Pest control in Soshanguve most often means clearing German cockroaches from kitchens, bed bugs from bedrooms and student rooms, rats and mice from homes and spaza shops, and fleas and flies in the hot months. Combat Pest Control serves Soshanguve from Johannesburg. We inspect, treat the source, and come back for a follow-up when a pest needs it.
Soshanguve and the pests it faces
Soshanguve lies north-west of Pretoria, close to Mabopane and Ga-Rankuwa. It's a large, spread-out township with many sections, ranging from older four-roomed houses to newer RDP homes and bigger private builds. Many stands have rooms in the back yard, and with a Tshwane University of Technology campus in the area, a lot of those rooms are rented to students.
The climate here is warmer and drier than Johannesburg's, with very hot summers. Heat speeds up insect breeding, so a few cockroaches in October can be a kitchen full by December. Dense housing and shared walls let pests move from one home to the next. And where rubbish piles up on open stands or bins aren't collected on time, rats and flies have all the food they need.
The pests we deal with in Soshanguve
German cockroaches
These are the small, light-brown cockroaches that hide in stoves, fridge motors, kettle bases, cupboard hinges and cracks in tiling. They breed very quickly and can spread between rooms on a shared yard. Shop sprays only push them deeper into hiding. Gel bait works better because cockroaches eat it and pass it on to others in the nest. Our page on cockroach control around Johannesburg explains the method.
Bed bugs in rented rooms
Student rooms and rentals with a high turnover of tenants are where bed bugs spread most. They come in on mattresses, bags and second-hand furniture. You'll notice bites on the arms, neck and legs in the morning, tiny blood marks on sheets and black spots along mattress seams. We treat beds, bed bases, furniture joints and skirtings in detail, and plan a follow-up visit to catch any that hatch afterwards.
Rats and mice
Rats burrow under slabs and boundary walls, gnaw into homes through gaps under doors, and get into stock in small shops. We place lockable bait stations outside and along walls, and traps inside, so children and pets can't reach the bait. Our guide to rat control in Johannesburg and Gauteng has more on how we work.
Fleas and flies
Fleas breed in yards where dogs sleep and in carpets and rugs. Flies breed in rubbish, pet mess and around meat and food stalls in summer. For fleas we treat inside and out at the same time as the pets are treated. For flies, removing the breeding source is the main fix.
Our process
We inspect the house and the back rooms, the kitchen, bedrooms and outside walls, because the cause is often a few metres from where you see the pest. Then we explain the plan before starting. Treatments are odourless, so you don't have to leave; just keep children and pets off treated surfaces until they're dry. Spaza shops and small food businesses can book regular monitoring with a service record for each visit.
Landlords who rent rooms get the best results by treating every room on the stand at the same visit. Bed bugs and cockroaches don't stay in one room, so treating only the room that complains leaves the others to re-infest it.
What people often get wrong
One mistake we see all the time is a tenant spraying a strong insecticide on the mattress for bed bugs. The bugs move into the bed frame, the wall cracks and the next room, and the mattress now smells of chemicals. Bed bugs need careful, targeted treatment and usually a second round.
A Soshanguve tip
When you move into a new room or take in second-hand furniture, check the mattress seams and the joints of the bed frame with a torch before you unpack. Catching a few bed bugs at the start is far easier than clearing a room weeks later.
What it costs and why
The cost in Soshanguve depends on the pest and the number of rooms. A cockroach treatment in one kitchen is a fairly small job. Bed bug treatments cost more because each bed and room takes time and a follow-up is usually needed. Rodent control is priced on the number of stations and visits. Treating several rooms together brings the cost per room down. You'll find a guide "from" price on this page, and our price guide explains it further.
Combat Pest Control belongs to Jason van Heerden, who has been in pest control for 25 years. We're SAPCA registered and registered with the Department of Agriculture under Act 36 of 1947, we offer service within 24 hours, and general treatments carry a 3-month guarantee. Neighbouring Mabopane has its own page, and you can see every service on our pest control in Johannesburg and Gauteng page.
Call 084 200 2700 to book, or WhatsApp us a photo of the insect or the bites and we'll tell you what it is.
Questions we get asked
How much does it cost to get rid of bed bugs in Soshanguve?
It depends on the number of beds and rooms affected. Bed bugs need detailed treatment and usually a follow-up, so they cost more than cockroaches. We quote once we know the size of the job; the guide 'from' price on this page is the starting point.
Can you treat all the student rooms on my property?
Yes. Treating every room at the same visit is the best way to stop bed bugs and cockroaches spreading back.
Will the cockroaches die straight away?
Many die within days, but it takes a couple of weeks for the gel bait to work through the whole population. That's normal.
Is it safe for my children and pets?
Yes. Keep them off treated surfaces until dry, and rat bait goes into locked stations they can't open.
Do I need to throw away my mattress if I have bed bugs?
Usually not. Most mattresses can be treated. Only badly damaged or torn ones are worth replacing.
Do you service spaza shops?
Yes. We do once-off treatments and regular monitoring with a written service record, which helps with health inspections.
Do you come out to Soshanguve from Johannesburg?
Yes. Soshanguve is in our service area, and we provide service within 24 hours.