Insect Control across Cape Town

The insects we see most around Cape Town fall into a few groups. Crawling pests include the Argentine ant, German and American cockroaches, fishmoths and the odd cricket that sneaks in during autumn. Biting insects are mostly cat fleas, bed bugs and Culex mosquitoes breeding in standing water after the winter rains. Flying nuisances include the house fly, blowflies and the invasive European paper wasp, Polistes dominula, which has spread across the Western Cape and builds nests under eaves and in gutters. In kitchens and pantries the culprits are usually rice and maize weevils or the Indian meal moth, while clothes moths go after wool and natural fibres in cupboards.

Insect control is easier when you know what to look at, and when. This page works through the Cape year as a checklist, then looks at how the age of your home changes the picture.

An insect control checklist for the Cape year

Autumn, March to May

• Check door sweeps and the gaps under sliding doors before the first cold front. Crickets and ants come in with the rain, and a gap you can slide a pencil under is enough.
• Lift pot plants on the stoep and look underneath. Ant nests often sit in the drainage hole.
• Restack firewood away from the house walls, since a woodpile against brick gives cockroaches, crickets and spiders a sheltered run to the back door.

Winter, June to August

• After a big storm, go into the roof space with a torch and look for damp patches. Wet timber and insulation draw cockroaches and fishmoths.
• Open boxes in the garage and storeroom. Camping gear, school books and old paperwork sitting in a cold, damp garage are where fishmoths build up unseen.
• Look in the pantry for anything opened before the holidays and never finished.
• Check the cupboard under the sink and the back of the geyser cupboard for musty smells. Cockroaches and fishmoths move into warm, damp corners when the house is closed up against the cold.

Spring, September to November

• Walk around the eaves and pergola once a week for small wasp nests while they are still the size of a coin.
• Tip out water lying in pot saucers, children's toys and buckets as the rain stops, before mosquitoes start breeding.
• Ask your vet about flea treatment for pets before the weather warms up properly.

Summer, December to February

• Before going away for the holidays, clear opened food from the pantry and empty pet bowls, so you do not come back to an ant trail.
• Check bin areas and the braai after each use, as flies breed fast in the heat.
• Look under outdoor furniture and umbrellas before guests arrive.

Insect control in older homes and newer builds

Older Southern Suburbs and inner-city houses

Victorian and Edwardian houses in Observatory, Woodstock, Wynberg and Rondebosch usually have suspended timber floors with air bricks, gaps between the floorboards and roof spaces open to the eaves. Insects move freely through the subfloor and up into the kitchen through gaps around old pipes. Treating only the room where you saw them often misses the void they used to get there.

Newer estates in the north and west

Homes in Parklands, Table View and Kuils River sit on concrete slabs, so there is no subfloor, but insects follow electrical conduit, plumbing ducts and the gap where the slab meets the paving. The sandy soil on the Cape Flats and along the West Coast also makes it very easy for ants to nest right up against the foundations, especially where irrigation keeps a lawn wet.

Thatch and timber in Constantia, Hout Bay and the Helderberg

Thatched roofs and timber cottages give insects endless shelter in the reeds, beams and joints. Wasps nest under the thatch overhang, spiders and crickets live in the eaves, and the joint where thatch meets the wall plate is a common way in. Treating from inside the rooms alone rarely reaches where these insects actually live, so the roof line needs to be part of the inspection.

How to use the suburb list below

Each suburb page looks at insect control for that particular area. Pick yours for the local view, or read insect control in Cape Town for our full approach. A photo on WhatsApp to 021 012 5825 will tell you what you are dealing with before you book anything.

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Insect Control by suburb