Crawling Insect Control: a Cape Town guide

Know what you are dealing with

Across Cape Town the crawling pests we treat most are German cockroaches in kitchens and flats, larger American cockroaches coming up from sewers and drains, and the invasive Argentine ant, which forms huge connected colonies across whole streets. Fishmoths, both the common silverfish and the grey silverfish, live in bathrooms, cupboards and roof spaces and feed on paper and starch. African field crickets move indoors in autumn, and mole crickets tunnel through lawns in the Southern Suburbs and northern suburbs. In the drier edges of the Boland and on the Cape Flats we also get burrowing scorpions such as Opistophthalmus species, along with earwigs and millipedes that wander in after rain.

Myths, mistakes and lesser-known facts

For homes with toddlers and pets, crawling insect work is one of the easier jobs to do safely, because the products go into cracks, hinges and voids that little hands cannot reach.

Fishmoths are often a sign of damp more than dirt. If you keep finding them in the same bathroom or cupboard, it is worth checking for a slow leak or poor ventilation.

In blocks of flats, body corporates get far better value from a scheduled treatment of all units and shared drains than from individual owners treating one flat at a time.

Warning signs

Can you do it yourself?

Shop-bought ant baits can handle a small, new trail and are worth a try. For cockroaches, especially German cockroaches, DIY sprays usually make things worse by scattering them and killing only the adults while the egg cases hatch. In flats and food businesses, I would not bother with DIY at all.

Seasonal pattern

The first heavy rains in late autumn and winter push ants, cockroaches, crickets and millipedes indoors in large numbers. Summer heat brings American cockroaches out of drains and sends ants foraging hard for water. German cockroaches and fishmoths do not care much about the season because they live inside heated buildings all year.

Prevention checklist

• Put drain covers or mesh over floor drains and keep the water traps full, especially in guest bathrooms that are seldom used.
• Seal gaps under exterior doors with a brush strip, because most crawling insects simply walk in.
• Move firewood, compost and piles of bricks away from the house walls.
• Store books and documents in sealed plastic boxes in dry rooms rather than in damp garages.
• Do not leave dishes in the sink overnight, since a wet sink is a feeding station for cockroaches.
• Check second-hand furniture, appliances and cardboard boxes before bringing them inside, as German cockroaches often move house this way.

What affects the price

Cost is driven by the species and how established the infestation is, with German cockroaches in a busy kitchen usually needing more work than a one-off ant trail. The size of the property, the number of units or rooms affected, and access to roof spaces and drains also matter. Where a follow-up treatment is needed to catch hatching insects, or where a business wants a regular service contract, we build that into a free quote upfront.

Frequently asked questions

Areas we cover for crawling insect control