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Pest infestations in South Woodham Ferrers

The pest infestations in South Woodham Ferrers are common to all rural areas of Britain.  Wildlife has a tendency to invade homes at certain times of year because of the need to expand a territory, to find a territory where food is assured or because their own habitat if threatened.

Most domestic encounters with wildlife in the home include foxes, mice, rats, ants, bats, wasps and bees.

No one ever considers bees a pest but they do swarm on occasion during the summer and cause a great deal of distress to people who are scared of personally dealing with one bee, let alone several hundred.

SWARM OF BEESBees

What usually happens is that a bee keeper is called to remove the swarm to a new hive. A few people in South Woodham have been known to keep bees, even on housing estates. The town is surrounded by fields with flowing crops, also people tend to have flowering bushes and plants in gardens. The greater awareness of a shrinking bee population and pesticide danger to bees has encouraged a proportion of South Woodham residents to grow flowers that bees like. It might help to contact the Essex Bee Keepers Association if you have a concern about bees in South Woodham Ferrers.

Wasps

Attitudes to wasps is somewhat different from that to bees and finding a wasp’s nest in a loft or other part of a house can be threatening.  A wasp invasion is a summer problem. The local council has a service whereby a qualified person will come and remove the nest of wasps, or they can direct people to suitable pest removal experts. It is possible to purchase poison to it into the nest if the householder is able to bring themselves do it. A firm that deals with wasps and pest control for Essex is PestId.

 

bats in south woodham ferrersBats

There are ten different species of bats that live in Essex, the most common of which are pipistrelles. These are tiny creatures that appear at dusk and can be seen flying at very high speeds. They are a protected species and householders in South Woodham should feel honoured if bats have chosen their home to live in. However, not everyone feels that way about bats and the Essex Bat Group will advise.

Mice

The main time to beware of mice entering homes is during late summer when farmers collect in the wheat. The mice run fleeing for their lives and look for safe places to live, Summer is also the season when people leave their back doors to the garden open to get some fresh cool air into the home.  
Most residents either spot the mouse running across a room or notice droppings in the kitchen.  The most humane and efficient way to catch a mouse is to purchase a humane trap that is baited with a food that mice like.

Care should be taken to trap all mice because if one has been present for a while, it may have given birth to young.   Release each one that you catch into the garden as soon as possible.

garden rat in south woodham ferrersRats

Rats in South Woodham tend to stay in the garden, however people do not want them there for fear of disease. Either buy or borrow a humane trap or use a rat trapping service.  Figures are always quoted about how near we are to a rat on a daily basis. There are rats in many South Woodham gardens and they will thrive where people are out at work all day and leave food lying about. They are not too fussy about food when hungry, although prefer grains and bread.