The insects that get people reaching for the phone in Cape Town are fairly predictable. German cockroaches in kitchens and American cockroaches from drains top the list, followed by Argentine ants and pugnacious ants that overrun homes after rain. Bed bugs (Cimex lectularius) and cat fleas cause the most distress because they bite. European paper wasps, an invasive species in the Western Cape, become urgent when a nest is built next to a door or pool. Less often we are called for crickets, fishmoths and stored product pests like weevils and the Indian meal moth.
Exterminations: how urgent is your insect problem?
Not every insect call is an emergency, and not every one can wait until next week. This is how we would sort them.
Phone the 24-hour line now
- A wasp nest beside a front door, a pool gate or a classroom, especially where someone reacts badly to stings.
- Bed bugs found in a guesthouse or holiday let with guests booked in the next few days.
- Cockroaches seen in a restaurant or food factory with a health inspection or audit coming up.
The emergency line is for advice and bookings, and after-hours or weekend visits can be arranged when the situation calls for it.
Book the next available visit
Cockroaches in a home kitchen, fleas after a pet has been away, or ants pouring in after the first winter rain. These are unpleasant, and they get worse with time, but a day or two will not change the treatment. Our average turnaround is about 48 hours, a little longer in the busiest summer weeks.
Send a photo first
A single beetle on the windowsill, small flies near a pot plant, something you cannot name. Send it on WhatsApp. It may need nothing more than advice.
A useful photo is taken close up, in good light, with something for scale like a coin or a matchbox. If the insect is quick, trap it under a glass or put it in a sealed sandwich bag first. Add a second photo of where you found it, because the place often tells us as much as the insect does.
Exterminations for tenants, landlords and body corporates
If you rent
Tell your landlord or agent in writing as soon as you see a problem, with dated photos. Check your lease for who is responsible, and make sure you can give the technician access to every room, including locked storerooms and the garage.
If you own a rental
The best time for an extermination is between tenants, while the unit is empty and every cupboard can be opened. Keep the post-treatment report with the inspection paperwork, so you have a record of what was done and when.
If you run a guesthouse or holiday let
Plan around your bookings. Tell us how many rooms are affected, which ones are free and when the next guests arrive, so the treatment can be done room by room without closing the whole place. Keep affected linen bagged and separate until it has been washed hot.
If you sit on a body corporate
Give owners and tenants notice, agree on access to each unit and to common areas such as bin rooms, service ducts and the caretaker's store, and nominate one contact person for the day. Most delays we see in complexes come from a missing key rather than from the insects.
The two weeks after an extermination
What you do after we leave matters nearly as much as the treatment itself.
- Leave the bait alone. Do not spray household insecticide over gel bait or bait stations. It contaminates the bait and the insects stop eating it.
- Hold off on deep cleaning. Mopping along skirting boards or wiping inside cupboards straight away can remove residual treatment. Ask the technician how long to wait.
- Keep a note of sightings. Where, when and how many. Numbers should drop clearly as the days pass, and a short record helps us judge whether a follow-up is needed.
- Fix what the report points out. A sealed gap or a repaired leak is often what keeps the result going past the minimum 3-month guarantee.
For the full picture on how we work, see our insect exterminators in Cape Town page. Specific problems have their own pages, such as cockroach control and bed bug removal. Pick your suburb below for local notes.
Quick answers
Do you treat insects in businesses?
Yes. We treat restaurants, shops, offices and guesthouses, and can set up regular contract servicing if needed.
Are the products safe around food?
In kitchens we use gel baits and targeted crack treatments rather than open spraying, and we will tell you what to cover or put away beforehand.
What if you do not know what the insect is?
Send a clear photo on WhatsApp and we will identify it, and if it turns out to be harmless we will tell you so.