Pest control in Montana, Pretoria

Pest control in Montana centres on termites, scorpions, ants, cockroaches in townhouse complexes and rodents moving in from open ground. Combat Pest Control serves this north-eastern part of Pretoria from Johannesburg. We inspect first, identify exactly which species you're dealing with, and treat the colony or the source rather than the few insects you happen to see.

What Montana is like

Montana is one of the faster-growing areas on Pretoria's north-eastern side, near Sinoville, Doornpoort and Annlin. A lot of it was built from the nineties onward: townhouse complexes, cluster homes and family houses on medium stands, with shopping centres and offices along the main roads. Smallholdings and undeveloped land still lie around the edges, and there are pockets of grassland and thorn trees between developments.

Pretoria's north is warmer than Johannesburg, with milder winters and long, hot summers. Insects stay active for much of the year, and the summer storms that roll in from the north-east bring flying termites, ants and scorpions out of the ground.

The pests behind most Montana calls

Termites

Montana's ground is full of termite colonies. Harvester termites strip lawns bare in dry spells, leaving small holes and loose soil. Subterranean termites are the bigger worry for buildings: they build mud tubes up foundations and into skirting boards, door frames and built-in cupboards, and they go for wooden decks, pergolas and timber stored in the garage. Newer homes built on cleared veld are not exempt, especially where rubble and offcuts were buried during construction.

Scorpions

Scorpions shelter under rocks, paving, bricks and firewood, and come out on warm nights. They sometimes get into houses under doors, especially in properties that back onto open land. Most Gauteng scorpions have a painful but not dangerous sting, though thick-tailed species with small pincers deserve more respect. Our scorpion control page explains how to tell them apart and what we do.

Ants

Ants are relentless here in summer, trailing along kitchen counters, into dog bowls and up through cracks in tiles. We place baits the workers carry home, so the nest is treated. For more detail see ant control in and around Johannesburg.

Cockroaches in complexes

German cockroaches move through shared plumbing and walls in townhouse rows, while American cockroaches come up from drains on hot nights. Gel bait for the first, drain and perimeter treatment for the second.

Rodents

Mice and rats move in from open land and smallholdings, mostly in autumn and winter. Lockable bait stations and sealing entry points sort them out.

Flying termites after the storms

Every summer we get calls from Montana homeowners worried about clouds of winged termites after the first heavy rain. A swarm coming out of the lawn or the veld next door is normal: those are young kings and queens leaving mature colonies to start new ones, and most are eaten by birds within hours. What matters is where they come from. If winged termites are emerging from inside the house, from a skirting board, a door frame or a crack in the floor, a colony is already using your building and it needs an inspection. Switch off outside lights on storm evenings, close windows and sweep up the wings the next morning; just note where you found them.

How we go about it

A visit starts with a walk round the outside: the lawn, beds against the walls, paving joints, woodpiles, drains and the boundary with open ground. Then we look inside at kitchens, cupboards, the garage and, where possible, the roof. Normal treatments don't require anyone to leave, though children and pets should stay off treated areas until the product has dried. For complexes, we can treat every unit and the common areas in one visit and give the body corporate a written record.

The mistake we see in Montana

People pack paving, pot plants and flowerbeds right up against the walls of the house, often higher than the damp-proof course. It looks neat, but it hides termite tubes, keeps soil damp against the foundation and gives scorpions somewhere to shelter at the door. Leave a gap and keep soil levels below the damp-proof course.

A Montana tip

Fit brush strips to the bottom of outside doors, especially sliding doors facing the garden. It is cheap, takes ten minutes and keeps out most of the scorpions, crickets and other night-time visitors that walk in under the door.

What it costs and why

The price comes down to what we're treating and how big the property is. Ants or cockroaches in a townhouse are a small job. A harvester termite lawn treatment is fairly modest too. Subterranean termite work on an existing house costs more and depends on the perimeter and how much drilling through paving is needed. Our price guide for pest control shows the starting prices, and we'll give a firm quote after the inspection.

Nearby, we also look after Sinoville and Doornpoort, and the full range of services is on our Johannesburg pest control page.

Montana customers get the same standards as our Johannesburg clients: SAPCA registration, Department of Agriculture registration, 25 years of experience and service within 24 hours. General treatments have a 3-month guarantee, and termite treatments a 5-year guarantee with a certificate. Call 084 200 2700, or WhatsApp us a photo of the scorpion, the ants or the mud tubes.