Rats in the roof, roaches in the kitchen, borer in the floorboards.
We are a family-run pest control company based in Brackenfell, and we have been sorting out Cape Town's pests for more than ten years, from Atlantis to Gordon's Bay.
Minimum 3-month guaranteeIf it comes back, so do we
Written reportAfter every treatment
Beetle certificatesFor Western Cape property transfers
Registered and insuredQualified pest controllers
How we work
A small company that answers its own phone
Cape Town Pest Control is run by Sean Kennell and the VerminX team out of Brackenfell. When you call 021 012 5825 you get someone who can tell you, there and then, whether that brown beetle in your cupboard is a weevil or a borer, and whether you actually need us.
Most jobs are booked within about 48 hours. That stretches a little in late summer, when every cockroach and flea in the Peninsula seems to wake up at once. If it can't wait, we do after-hours and weekend visits on request, and the 24-hour line is there for advice and bookings.
Every treatment comes with a written report and a minimum 3-month guarantee. If the problem comes back inside that window, so do we.
Least toxic firstGel baits, colony baits and tamper-resistant stations
Spraying everything in sight is the easy way to do pest control, and it is usually the wrong one. We start by finding out where the pests are living, what they are eating and how they are getting in. Then we use the gentlest product that will actually work: gel baits for cockroaches, colony baits for ants, tamper-resistant stations for rats, and targeted residuals only where they are needed.
Straight answer
If a photo shows you don't need us, we will tell you.
OdourlessOdourless treatments in most homes, so you are not airing the house for days
Safe around familySafe placement around children, pets and food areas
Proofing adviceProofing advice so the problem does not simply return
Contract serviceContract service for restaurants, shops, schools and body corporates
Wood borers are beetles whose larvae spend years eating through timber before they chew their way out, leaving neat round holes and little piles of powder. We inspect roof timbers, floors and furniture across Cape Town and the Boland, identify which beetle you have, and treat the wood so the larvae inside die and the timber is protected against new egg-laying.
Fumigation means sealing a space, a load of timber or a batch of goods and filling it with a gas that reaches pests deep inside where sprays never get. In Cape Town people also use the word for any whole-house treatment, so the first thing we do is work out which one you actually need, then do it properly.
Most spiders in Cape Town homes are harmless and even useful, but a few, like the violin spider and the button spider, deserve respect, and a heavy population usually means there is plenty of insect food around. We identify what you actually have, treat the webs, voids and entry points where they live, and deal with the insects that are feeding them.
Fleas are the most common reason Cape Town families call us about bites, and the adults you see on the dog are only a small part of the problem. Most of the population sits in your carpets, couches and pet bedding as eggs, larvae and pupae, so we treat the house with a growth regulator and residual spray while your vet treats the animals.
Rodent control is a full programme for getting rats and mice off a property and keeping them off, not just a few bait blocks behind the fridge. For homes, restaurants, warehouses and farms across Cape Town and the Boland we follow a 6-step regime that looks at where they live, what they eat, how they get in and how to bait safely.
Mice get into Cape Town homes through gaps you would never notice and then live in the kitchen cupboards, behind the stove and inside the walls. We track them down, trap them and close the gaps so the next family of mice cannot follow them in.
Grey squirrels are charming in the oak trees, much less charming when they are chewing through your roof and nesting in the ceiling. In Cape Town we deal with squirrels in roofs by getting them out humanely and then closing the gaps they used, so they cannot move back in.
Insect control is about working out which insect you actually have, where it is coming from, and stopping it there rather than spraying everything in sight. In Cape Town we deal with ants, cockroaches, fishmoths, fleas, flies, wasps and stored product pests every week, and each one needs a different approach.
Crawling insects are the ones that come up from drains, out of wall voids and in under doors: cockroaches, ants, fishmoths, crickets and the occasional scorpion or earwig. They live in hidden spaces, so treating the floor where you see them achieves very little. We trace them back to where they hide and breed in your Cape Town home or business, then treat those spots directly.
Crickets are not dangerous, but one chirping cricket behind a cupboard can keep a whole Cape Town household awake, and mole crickets can wreck a lawn. Most indoor crickets come in from the garden when the weather turns, so we treat the outside perimeter and entry points as well as the house. In the garden, we treat the lawn where mole crickets are tunnelling.
Fishmoths, also called silverfish, are small silvery insects that eat paper, glue, starch and natural fabrics in Cape Town homes, offices and storerooms. They love dark, damp, undisturbed spaces, so the fix is partly treatment and partly sorting out the conditions they live in. We treat roof spaces, cupboards and voids with dusts and targeted residual products, then tell you exactly what to change to keep them away.
Scorpions in Cape Town mostly live in gardens, rockeries and under debris, and only come indoors at night when they are hunting or looking for shelter. Most local species are not dangerous, but a few thick-tailed ones can give a painful and medically significant sting. We reduce the insects they feed on, treat their hiding places, and help you make the property less attractive to them.
If you or your family keep waking up with bites, the first job is working out what is actually biting, because fleas, bed bugs, mosquitoes and bird mites each need a completely different treatment. We inspect, identify the culprit and then treat the source in Cape Town homes and businesses, rather than spraying blindly and hoping.
Once bed bugs are confirmed, getting rid of them is a practical job that depends as much on how the room is prepared as on what we spray. We guide you through preparing the bedrooms, treat the beds, furniture and hiding places on the day, and come back to finish off the hatchlings so your Cape Town home is properly clear.
Bird mites are tiny parasites that live in the nests of pigeons, mynas, sparrows and starlings, and when the chicks leave or the nest is abandoned, they wander into the house looking for a new host and bite people. We find and remove the nest, treat the roof void, gutters and affected rooms, and close the gaps so birds cannot nest there again.
Mosquitoes in Cape Town are mostly a sleep-wrecking nuisance rather than a disease risk, and nearly all of them breed within a short flight of where they bite you. We find and treat the standing water they breed in, treat the shady spots where adults rest, and give you a practical plan to keep numbers down through summer.
Flying insect problems in Cape Town usually come down to flies, mosquitoes, wasps, moths or small drain and fruit flies, and each one breeds somewhere different. We find where they are breeding, deal with that source first, and then knock down the adults with targeted treatments and monitoring that suit a home, a restaurant or a warehouse.
Flies in Cape Town are a sign that something nearby is rotting, wet or uncovered, and they breed fast once summer heat sets in. We find the breeding source, clear or treat it, and then cut down the adult flies with baits, residual treatments and light traps so the numbers stay low.
Wasp control in Cape Town is mostly about the invasive European paper wasp, which keeps rebuilding around the same houses and gardens year after year. We deal with active nests, then work on keeping wasps from settling on your property again through regular checks, early treatment and changes that make eaves and gardens less inviting.
If you have a wasp nest in Cape Town that is too big, too high or too close to the front door to handle yourself, we come out, treat it and take it down. Our technicians wear protective gear, kill the colony first so the wasps do not scatter, and remove the comb so it cannot be reused.
Stored product pests are the beetles, weevils and moths that live in flour, grain, cereal, pet food, spices and dried fruit, in home pantries as well as in bakeries, mills and warehouses. In Cape Town we find the infested stock, get it out, treat the cracks and shelving where the insects hide, and set up pheromone monitoring so a new outbreak is spotted early.
Weevils are small snouted beetles that breed inside whole grains such as rice, maize, wheat and samp, which is why you often only notice them once they start crawling out of the packet. In Cape Town we help homes and food businesses track down the infested stock, clear it out, treat the storage areas and stop weevils from settling back in.
Moth problems in Cape Town homes come from two very different insects: clothes moths that eat wool, silk and carpets, and pantry moths that breed in cereals, nuts and pet food. We work out which one you have, find where the larvae are feeding, clean out and treat the source, and set up pheromone traps to make sure they are gone.
Pest control in Cape Town covers everything from rats in the roof and Argentine ants in the kitchen to cockroaches behind the fridge and wasps under the eaves. We identify what you actually have, find where it is coming from and treat it with the least-toxic option that will work, across Cape Town and the Boland.
When you sell a property in the Western Cape, the buyer's bank or the sale agreement will usually require a beetle Certificate of Compliance, confirming the accessible timbers are free of wood-destroying beetles. We inspect the roof void and other accessible woodwork, and if the timber is clear we issue the certificate.
A pest control service is more than someone arriving with a spray can. It is an inspection, a plan, a targeted treatment and a written report, followed by a check that the job actually worked. Here is what a service visit from us looks like in Cape Town, whether it is a once-off call-out or a regular plan.
When you call an insect exterminator, you want an active infestation gone, not a lecture on prevention. Our technicians identify the insect, find the nest or breeding site and knock it out with targeted treatment, then make sure it stays gone. We do this daily across Cape Town and the Boland.
Contract pest control is a scheduled programme of inspections, monitoring and treatment for businesses and managed properties that cannot wait for a problem to show itself. We set up bait stations, monitoring points and a visit schedule that suits your premises, then keep records you can show an auditor or health inspector. We run contracts for restaurants, warehouses, offices, schools, body corporates and farms across Cape Town and the Boland.
A thatch roof is a lovely thing to live under and a very comfortable home for insects, rodents and nesting birds. Our thatch treatment targets the borer beetles in the poles and laths, the insects living in the thatch itself and the rodents that tunnel through it. We treat thatch homes, lapas and outbuildings across Cape Town and the Boland.
Bacteria control is about cleaning up the contamination pests leave behind and keeping high-risk surfaces hygienic. After a rodent infestation, a pigeon roost or a sewage leak, ordinary cleaning is often not enough, so we disinfect the affected areas properly. We do this for homes, kitchens, washrooms and commercial premises across Cape Town and the Boland.
Disinfectant fogging uses ULV (ultra-low volume) equipment to turn a disinfectant into a fine mist that settles across surfaces in a room, including ones that are hard to wipe by hand. It is a fast way to treat large or cluttered spaces such as offices, classrooms, vehicles and storerooms. We carry out fogging treatments for homes and businesses across Cape Town and the Boland.
When someone in your office, shop or home has been ill with COVID-19 or a similar respiratory virus, the worry is what they left behind on desks, handles and shared surfaces. We do outbreak-response disinfection across Cape Town and the Boland: a wipe-down of high-touch points followed by fogging of the rooms, so you can reopen the space with a clear conscience.
Bird proofing stops pigeons and other birds from roosting and nesting on your building by physically blocking them out. Across Cape Town and the Boland we fit netting, spikes and mesh to ledges, roof gaps and solar panels so the birds simply move on, without poisons.
View service
How it works
From your first call to the guarantee
Call or send a photo
A person answers. We identify the pest from your photo and tell you honestly whether you need us.
Inspection and quote
We find where the pests live, feed and get in, then quote before any work starts.
Least-toxic treatment
Gel baits, colony baits, tamper-resistant stations and targeted residuals only where they are needed.
Report and guarantee
A written report with proofing advice, and a minimum 3-month guarantee.
Not sure what you are dealing with? Send us a photo and we will identify it for free.
Most of our calls come from homeowners, but a fair share come from people who don't own the building they are standing in. Tenants, landlords, body corporates and business owners each need something slightly different from a pest controller, so here is how it usually works.
Homeowners
You want the problem gone and you don't want it back next season. We find where the pests are coming from, treat the source rather than the symptom, and leave you with a written report and a short list of fixes, like a gap under the back door or a downpipe without mesh, that stop a repeat visit.
Tenants and landlords
Cockroaches and bed bugs move between flats, so treating one unit while the neighbours carry on rarely holds. If you rent, send us a photo first and we will tell you whether it is something to raise with your landlord or managing agent. Landlords and body corporates can book a whole block at once, which is almost always cheaper than chasing the same infestation from door to door.
Restaurants, shops and offices
Food businesses need more than a once-off spray. We offer a free pest report and contract quote for kitchens, bars, hotels and food stores, with records you can show an inspector. For offices, schools and creches we work around your hours, including after hours and weekends on request.
Buying or selling a property
Western Cape property transfers often need a beetle certificate. We do the wood borer inspection and issue the certificate of compliance, and if we find active beetle we will explain the treatment options in plain language before anything is booked.
Areas we cover
Pest control in your suburb
From our base in Brackenfell we cover the whole of Cape Town and the Boland: the City Bowl and Atlantic Seaboard, the Southern and Northern Suburbs, the South Peninsula, the Cape Flats, the West Coast and the Helderberg. Pick your suburb for advice that fits where you live.
Most bookings are done within about 48 hours, depending on the season. After-hours and weekend visits can be arranged, and the 24-hour line is there for urgent advice and bookings.
Are your treatments safe for children and pets?
Yes, when the instructions are followed. We use the least-toxic option that will work, place baits in tamper-resistant stations, and tell you exactly how long to keep children and pets out of treated areas, which for most gel and bait treatments is not at all.
Do you give free quotes?
Yes. Send us a photo on WhatsApp or call 021 012 5825, and we will identify the pest and give you a quote.
What if the pests come back?
All our treatments carry a minimum 3-month guarantee. If the same pest returns in that period, we come back and deal with it.
Do you do beetle certificates for property transfers?
Yes. We inspect for wood-destroying beetles and issue the Certificate of Compliance that conveyancers need when a house is sold in the Western Cape.
Which areas do you cover?
All of Cape Town and the Boland, from Atlantis and Melkbosstrand to Simon's Town, Khayelitsha and Gordon's Bay. We are based in Brackenfell.
