The word most commonly related with pests is, “infestation.” It’s almost a piece of jargon related to the industry. But what do pests inspectors mean by infestation? Also, at what point can household pests be considered an infestation? What’s more, when is it time to call in a pest inspector?
Infestations mostly have to do with pest numbers and how they affect you. In consultation with Best Pest Control, a respected pest control specialist in the London area, we bring you some examples of what this looks like below.
1. Are pests constantly visible?
Pests avoid contact with humans as much as possible. You will not often see them, especially if their numbers are low. Pests are also nocturnal and only come out once the lights are off and you’ve gone to bed. When their numbers are out of control this reverses itself.
The pest numbers have grown so large they are no longer afraid of you, and consider your home theirs. You will constantly start to see pests at all hours and they will become quite bold. For example, if there are ants permanently marching across your kitchen, you can consider yourself infested. Ditto, if cockroaches come out during the day or after you‘ve been cooking.
2. Are pests causing psychological distress?
Pests cause a great deal of psychological distress. They make your home feel dirty, unsanitary, and unwelcoming. This is in a sense true. If you do have pests it’s probably become you’ve neglected your home. The ultimate truth is that pests make people unhappy. When pests numbers are low, this isn’t often the case.
Seeing one or two insects will not ruin your day. It’s when you have an infestation, when pest numbers are large, that they begin to cause distress. Are pests making you feel angry, upset, sad, or anxious? If the answer is yet you have an infestation.
3. Are the pests damaging your London home?
Small numbers of pests cannot cause much damage. It’s when there are hundreds of them that the damage really begins. With many pests in London, such as rats and birds, this includes pest property damage. That is not always the case with household insects. Most insects in your home do not chew, gnaw, or destroy things. No, with these pests the damage is usually centered on food.
Pests like cockroaches, flies, ants, and beetles will infest any food you have stored. Technically this means the food is contaminated and must be thrown away. They will also congregate inside of your dustbins and are drawn to dirty dishes. Experiencing these problems repeatedly can mean you’re infested.
4. Are pests harming you?
Solitary pests, in general, do not harm people. Only when their numbers grow out of control do they start to attack. The best example of this are bed bugs. One or two bed bugs are often unnoticeable. Once these bugs grow into their dozens of hundreds this will quickly change. You will wake up covered with bites and will have reached the point of infestation. Another example is wasps. A single wasp is no cause for concern. On the other hand, swarms of stinging wasps around your London property means action must be taken.
The bottom line is that you’ll know if you’re infested. Pests will be permanently visible and will cause great distress. Plus they’ll damage and attack food and may also bite you. If this happens call an exterminator immediately. Ignoring this problem will only make things worse, and may cause further problems down the line.