Athlone is busy, built-up and full of small businesses, so a lot of our work here is about stopping pests moving between homes, shops and takeaways that share the same blocks. The Black River and the old open land around the wastewater works on the Pinelands side give rodents and mosquitoes somewhere to breed just outside the residential streets.
Flying insects in Athlone: what we see
Houseflies breed in bins that wait too long for collection, and the river side of Athlone gets a heavy mosquito season from late spring. Paper wasps nest under the eaves of single-storey houses.
The ground is flat Cape Flats sand with a fairly high water table, so winter rain sits in low spots and stormwater drains run full. The Black River runs along the north-western edge before joining the Liesbeek near the Raapenberg wetland. The South-Easter blows hard through summer and pushes flies and litter into sheltered yards.
Most homes are older semi-detached and freestanding brick houses, plus council flats in places like Kewtown and Bridgetown.
How to tell you have a problem
Tick every sign you have noticed. It takes ten seconds.
From the technician
If a cloud of big shiny flies suddenly appears in one room, check the ceiling. A rat or bird that died in the roof is the usual cause, and the flies stop once the carcass is removed.
How we handle flying insect control in Athlone
We start by identifying the insect properly, because a drain fly needs a completely different fix from a house fly or a mosquito. Breeding sites come first: drains are cleaned out and treated with a larvicide or bio-enzyme product, standing water is tipped or treated, and waste areas are sorted out. Only then do we use residual sprays on resting surfaces such as window frames and wall tops, fly bait stations away from food, and ULV fogging where a large space needs a quick knockdown. In commercial kitchens and food stores we install insect light traps with glue boards so there is constant monitoring between visits. Wasp nests are treated with a dust or spray directly into the nest and removed once the colony is dead.
Want the full step-by-step? See how our flying insect control service works.
Prevention that actually works
- Fit fly screens on kitchen windows and keep a self-closing door or strip curtain on back doors that open onto bins.
- Check eaves, carports and garden furniture in early spring for small paper wasp nests while they are still easy to deal with.
- Keep wheelie bins closed, rinse them out in summer, and park them away from the kitchen door.
- Store flour, cereal and pet food in sealed containers so pantry moths have nothing to breed in.
- Pour boiling water down slow drains weekly and scrub the inside of the drain pipe with a brush, since that slime is where drain flies breed.
How much will it cost?
The price depends on which insect we are treating, because a single wasp nest is a very different job from a fly problem in a large food factory. The size of the property, how many breeding sites there are and how hard they are to get at, such as roof voids or sealed drains, all affect the time on site. Commercial sites with light traps and scheduled visits are usually best quoted as a contract, and we give free quotes once we know what is flying.
Fly swatters, screens and a good bin routine handle a lot of household fly problems, and we would rather you did that than empty a can of spray into the kitchen. Where DIY falls down is when the source is hidden, like a dead rat in the ceiling, a broken drain under the floor or a wasp nest in a wall cavity. If you are still seeing the same insects two weeks after cleaning up, the breeding site is somewhere you have not found yet.
Frequently asked questions
How quickly can you come out?
We aim for around 48 hours, though it varies with the season, and we can do after-hours or weekend visits on request.
Do you come out to Athlone for flying insect control?
Yes. Athlone is part of our regular Cape Flats route, along with Crawford, Rondebosch East, Lansdowne, Langa. Most bookings are done within about 48 hours, and after-hours visits can be arranged.
Can you treat a whole business, not just a house?
Yes. Restaurants, food factories, warehouses and offices usually go onto a contract with scheduled visits, monitoring and a report for each service.
Why do I still have flies after spraying?
Because spray only kills the adults that are flying at the time. New ones keep hatching from the breeding site, so until that is found and dealt with, the flies keep coming back.
What are the tiny flies around my bathroom drain?
They are almost always drain flies, also called moth flies. They breed in the gel-like film inside drains, so cleaning the pipe properly works far better than spraying the walls.
Is fogging safe for my pets and children?
Fogging is only used where it is needed, and people and pets stay out until the product has settled and the room has been aired. We tell you exactly how long to wait before we start.
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