Fully qualified Textile Insect Pest Technicians:

There are 3 main moth types that you will find in a textile environment. The larva of moths have no eyes, just an osseli which senses the environment and picks up light and shade. It uses these senses to crawl out from underneath carpets into the light where the food source carpet fibres are.
Have you noticed patches on your carpet within public houses and night clubs? Your carpets are being eaten.
Insects are perfectly developed over millions of years to protect their young. They know exactly where to lay their eggs for best survival. Near a food source of course.
Dark areas and areas under furniture etc. are ideal locations but this varies depending on the insect type identified. If you find a spot of eggs, there will be many other harbourages as the eggs will be spread around to ensure there is a food source for each egg.

Safety and thoroughness is the key to effective insect control.

Did you know that larva live for 6 months and can come in via old furniture? They like 60–70% humidity. Wool insulation can be a major problem with these pests and often there is 700 – 800 larva per 1 metre of wool.
Did you know that with clothes moths only the males can fly? Females are so full of eggs they can’t get off the ground. When laying up to 100 eggs the adult is very careful to spread the eggs around, so they are all near to a food source when they hatch. A few here and a few there.

As a pest control service, it is important that we know the harbourages or areas that they hide or feed in. Knowing this ensures that we can treat for the eggs, pupa and insects effectively and often in one visit, except in the case of the flea. With fleas we must always ensure to allow for another visit and treatment 10 days minimum away from the first visit, but If no animals are present this is unnecessary as the insects will not be able to reproduce without the host animal’s blood and one treatment will be enough. We must ensure we check that infestations have not spread to other areas of the house as adults can move from room to room.

It is important that we:

• Examine the edges of carpets, especially by pipes
• Check the edges of underlay
• Check beneath beds, upholstered chairs, cupboards, drawers, wardrobes
• Check dark and not walked on areas
• Check hanging clothes, particularly long-standing hanging clothes
• Inspect cracks and crevices in skirting boards

It is important that we do not:

• Spray cushions or items coming into long contact with human skin
• Avoid spraying clothing, bedding. These should be washed and ideally put into sunlight for at least an hour
• Pets must be treated by a vet in the case of fleas and must never be sprayed
• Humans must not be sprayed and must vacate the room until the product is dry and not airborne unless they are wearing the correct PPE.

Did you know that cats are the main cause of flea problems?

The host animal’s blood is required for the insect to reproduce as it gets a special protein from the host animal. If this is not present the flea will bite and live from human blood but will not be able to lay eggs and will soon die.
Cat flea eggs are found in the bedding of the host and can hatch within 10 days at room temperature. The larvae development can take anything between 8 – 150 days depending on temperature.
Flea eggs can be collected by using Sellotape over the bedding or using a clean vacuum bag and then emptying it into a bucket of water. The eggs and faeces of the flea will float to the top. This helps you to know where to treat. It appears like salt and pepper.
The larvae then turn into Pupa which is a cocoon spun from salivary secretions and incorporates dust particles etc. They can remain as pupa for several months. The dust particles often come from the wood dust from the hole they make when burrowing into the skirting board to pupate. They like to pupate away from the ground which is why they use skirting boards.
WARNING!! You will still see fleas for several days after your first treatment. Your second treatment exterminates the remainder of the infestation and will deal with any hard-cased Pupa that survived the first treatment.
BE AWARE!! The pupa will stay in holes until they sense that there is a food source. In empty properties, they sense that a human has entered due to the stimulation for example vibrations, body heat or air exchange and will hatch out immediately and bite the human. Pupa can stay dormant for many months.

IN ORDER FOR QUIDOS TO CARRY OUT A SUFFICIENT AND PROFESSIONAL SERVICE WE REQUIRE COOPERATION FROM THE CUSTOMER AS FOLLOWS:

• Customer to be out of the house if possible, during application
• Pets to be out of the house away from any contact with the spray
• In the case of fleas, you must have your animal treated by a vet for the treatment to work on the textiles or they could be re-contaminated
• Move furniture off carpet
• Allow for carpets to be taken back from the edge for spraying
• If severely contaminated allow for disposal of affected carpets
• Do not re-enter room unless advised to do so by the pest controller or the area is completely dry, and you feel comfortable to re-enter. This will be a minimum of an hour but is subject to environmental conditions
• Move any precious ornaments as this avoids any potential damage.