Pest tips for home and garden
Identify the pest, find the source and get rid of it fast. Practical tips against fruit flies, fungus gnats, moths and wasps in your home and garden.
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All articles
12 articles-
Home and gardenGerman or Oriental cockroach? How to tell which one you have
How to identify the German cockroach by its two black stripes, and how it differs from the Oriental, the American and the brown-banded cockroach and from the wood cockroach.
· 4 min -
Home and gardenWood cockroach in the house: is it an infestation?
A wood cockroach in the house is an outdoor cockroach that has come in by accident. It does not breed indoors and is not a pest. This is how to tell it apart from a German cockroach.
· 3 min -
Fungus GnatsSmall black flies in the house: which fly is it, and what helps?
Small black flies in the house are usually fungus gnats from houseplant compost. Here is how to recognise them and tell them apart from fruit flies and drain flies.
· 8 min -
Fruit FliesHomemade fruit fly trap: how to make one, and does it work?
A homemade fruit fly trap works, but only up to a point. A glass of apple cider vinegar with a splash of juice and a drop of washing up liquid will catch the first flies. With a real infestation it often falls short: you have to refresh it every few days, and it has to compete with the smell of your fruit bowl and food waste caddy. Below you will find the recipe, the weak spots and when a tested trap does a better job.
· 6 min -
Fruit FliesWhat attracts fruit flies, and how do they get into your home?
Fruit flies do not come from the fruit itself. The eggs often come home on fruit from the shop and hatch as soon as the fruit ripens, and the flies follow the smell of fermentation: ripe fruit, the last drop of wine or juice, the food waste caddy and a dirty drain. Remove those sources and a fruit fly has no reason to be in your kitchen.
· 5 min -
Fungus GnatsHome remedies for fungus gnats in house plants
The first home remedy for fungus gnats costs nothing: let the top 2 to 3 centimetres of compost dry out between waterings, because the larvae need moisture. Washing-up liquid, cinnamon, hydrogen peroxide or coffee grounds? Here is what each remedy does and what we know about it.
· 5 min -
Fruit FliesFruit flies or fungus gnats? How to tell them apart
If the little fly is by the fruit bowl or the food caddy and has red eyes, it is a fruit fly. If a black gnat sits on the soil of your houseplant, it is a fungus gnat. It sounds like a detail, but the fix is completely different: one breeds in fermenting fruit, the other in wet potting soil.
· 3 min -
Home and garden7 places in your home where pests love to hide
Pests rarely settle anywhere by chance. They look for spots that are warm, damp or dark, with food or a place to lay eggs nearby. If you know where those spots are, you catch an infestation early. These are the seven places to check first.
· 3 min -
Home and gardenHow to prevent pests in summer
In summer insects multiply faster, fruit ferments faster and windows stay open. Seven habits keep your home calm: keep fruit cool, clear up straight away, close the bins, fit window screens, get rid of standing water, tidy the garden and put out a trap as soon as you see the first ones.
· 2 min -
Home and gardenInsecticide or trap: what works better against pests at home?
An insecticide kills what it hits; a trap lures and catches one type of insect. Flying insects such as fruit flies, fungus gnats and moths are caught well with a targeted trap, while a large infestation of crawling insects may need an insecticide. Either way, start with the source.
· 3 min -
WaspsDeterring wasps: how to keep them at bay
Wasps come for sweet food and drink, especially in late summer. Cover food and drinks outdoors, pick up windfalls, keep the bins away from the patio and do not swat at wasps. Give wasps fewer reasons to come and you will sit outside in far more peace. A nest usually does not need to go.
· 4 min -
Food MothsFood moths in your kitchen: what to do?
Small moths in the kitchen cupboard or webbing in a bag of flour almost always mean food moths. The moths themselves eat nothing; their larvae are in your food. Find the infested pack, clear the cupboard properly in one go, store dry food in airtight containers from now on and hang a pheromone trap to check that they stay away.
· 3 min
Advice by pest
Not sure which pest it is?
A guide for each pest: how to recognise it, where it comes from and what helps. With the right trap to match.