Mosquito Control Bo-Kaap

The Bo-Kaap climbs up the slopes of Signal Hill above the city centre, with brightly painted houses, cobbled streets and the oldest mosque in South Africa on Dorp Street. Homes here are packed close together and often very old, so pests like rats, cockroaches and pigeons move easily from one roof to the next.

Biting insects in Bo-Kaap: what we see

Pigeon nests on flat roofs are the main source of bird mites, which bite people at night once the chicks leave. Bed bugs turn up in short-term rentals and come in with visitors' luggage.

The suburb sits on the lower slopes of Signal Hill, with steep streets that catch the full force of the South-Easter as it comes off Table Mountain. Winter rain runs down the hill and can soak old walls, encouraging fishmoths and damp-loving insects. The city centre below provides food and shelter for rodents.

Something most people miss

A common myth is that mosquitoes breed only in big bodies of water. In practice, a bottle cap of water in a pot-plant saucer or a sagging gutter is enough to produce a steady supply right next to your bedroom.

The south-easter is not all bad news. Mosquitoes struggle to fly in strong wind, so windy Cape Town days are often bite-free, and the worst nights come when the wind drops.

Tell-tale signs

1. A high-pitched whine near your ear just as you fall asleep.
2. Swarms in the evening near a water feature, drain or neglected pool.
3. Itchy, raised bites on arms, face and feet that were left outside the covers.
4. Day-time bites on the ankles while sitting in the garden, which points to Aedes breeding nearby.
5. Wriggling larvae, sometimes called wigglers, in pond edges, buckets, bird baths or pool covers.

How the treatment works

Source reduction always comes first: we walk the property and find every place water collects, from gutters and drains to ponds, water features, plant saucers and covered pools, and tell you which ones to empty, fix or cover. Water that cannot be removed, such as ponds and drains, can be treated with a larvicide or insect growth regulator that stops larvae becoming adults. Adult mosquitoes rest in cool, shaded places during the day, so we apply a residual spray to the undersides of shrubs, hedges, eaves, patio ceilings and other resting areas. For events or heavy problems, ULV fogging can knock down adult numbers quickly, but it only works properly when combined with dealing with the breeding sites.

Want the full step-by-step? See how our mosquito control service works.

Prevention that actually works

• Keep pool water circulating and treated, and drain the water that collects on top of pool covers.
• Store old tyres, tins and containers under cover or throw them away.
• Clean gutters after winter so they do not hold water through summer.
• Empty pot-plant saucers, buckets, bird baths and pet water bowls at least once a week, because larvae develop into adults in about a week in hot weather.
• Fit mosquito screens to bedroom windows and use a net over cots in summer.

How much will it cost?

Cost depends on the size of the property, how many breeding sites there are and whether larger water bodies such as ponds or drains need treating. A once-off treatment is priced differently from a programme of visits through the summer season. Fogging for an event is quoted on the size of the area, and the quote itself is free.

Mosquitoes start building up once the weather warms in October and peak from December to March, especially after a wet winter has filled ponds, vleis and gutters. Calm, humid evenings are the worst, while the strong south-easter actually keeps them down on windy days. Numbers drop sharply when the cold, wet winter sets in from about May.

Questions we get asked in Bo-Kaap

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