Prevention is better than cure.
That’s the message from pest control product manufacturer Kiwicare.
Now that its spring, Kiwicare’s David Brittain says now is the time to act. To cut down on the number of spiders and flies hanging around in summer, people should be ‘proofing’ their homes.
The Christchurch business sells a range of products that gets rid of pests. “Some people get a professional to do this, but it’s quite easy to do it yourself. Spray the walls, windows, doorframes outside and inside your home.
“That’s much easier than having controls which pump insecticide into the house all summer long. This will greatly reduce the number coming in and the earlier you can do it the better.”
Cluster flies are another pest that will make their presence known as spring kicks into gear. Brittain says plenty of people had problems with them in Canterbury this year. These pests find dark warm places to hide through the winter like roof voids. Once it warms up they will be falling out of roofs and light fittings. Kiwicare’s NO Bugs Bomb will get rid of them.
Spiders also breed in spring; and many, especially whitetails, make their nests in roof voids. But good news for arachnophobes — a NO Bugs Bomb will get rid of them as well.
In the garden
Kiwicare’s extensive range of garden products are being re-branded, and those searching for the right thing to use will be pleased to see a new section on their website. Everything from handy hints to a Q&A section will be there, to answer everybody’s gardening need. Currently, the comprehensive website gets hits from 20,000 Kiwis a month at its peak.
Again, when it comes to the garden, prevention is better than cure. “Thinking practically about your garden now can save time and effort in the future,” Brittain says.
First up; remove dead leaves. That’s where diseases and insects’ eggs will be. Simply clearing up this material around plants, flowerbeds and raking the lawn will get rid of a lot of problems.
There’s a range of other things people can do in spring to ensure a healthy garden throughout the year. For example, Brittain advises spraying the lawn now for broad leaf weeds. Doing this now gives the grass
a chance to grow, not the weeds — “then you’ll have a better looking lawn through summer.” More tips like this can be found on Kiwicare’s website.
In autumn, Kiwicare warned Canterbury Today that earthquake-damaged houses were easy for cold rodents to get into and make their homes in. Fortunately, because we had such a record-breaking warm early winter, rodents didn’t enter as many houses as initially feared.
“To an extent, we got away with it,” Brittain says. “But we certainly still had a busy winter; there were plenty of calls from people around Christchurch, who after speaking to us realised the rodents were getting in through cracks and holes that weren’t there previously.
“Going into spring and summer, I’d say it’s still worth keeping some bait in vulnerable places such as the roof void or garages. That way any rodent issues can be dealt with before you even know they are there.”
For more information call (03) 389 0778, email sales@kiwicare.co.nz or or visit www.kiwicare.co.nz
