In an established Framesby home, insect problems tend to settle in the same few places: the eaves, the built-in cupboards, the bathroom drains and the kitchen. If you're seeing insects, the quickest way to fix it is to work out which of those spots they're coming from, treat there, and change whatever is making it comfortable for them. Below is the walk-through we do on a typical visit.
Why Framesby homes are different
Framesby is one of the settled family suburbs in the west of Port Elizabeth. Many houses have been lived in for a long time, with mature gardens, timber built-ins, older plumbing and roofs that have taken years of the Bay's wind. Homes like that have more cracks, voids and hidden spaces than a brand-new build, and those spaces are exactly where insects live.
None of this means the house is dirty. Some of the cleanest homes we visit have the worst fishmoth problems, simply because of the age of the cupboards and how little air moves through them.
Starting outside: the eaves and roof line
Paper wasps love the sheltered underside of eaves, the top of a garage door frame and the inside of meter boxes. In late spring and summer a small nest can grow quickly, and a nest above a back door or a child's window becomes a real risk. We treat the nest directly and take it down once the wasps are dead. Wind-lifted tiles and gaps at the fascia also let insects into the roof space, so we check those while we're up there. Read more on wasp nest treatment in Port Elizabeth.
The bedrooms and study: built-in cupboards
This is fishmoth territory. Silvery, carrot-shaped and quick, fishmoths feed on starch, glue and paper. In older homes they live in the backs of wardrobes, behind skirting boards and inside bookshelves. Signs include small irregular holes in clothes or linen, yellowish marks on fabric, grazed wallpaper and damaged book spines or photo albums. A crack-and-crevice treatment inside the cupboards and along skirtings, plus better airflow, gets them under control. Our fishmoth control page has more on how they breed.
The bathroom: older drains
If you're seeing large, reddish-brown cockroaches at night, especially in the bathroom or laundry, they're American cockroaches and they're almost certainly coming up from the drains. Older pipework, cracked drain covers and gaps where pipes enter the wall all give them a way in. We treat the outlets and entry points with an odourless, non-staining residual spray and point out any gaps worth sealing. See cockroach control across the Bay for the difference between the species.
The kitchen: ants and small cockroaches
Ants trail in from the garden along the edges of counters and up through gaps in old tiling, especially after rain. German cockroaches, the small light-brown ones, hide in warm spots behind the fridge, stove and dishwasher. For ants we use baits the workers carry back to the nest; for German cockroaches, gel baits placed in cracks. Both work by reaching the part of the colony you never see. For more on everything that crawls, have a look at crawling insect control in Newton Park, which covers homes in this part of the city.
How a visit runs
- We ask what you're seeing and where, then walk the house and garden in the order above.
- We identify each insect and its source, rather than treating every room the same.
- We treat only where it's needed. You don't need to move out; keep children and pets off sprayed surfaces until dry.
- We give you a short list of fixes, such as a drain cover, a sealed pipe gap or a cupboard that needs airing.
- Where an insect has eggs that a single treatment may miss, we book a follow-up.
What people commonly get wrong
Putting mothballs or cedar blocks in the cupboards for fishmoths. They may mask the smell, but they don't clear an established population living behind the shelves and skirting. The fishmoths simply carry on in the parts of the cupboard the smell doesn't reach.
A Framesby tip
Once a month, open the built-in cupboards fully for a few hours on a dry, windy day. The Bay has plenty of those. Moving air drops the humidity inside the cupboard, which fishmoths need to thrive, and lets you spot any early damage before it spreads.
What does it cost?
The price depends on the size of the house, how many different insects are involved and how far they've spread. A single wasp nest is a short job. A house with fishmoths in several cupboards and cockroaches in the drains takes longer and may need a follow-up. If it's one or two fishmoths in a spare room, better airflow might be enough on its own, with no treatment needed at all.
Framesby is covered by our pest control service for Newton Park and surrounds.
Call 087 012 5550 to book, or WhatsApp us a photo of the insect or the damage and we'll identify it for you.
Questions we get asked
Are fishmoths a sign my house is dirty?
No. Fishmoths are about humidity, darkness and food such as paper and starch, not dirt. Older built-in cupboards often have all three.
Can you remove a wasp nest above my front door?
Yes. We treat the nest so the wasps die, then remove it. Keep people away from the area until we've finished.
Why do I only see cockroaches in the bathroom at night?
That's typical of American cockroaches coming up from the drains. They're active after dark and retreat into the pipes during the day.
Will the treatment stain my cupboards or clothes?
No. We use odourless, non-staining products, and we'll ask you to remove clothes from the shelves we're treating beforehand.
How long before I stop seeing fishmoths?
Numbers usually fall noticeably within a couple of weeks. Improving airflow in the cupboards stops them building up again.