The one thing you can do in winter to halve the number of mosquitoes in summer

It doesn’t matter what season it is there are always insects and rodents about, but we can dramatically reduce the number of pests we’ll get in summer by taking action in winter.

Matthew Jones, pest control expert and national service innovation and development manager at Rentokil, told nine.com.au that keeping on top of one thing is particularly beneficial in preventing a summer full of mozzie bites.

“It’s about keeping the outsides of our houses clean and ensuring rubbish is sealed away. Sometimes over winter, we get a bit relaxed on our yard hygiene, but it’s an important time to keep it up. If you can halve the population over winter, your peak in the middle of summer will also be halved,” he said.

“People consider mosquitoes a summer-only pest, but in most of Australia – everywhere it doesn’t snow – they are actually there all year round. In the middle of winter, you’ll have a small population, but if you’re vigorous about emptying out water and ensuring it’s not pooling in your yard, you’ll have a completely different experience next summer.”

Another important pest control step to take in winter is ensuring fly screens are in good condition and windows and doors are properly sealed. This will help prevent rats, mice, cockroaches, ants and spiders coming inside now and later in the year when hot weather hits.

“It’s about making sure your building envelope is as best sealed as possible… Accept that they’re going to be in your garden beds and front yard – they form a vital function in consuming food sources and recycling things in our natural environment. We’re just trying to keep them out of the bits we want to keep to ourselves,” Jones said.

Winter is a time when we can expect to see more insects and rodents make their way inside our homes. Ants like our houses because they’re cold-blooded and can’t warm their own bodies, their nests also get flooded when it rains. So our cosy, dry homes are very attractive.

Read more

How to deal with an increase in mice and rats in your home this winter

As for rats and mice, which are likely top of mind after plague levels of mice in South and Western Australia, they seek out our homes initially for shelter – the food comes later. 

Keeping them out of our homes isn’t just about sealing the building, including cracks and holes, we also need to check they’re not hitching a ride in boxes and things we bring inside.

Your next step is usually buying baits and traps, but you’ll notice some changes to the pest control shelves in your local supermarket or hardware store.

That’s because some types of rodenticides – those known as second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides – are restricted from sale after a review by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority because of their impact on other animals, such as native species. 

“It means that, especially in a residential setting, some of those options available in the past now require a qualified person to get those types of treatments done moving forward,” Jones said.

“They still work really well against rodents, but we don’t want other animals to be consuming them.”

However, you can still purchase first-generation anticoagulant rodenticides, which are baits that require the rodent to feed on it multiple times before it dies, and the classic, physical mouse trap.