Biting Insect Control across Cape Town

The cat flea (Ctenocephalides felis) is by far the most common biter we deal with in Cape Town, and it lives happily on dogs as well as cats. Bed bugs (Cimex lectularius) arrive in luggage, second-hand furniture and on visitors, and they are increasingly common in guest houses, flats and student digs. Culex mosquitoes breed in standing water in gutters, pond edges and blocked drains and are the whining nuisance on summer nights, while Aedes species are the small, striped day biters that breed in pot-plant saucers and containers. Bird mites move indoors from pigeon and Indian myna nests in roofs and gutters once the chicks leave. Dog ticks and the odd stable fly round out the list on smallholdings in the Boland.

Nobody phones us saying they have bird mites. They phone saying something is biting them and they cannot work out what. This page covers the stage before anyone has an answer: the questions worth asking yourself, who you should see first, and how to catch the culprit so nobody has to guess.

Biting insects usually arrive with a change

Think back over the last month or so and run through these questions. One or two clear answers often narrow the field before we have even arrived.

• Did a new pet join the household, or did an animal come home from kennels, a groomer or a stay with family?
• Did a pet die, move out or go to live elsewhere? Fleas that lose their usual host start biting people instead.
• Has anyone travelled, had visitors to stay, or brought home a bed, couch or headboard?
• Have you noticed birds flying in and out of the roof, or heard scratching in the ceiling at night?
• Has the weather turned warm and still after a wet winter, with water lying around the garden?
• Are the bites happening in one room only, or everywhere in the house?

Doctor, vet or pest control: who to call first

See a doctor first if

Bites swell badly, blister, weep or look infected, if someone in the house has a fever, or if there is a rash and nobody has seen a single insect. We do not diagnose skin conditions, and some rashes that look like bites have nothing to do with insects. A doctor can also tell you whether a reaction needs treatment while the cause is being found.

See the vet first if

Your dog or cat is scratching, losing fur or covered in scabs. Apart from treating the animal, a vet can tell you whether the problem is a skin allergy rather than parasites, which changes whether you need us at all.

Call us first if

You have found an insect, droppings, shed skins or a nest, or the bites keep coming and there is no obvious reason. Our 24-hour line takes calls for advice and bookings, and after-hours or weekend visits can be arranged on request. A quick description of where and when the bites happen lets us arrive with the right kit, from sticky monitors to a ladder for the roof hatch.

How to catch a biting insect for identification

A specimen is worth more than any description. Here is how to get one without damaging it:

1. Use clear tape. Press a strip onto the insect, or onto specks on a windowsill or sheet, then stick the tape onto white paper.
2. Bag it. A small zip-lock bag or empty pill container works. Pop it into the freezer for a few hours to stop it moving, rather than squashing it.
3. Photograph it properly. Use daylight, put a coin beside it for scale, and take one shot from above and one from the side. Most phones have a close-up or macro mode that helps.
4. Write down where and when. Which room, which piece of furniture, and what time of day you found it.

Try not to spray the area just before we visit. A fresh dose of shop insecticide can hide the very evidence we are looking for.

Send the photos on WhatsApp and we will tell you what it is. Identification costs nothing, and the quote is free if treatment is needed.

Where to go once you know

Each biter needs its own approach, so once you have a name, go straight to the right page: flea control for bites around the ankles and pets that scratch, bed bug control for bites after a night in bed, mosquito control for summer night biters, and bird mite control when birds have been nesting in the roof. The suburb list below has local notes for each area we cover.

Quick answers

Biting Insect Control by suburb