PEST CONTROL GUIDE - m

The layman’s term for the legless, wriggling larval stage of certain insects – usually the larvae of flies.

See Bees

See Cockchafer

A term applied to the larvae of the three species of Mealworm Beetle. Adult beetles are about 15mm long, dark brown and scavenge in damp larders or down in basement food stores. They frequently breed in old birds’ nests. The larvae are large (up to 28mm) and pale yellow in colour, with clearly defined segments along the body. They are sold in many pet shops as food for fish and reptiles.

The House Mouse, and sometimes the Long-Tailed Field Mouse, seek the warmth and shelter of buildings for nesting sites and food. Their presence is usually detected from their dark-coloured droppings or damage to stored foods in the larder, packaging or woodwork.

Mice become sexually mature in eight to ten weeks, and a pair may produce eight litters, each of 16 young, in a year. Multiply those and you arrive at a horrifying number of mice! They climb well and can squeeze through very small gaps.

These nibbling nuisances have a compulsive need to gnaw in order to keep their incisor teeth worn down to a constant length. Electric cables, water and gas pipes, packaging and woodwork may all be seriously damaged by mice – many instances of electrical fires and floods have been attributed to them. They contaminate far more food than they consume and they are capable of carrying many diseases, particularly food poisoning. The average mouse deposits 70 droppings in 24 hours and urinates frequently to mark its territory.

Mice are erratic, sporadic feeders, nibbling at many sources of food rather than taking repeated meals from any one item. They do not need free water to drink as they normally obtain sufficient moisture from their food.

Tiny dark grey flies, only about 2mm long with hair-fringed wings, most prevalent in spring and summer near sewage works. Also known as Filter Flies or Owl Midges, their grubs perform a useful purpose because they break down organic material at sewage works.