Out in Kommetjie, the fynbos comes right up to the garden wall and the Atlantic is never more than a few streets away. That means more scorpions, field mice and borer in timber than rats and cockroaches, which is the opposite of what we see in town.
Flying insects around Kommetjie
Mosquitoes breed in the wetlands and vleis towards Noordhoek. Paper wasps nest under decks and eaves.
The village is surrounded by coastal fynbos, dunes and the Slangkop area of Table Mountain National Park, with wetlands and vleis between Kommetjie and Noordhoek. The Atlantic brings cold, salty winds, and winter is wet. Nature reserves and open land on all sides mean plenty of wildlife moving through.
Plenty of homes are timber-framed or have big timber decks, thatched roofs or lapas, and some started life as holiday cottages. Newer houses are set back in the dunes on sandy plots. Salt and damp wear down timber and paint quickly, and once wood is weathered it is easier for borer to get going.
Mice and rats from the fynbos, scorpions and spiders, and wood borer in timber homes are typical. Mosquitoes near the wetlands and fleas from pets are also common.
Signs to look for
- Flies keep gathering around the same window, light or rubbish area even after you have cleaned and sprayed.
- Small moths flutter out of the pantry or out of a cupboard full of woollens.
- Tiny moth-like flies sit on bathroom walls near the shower or basin drain.
- A sudden swarm of large blowflies appears indoors, which often points to something dead in the roof or wall.
From the technician
With small children and pets in the house, we lean heavily on physical fixes, baits placed out of reach and drain treatments, and keep spraying to the places that really need it.
How we handle flying insect control in Kommetjie
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.
Stopping a repeat visit
- Fit fly screens on kitchen windows and keep a self-closing door or strip curtain on back doors that open onto bins.
- Tip out pot plant saucers, birdbaths and anything else that holds water for more than a few days.
- 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.
- Store flour, cereal and pet food in sealed containers so pantry moths have nothing to breed in.
- Keep wheelie bins closed, rinse them out in summer, and park them away from the kitchen door.
Pricing, honestly
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.
Flying Insect Control questions from Kommetjie
Do you come out to Kommetjie for flying insect control?
Yes. Kommetjie is part of our regular South Peninsula route, along with Ocean View, Masiphumelele, Noordhoek, Scarborough. 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.
Are scorpions common in Kommetjie homes?
Yes, the fynbos and sandy soil suit them, and they come inside looking for shelter. Treating the perimeter and sealing gaps under doors reduces how many get in.
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.
Do thatched homes in Kommetjie need borer treatment?
They should be checked regularly, especially before a sale. We can inspect thatch and timber and treat any active borer.
Office 021 012 5825 · WhatsApp 074 697 2254