Pest control in Forest Town

Pest control in Forest Town means working with an old, heavily treed suburb beside the Johannesburg Zoo. The calls we get most are roof rats, bird mites from nests in the roof, wood borer and termites in older timber, mosquitoes in summer and ants. We inspect first, find the source and treat it.

A small suburb under a big canopy

Forest Town lives up to its name. It is a compact, hilly pocket of older homes between Parktown and Saxonwold, with the Zoo on one side and Zoo Lake a short walk away. The trees are tall and old, the streets are quiet, and many houses date from the first half of the last century, with timber floors, sash windows, deep eaves and roofs that have been patched and extended over the years.

All of that is part of the charm, and all of it shapes the pests. Old trees give rats and birds a way onto the roof. Old timber attracts wood borer and termites. Water nearby means mosquitoes on still summer evenings. And the large open grounds and parkland around the suburb give rodents plenty of room to live close by, which is no reflection on anyone's housekeeping.

What you're most likely to find

Rats in the roof

Scratching above the ceiling after dark, droppings in the roof space and chewed wiring are typical. We bait outside in lockable stations, trap in the ceiling and give you a short list of entry points, usually where a branch touches the roof or where the sheeting meets an old parapet.

Bird mites

This is the one people don't expect. Pigeons, mynas and sparrows nest under the eaves and inside roof gaps. When the chicks leave the nest, the tiny mites that fed on them go looking for a new host and come down through light fittings and cornices, biting people at night. Removing the nest and treating the area is the only real fix; spraying the bedroom does nothing. Our page on bird mite treatment around Rosebank explains the process.

Wood borer and termites

Small round holes and fine powder under an old floor or a piece of furniture means wood borer. Mud tubes and hollow-sounding skirtings point to subterranean termites. The treatments are different, so we confirm which it is first. For borer, see our wood borer treatment in Johannesburg.

Mosquitoes and ants

Mosquitoes breed in anything that holds water for a week: pot saucers, blocked gutters, birdbaths and ponds without fish. Ants come indoors before summer storms. We treat breeding sites and resting areas for mosquitoes, and use baits for ants.

Wasps and bees in old roofs

Deep eaves and old roof voids also suit paper wasps and, now and then, a bee swarm. Paper wasps build small grey nests under eaves, gutters and garden furniture from spring, and they defend them hard. We treat and remove wasp nests in one visit. Bees that have moved into a roof or wall cavity are handled with a beekeeper where possible, and we seal the gap afterwards so the old comb doesn't draw in the next swarm.

How a visit works

We walk the property, look into the roof space if there is a hatch, check timber in the house and the garage, and look at the trees and gutters. Treatments are odourless and non-staining, so you can stay at home; just keep youngsters and animals clear of treated areas until they're dry. Where birds are the root problem, we can also fit spikes or netting, or seal the gaps they use. If you are planning to restore an old floor or roof, have the timber checked first, because borer and termite damage is far simpler to treat before new finishes go on.

The thing most people get wrong

People often put night-time bites down to fleas or bed bugs, buy sprays for the mattress and see no change. In an old Forest Town house with birds in the roof, mites are a far more likely cause. Before you treat the bedroom, look up at the eaves for nesting material or droppings.

A Forest Town tip

Clean your gutters in spring as well as autumn. Leaves from the big trees here block downpipes, the water sits, and you end up breeding mosquitoes right outside your bedroom window while also giving birds a soft place to nest.

What it costs and why

The main cost drivers are the pest, the size of the house and how much access work is involved. A general treatment for ants or cockroaches is straightforward. Bird mite work costs more because the nest has to be found and removed, often in a tight roof space, and bird proofing adds materials. Wood borer is priced on how much timber is affected. This page shows a guide "from" price, and the full list is on our prices page.

Close by

Our pest control in the Rosebank area page covers the surrounding suburbs, and Saxonwold, just next door, shares the same old trees and homes.

Combat Pest Control has been in the trade for 25 years under owner Jason van Heerden. We're SAPCA registered, registered with the Department of Agriculture under Act 36 of 1947, and give a 3-month guarantee on general treatments, with service within 24 hours. Call 084 200 2700 or WhatsApp us a picture.