Sunland is citrus country. The farms, packhouses, stores and workshops around it handle large volumes of fruit, packing material and equipment, and the summers are hot. That combination brings rodents into stores, flies into packing areas, and scorpions and wasps into homes and outbuildings. The practical answer for most farms is a scheduled programme rather than calling someone every time there's a problem.
We work across the Sundays River Valley, from the farmhouse to the packhouse floor.
Rodents: the main concern in stores and packhouses
Rats and mice follow food and shelter, and a packhouse offers both: fruit, stacked cartons, pallets and quiet corners. Once they move in, they chew packaging and pallet wrap, contaminate surfaces with droppings and urine, and nest in wall cavities and under equipment. On the farm side, feed stores, workshops and the farmhouse roof are the usual problem spots.
What works is a ring of lockable, tamper-resistant bait stations around the outside of each building, with traps or monitoring stations inside where bait isn't appropriate near produce. Each station is numbered and mapped, and checked on every visit. Our rodent control programmes for commercial sites are built this way.
Flies around packing and waste
Rotting fruit, reject bins and wet areas around packing lines breed flies quickly in Sunland's heat. Fly control starts with finding where they breed and getting waste out on time; we then add targeted treatment and advice on screening for doors that stay open during the season. There's more on this on our flying insect control page.
Scorpions and spiders in homes and outbuildings
Hot, dry weather, stacked materials and stone or brick outbuildings suit scorpions. They hide by day under pallets, in workshops, under loose bricks and in shoes left at the door, and come out at night. Thick-tailed scorpions with small pincers deserve the most care. A barrier treatment around the house and worker accommodation, plus clearing debris away from walls, reduces how many come inside. See our scorpion treatments around the Bay.
Wasps in sheds and under roofs
Paper wasps build in the eaves of sheds, under carports and in the frames of equipment that isn't moved often. In picking season, when people are working outside all day, a nest near a doorway or a tractor shed is worth removing. We treat the nest directly.
The farmhouse itself
Farm homes get the same household pests as anywhere else, only with more places for them to come from. Ants trail in from the orchards after irrigation, mice move from the stores into the kitchen roof when the season ends, and cockroaches come in with boxes from town. We can treat the house on the same visit as the working buildings, which saves a separate trip out.
Signs to look out for
- Gnawed cartons, pallet wrap or fruit in stores
- Droppings along walls and under pallets
- Flies gathering around reject bins or drains
- Scorpions found in shoes, bedding or bathrooms
- Wasps flying in and out of the same spot under a roof
How we set up a farm or packhouse programme
- Walk-through. We look at every building, the waste areas, drainage and storage, and note where pests are getting in and what's feeding them.
- Plan. Stations are placed and mapped, fly breeding points are listed, and we agree visit dates that suit the season.
- Visits and records. Every visit is recorded: what was checked, what was found and what was done. If you need documented pest control for audits or buyers, those records are what you'll show.
- Adjustment. Activity changes through the year. Before and during the packing season the programme may need more attention than in the quieter months.
The mistake we see on farms
Scattering loose rodent poison in stores and sheds. It ends up being carried around, it can reach dogs and wildlife, and it gives you no way of knowing whether the problem is under control. Stations give you a record of activity, and that's what tells you if the programme is working.
A Sundays River Valley tip
Keep a clear strip around the outside of stores and packhouses: no long grass, no stacked pallets against the wall, no reject fruit dumped close by. Rodents don't like crossing open ground, so a clean metre or two around a building makes your bait stations far more effective.
What does it cost?
For farms and packhouses, it depends on the number and size of buildings, how many stations are needed and how often we visit. A farmhouse with a scorpion or wasp problem is a much smaller job. We'll quote after a walk-through of the site.
Closer to the city, we also cover homes and businesses in Bluewater Bay and the northern areas.
Call 087 012 5550 to arrange a site visit, or WhatsApp us a photo of what you're finding in the stores.
Questions we get asked
Can rodent bait be used inside a packhouse?
Not near produce. Inside, we generally use traps or monitoring stations, and keep bait stations on the outside perimeter where they can't contaminate fruit or packaging.
Do you provide records for audits?
Yes. Every scheduled visit is recorded with the stations checked, activity found and treatments applied.
How often should a packhouse be serviced?
During the packing season, monthly visits or more are common. Out of season, the interval can often be stretched.
Are the scorpions in the valley dangerous?
Most give a painful sting rather than a dangerous one, but thick-tailed scorpions with small pincers need more respect. If you're finding them indoors, a barrier treatment helps.
Do you also treat farm workers' housing?
Yes. We treat homes and accommodation on the farm, as well as the working buildings.
Do you travel out to Sunland?
Yes. We cover the Sundays River Valley, including Sunland, Addo and Kirkwood.