Mitchells Plain is one of the biggest suburbs in Cape Town, stretching from the Town Centre down to the False Bay coast at Strandfontein. With so many homes, schools and shops, pests here are a daily part of life, and we deal with everything from rats to bed bugs.
The local picture in Mitchells Plain
Rats nest in backyard rubble, Wendy houses and open fields and get into homes through gaps under doors. Treating a row of homes together gives the best results.
Homes are mostly semi-detached and row houses built in the 1970s and 80s, many extended with extra rooms or Wendy houses in the backyard. Shared walls let cockroaches and rodents travel between homes. The Town Centre and local shopping strips have food outlets and markets that attract rodents and flies.
Rats, German cockroaches and flies are the most common pests. Mosquitoes and midges come from the nearby ponds and vleis. Fleas and bed bugs are regular calls in busy households.
Worth knowing
The worst mistake is sealing the hole while the squirrels are still inside. They will chew a new way out, often through the ceiling.
Landlords often get the call from tenants about noises in the ceiling. Proofing the roof is a one-time investment that saves repeated call-outs.
Signs to look for
- Shredded insulation, leaves and twigs found in the roof space.
- Scratching and running in the ceiling in the early morning and late afternoon, rather than at night.
- Chewed fascia boards, barge boards or roof edges with fresh wood exposed.
- Chewed electrical cables or damaged ceiling boards.
- Squirrels seen jumping from a tree onto the roof and disappearing under the tiles.
- Dug-up pot plants and bulbs, and nuts buried in garden beds.
Our process, step by step
We do not use poison for squirrels. Our approach is exclusion: we find every entry point and fit one-way exclusion devices so the squirrels can get out but not back in. Where it makes sense, live cage traps are used to remove squirrels from the roof. Once the roof is empty, we close the gaps with steel mesh and repair chewed areas so they cannot get back in. We also advise on trimming branches that give squirrels easy access to the roof.
Want the full step-by-step? See how our squirrel control service works.
Prevention that actually works
- Trim tree branches so they are at least two metres away from the roof.
- Check fascia boards and roof edges each year for chewed spots and repair them quickly.
- Pick up acorns and fallen fruit regularly if you have big trees close to the house.
- Fit squirrel guards on bird feeders, or move them away from the house.
- Do not feed squirrels in the garden, however cute they are.
Pricing, honestly
The cost depends on how many entry points there are, how high the roof is and how much repair and proofing is needed. A single gap is quick to deal with, but an older roof with many chewed areas takes longer. Trapping and follow-up visits are included in the free quote.
Squirrels in Cape Town breed mainly in late winter and spring, and again in summer, and that is when they look for sheltered nesting places such as roofs. Autumn is also busy, as they gather acorns and nuts from the oak trees.
Squirrel Control questions from Mitchells Plain
Do you come out to Mitchells Plain for squirrel control?
Yes. Mitchells Plain is part of our regular Cape Flats route, along with Strandfontein, Khayelitsha, Philippi. Most bookings are done within about 48 hours, and after-hours visits can be arranged.
Can squirrels damage my roof?
Yes. They chew fascia boards, roof edges and cables, and they nest in insulation.
Will you hurt the squirrels?
No. We use one-way exclusion devices and live traps, not poison.
Are the midges in Mitchells Plain coming from the Strandfontein ponds?
Many of them are. The wastewater ponds and nearby vleis are big breeding areas, so homes closest to the coast notice them most on warm evenings.
What if there are babies in the roof?
We check for young before sealing, because sealing them in causes suffering, smells and more damage.
Can you treat a whole row of houses for rats?
Yes, and it works far better than doing one house. We can set up bait stations along the row and seal common entry points.
Office 021 012 5825 · WhatsApp 074 697 2254