Mowbray is busy and mixed: old cottages, student digs, a station and taxi rank, small shops and the Liesbeek running along one side. That combination keeps us busy with rats, cockroaches and, more than most suburbs, bed bugs.
Mowbray: what drives crawling insects here
German cockroaches spread fast in shared kitchens and through the walls of semis. Fishmoths, ants and garden spiders are steady background visitors.
A lot of the housing is Victorian and Edwardian semi-detached cottages and terraces, many converted into student lets or split into rooms. Shared walls, old suspended timber floors and crumbling air bricks give rodents and cockroaches easy movement between homes. Blocks of flats near Main Road add shared ducts and bin rooms. The commercial strip around the station has takeaways and small grocers with busy back yards.
The Liesbeek River runs along the eastern side, joining the Black River near the Observatory boundary, and its banks are a natural highway for rats. Table Mountain's Devil's Peak side rises behind Groote Schuur, bringing heavy winter rainfall and damp walls. Old stormwater drains under the streets connect the river to the houses.
Rats are the top call, especially in houses near the river and the Main Road shops. German cockroaches are rife in shared kitchens of student houses. Bed bugs and fleas move with tenants and their furniture, and fishmoths like the damp older homes.
Something most people miss
Landlords with older rental properties often get fishmoth complaints from tenants. A roof void treatment and better ventilation in the bathroom usually solves it for the long term.
When a technician deals with fishmoths, the first place they look is up. The roof space is often where the main population lives, out of sight, especially with the grey silverfish common in Cape Town.
How to tell you have a problem
- Irregular grazed patches or small holes appear on book covers, wallpaper or photographs.
- Yellowish stains or tiny pepper-like droppings are left on paper and shelves.
- Silvery, fast-moving insects are seen when you lift boxes, books or linen.
- Clothing, curtains or linen made from cotton, linen or silk have small holes or thinned patches.
- Shed scales and skins collect in drawers, cupboards and bathroom corners.
Fishmoths do not bite or spread disease, but they cause slow, steady damage. They eat the glue in book bindings and wallpaper, the starch in fabrics and paper, and the surface of photographs and documents. For offices, schools, libraries and archives, they can damage records that cannot be replaced. Their presence is also a strong clue to damp or poor ventilation that may be causing other problems in the building.
What happens when we come out
Fishmoths often live in roof spaces, wall voids and behind cornices, so a fine insecticidal dust blown into the ceiling void is one of our most effective tools. Inside, we apply a targeted residual treatment into cracks, cupboard corners, skirting gaps and behind bookshelves rather than spraying open surfaces. Fishmoths are long-lived and lay eggs in hidden cracks, so treatments that keep working for a while are more useful than a quick knockdown. We pair the treatment with advice on damp, ventilation and storage, because changing the conditions is what stops them coming back.
Want the full step-by-step? See how our fishmoth control service works.
Stopping a repeat visit
- Store books, documents and photographs in sealed plastic boxes, not cardboard, especially in garages and storerooms.
- Avoid stacking old newspapers, magazines and cardboard boxes in cupboards for long periods.
- Vacuum regularly inside cupboards, along skirting boards and behind furniture to remove eggs and food sources.
- Seal cracks around skirting boards, cornices and built-in cupboards where they hide and lay eggs.
- Improve ventilation in bathrooms and laundries with an extractor fan or by keeping a window open after showers.
What affects the price
The price depends on the size of the property, how many rooms and cupboards are affected, and whether the roof space needs to be treated. Easy access to the ceiling void keeps the job simpler, while a home with lots of built-in cupboards and shelves takes more time. Offices, archives and storerooms with large amounts of paper are quoted separately, and every quote is free.
Moving books into sealed boxes and running a dehumidifier will help more than any spray from the shop. DIY sprays rarely reach the roof space or wall voids where the main population lives. If you are seeing them in several rooms or dropping from the ceiling, get the roof space treated professionally.
Questions we get asked in Mowbray
Do fishmoths bite?
No, they do not bite people or pets and do not carry disease. The problem is the damage they do to paper, books, photographs and fabrics.
Do you come out to Mowbray for fishmoth control?
Yes. Mowbray is part of our regular Southern Suburbs route, along with Observatory, Rosebank, Rondebosch, Pinelands. Most bookings are done within about 48 hours, and after-hours visits can be arranged.
How quickly can you treat a student house in Mowbray for bed bugs?
Our average turnaround is about 48 hours, depending on the season. Send us a photo on WhatsApp first so we can confirm it is bed bugs and tell you how to prepare the rooms.
Do the rats in Mowbray come from the Liesbeek River?
Many of them do. The river banks and connected stormwater drains give them shelter, so houses on the river side need sealed air bricks and well-closed bins.
Can fishmoths damage clothes?
They can graze cotton, linen, silk and starched fabrics, particularly items stored for long periods in damp cupboards. They are less of a problem on synthetics.
Why are fishmoths falling from my ceiling?
That usually means there is a population in the roof space. Treating the ceiling void with a dust is the most effective way to deal with it.
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