Pest control in Fairland: ridge gardens and family homes

Pest control in Fairland often starts in the rockery. On these sloping, ridge-side stands we treat scorpions and spiders in retaining walls, rats in roofs, millipedes and centipedes after summer rain, ants in kitchens and harvester termites in lawns. We inspect the garden and the house, treat the hiding places and set up a barrier that keeps them out.

Fairland's landscape and what it means

Fairland is a family suburb on the slopes below Northcliff ridge, near Cresta and Blackheath. Its homes are mostly freestanding, many built from the 1960s onwards, on stands that often slope steeply enough to need terraced gardens, stone retaining walls and rockeries. Natural rock outcrops are common, and the ridge itself is close by, with its own grassland and rocky slopes.

Rocks, walls and terraced beds stay cool and slightly damp underneath, even in winter. That's where scorpions, spiders, centipedes and millipedes spend the day. When the soil is soaked after summer storms, or when the nights cool down, they come out and some of them come inside.

The Fairland pest list

Scorpions

The Highveld has two broad types. Those with big pincers and a thin tail are the common garden ones: a sting hurts but isn't usually dangerous. Those with a thick tail and slender pincers are more venomous and deserve care. Both shelter under rocks, in wall cavities, wood piles and under pot plants. We treat the rockery and retaining walls, and apply a barrier around the house, doors and garage. See scorpion control in the Northcliff area for how to tell them apart.

Spiders

Rain spiders, wall crab spiders and the occasional button spider in a garden shed or under the braai. Most are harmless; the small, glossy black button spider is the exception. A perimeter treatment and tidying storage areas keeps them down.

Millipedes and centipedes

After heavy rain, Fairland homes on lower terraces can see dozens of shongololos crawling up walls and onto patios. They don't bite and they don't damage the house, but they're unpleasant in large numbers. Centipedes follow them and can give a painful nip. Clearing leaf litter and mulch near walls and a barrier treatment around the base of the house helps. Our millipede treatments around Northcliff explain what to expect.

Rats

Brown rats nest in the gaps of stone walls and under decking, and roof rats use the trees. On a sloping stand, the space under a raised deck or a suspended patio is often where the nest is, because it's dry, dark and rarely disturbed. We use lockable stations outside, traps in the roof, and then help you seal the gaps under the eaves and around pipes so they can't simply move back in.

Ants and harvester termites

Ants come in before rain; baits beat sprays. In dry winters, the flatter lawn terraces often show harvester termite damage: bare patches with small holes. Treating active openings stops it. For subterranean termites in timber, see our termite control in Johannesburg.

Treating a sloping property

On a Fairland stand we spend more time outside than in. We walk each terrace, look at the walls, the rockery, the wood pile, the drains and the garage, and then treat the hiding spots directly rather than spraying the whole garden. Inside, the barrier goes along skirting, door frames and around plumbing. Products are odourless and won't stain, and nobody needs to leave; keep children and pets off treated areas until dry.

What people get wrong

Building a new rockery or a dry-stone wall right up against the house. It looks good, but it puts the scorpions' favourite habitat next to your doors and air bricks. Leave a gap of a metre or so of gravel or paving between rockery and wall if you can. The same goes for creepers and thick ground covers growing up the house: they hold moisture against the wall and give spiders and millipedes a ladder to the windows. Trimming them back a little does more than any spray.

A Fairland tip

Shake out shoes, boots and gardening gloves that have been left outside or in the garage, and use a torch when you walk barefoot on the patio on a warm night. Most scorpion stings happen when someone puts a hand or foot where one is resting.

What it costs and why

Scorpion and spider work depends on the size of the garden and how many rockeries and walls need treating; a terraced stand takes longer than a flat one. Millipede treatments are modest. Rat control depends on stations and follow-ups. Lawn termite treatment depends on the lawn area. Guide "from" prices for each are on our price guide for Johannesburg, and we'll confirm on site.

Fairland falls under our Northcliff pest control service, and nearby Blackheath has its own page.

Combat Pest Control is owned by Jason van Heerden, with 25 years in pest control. We're SAPCA registered, registered with the Department of Agriculture, offer service within 24 hours, and guarantee general treatments for 3 months. Phone 084 200 2700, or WhatsApp us a photo of the scorpion (from a safe distance).