to know that you have someone you can turn to if needed. That’s why we like the reassurance being part of the Jim’s family of service companies gives, knowing that’s a name you know and can trust. 

Now if you didn't know, MD Pest Control ticks all of these boxes. If you'd like to experience the difference for yourself, please call Michael on 0407 614 220 or contact us online. 

We have gathered together some of our favourite Winter Warming Recipes. They include a great bug fighting soup and plenty of vegetables to keep bugs and germs at bay. We are also mindful that time can be a little tight and we’ve included some quick and hearty dinners as well as ones for the slow cooker that you can set and forget. There’s nothing nicer than to come home from work on a cold night to the smell of dinner ready and waiting for you.
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Enjoy and we’d love it if you’d comment with a link to your favourite Winter bug busting soup. 

We love this recipe because fresh ginger, garlic, and lemongrass are perfect for killing off bugs (throw in a fresh chilli for extra bug defence). The pasta makes it a nice wholesome meal but it can easily be omitted or swapped out for white/navy beans.
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https://damndelicious.net/2018/09/30/cold-fighting-chicken-noodle-soup/

We don’t know about you but curried sausages was a staple around here growing up and it’s almost like a warm hug from grandma.

This recipe calls for apples and raisins, but sultanas work just as well. Add in some carrot and serve with mash potatoes or rice for a full meal. Feel free to leave out the cream if you wish.
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https://www.copymethat.com/r/lz9rpUA/keens-curried-sausages/

Don’t let the name have you think twice, this really is super easy and it’s super kid friendly too. This bake makes a great side dish but would also do well as a main.

The great thing about this recipe is that it will take most vegetables and it’s a great way to use up the sad old vegetables in the fridge or the ones left in the lead up to the next grocery shop.
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https://www.stayathomemum.com.au/recipes/vegetable-bake/

We recently came across this amazing Adelaide based food blogger, Rouba Shahin. Rouba’s food philosophy is that food brings people together, and we’re all for that. Her recipes are hearty and tasty and designed to warn your heart and your stomach. Keep watch on her social media for other recipes, some are super simple – like her Turkish Delight sandwiches. Yum!
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https://roubashahin.com.au/2019/07/09/chickpea-and-eggplant-rice/

So you’ve been tidying up around the house or garden and you’ve found active termites. Perhaps you saw them crawling along a skirting board, shifted some timber in the yard and it crumbled leaving you with a handful of white ants, or you’ve seen a mud tunnel.
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Your only reaction should be to call me on 0407 614 220 and here’s why.

• Fly spray, hot water, or treatments from the local hardware store shoo them away
• You actually want to attract them to a bait, so they carry it to the nest and kill the source of the problem.
• I can spot treat termites

 
With termites travelling up to 100m from their nest, what you might be seeing is a set of scouts looking for food, rather than the nest itself. That’s why it’s important not to react and respond with common household treatments. It’s more important to stop any future attacks from the termite colony.

You might be tempted to clean up and remove any food sources, timber, cardboard, wooden furniture, from the area. Strangely enough, you’re removing the termite’s food source and they will move to find more and that’s more than likely to be your house.

I find spot treatments the most effective in this instance

Yes, you can spot treat a termite colony. You may find these under dead or dying trees after they’ve been removed.

It can be alarming seeing thousands and thousands of termites in one place but fast action is the key, before they head off and find another food source.

When I find a colony I will look at a number of different factors before deciding on what form of termite treatment is best. With 360 different species of termites in Australia, it’s important that I use the best treatment for the one termite causing your troubles.

That is why I recommend you contact me at the first signs of termites or termite activity. Call me on 0407 614 220 or use the contact form. 

​So you’ve got a nice home, it’s got a termite barrier in place. That’s a good enough termite control, right? Wrong!

While a physical termite barrier will stop some of the termites getting into your home, it only protects it on one front. That’s were a baited termite control system around the perimeter of your home has the upper hand.

Physical termite barrier systems work well, so long as they are properly installed, so long as they are not damaged or breached in any way, and so long as the termites don’t find some other way inside the house.
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And that’s the problem. Termites will use and build tunnels and use structures and debris piled against the walls of your house (think of that wood pile up against the wall) leaving them above your physical termite barrier and with easy access to the timber in your home.

Like anything, prevention is better than the cure. This is where a termite control system comes in.
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A set of baits set around your home attracts termites away from your home, allows you to see if there are active termites, and then delivers a dose of tailored insecticide that the termites take back to the colony, effectively wiping out the whole colony. 

The termite control systems we use aren’t just environmentally friendly, their environmentally sound. What do we mean. The timber used to bait the termites is one of their favourite foods, rather than cheap softwood or cardboard that termites don’t like and instead choose your home timbers.

Not with our systems.

We bait using specially treated and termite-preferred timbers to attract and then treat the termites.
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Think of your termite control system as an underground Trojan moat. Protecting your home from attack at a distance but with a hidden surprise. 

Yes and no. Once the termites have eaten all the bait, it needs to be refilled. That’s where we come in and periodically check for activity and to restock the bait.

The good thing is that you don’t need to remember when we last came, we will do that for you and send you a friendly reminder that your termite stations are due for checking and we will organise a convenient time to make that happen.

So you can sit back, relax, and leave protecting your home from termites to us.