Pest control in Kliptown

Pest control in Kliptown means dealing with rats along the Klipspruit, flies and mosquitoes in the wet months, and cockroaches, bed bugs and fleas inside crowded homes and rooms. We treat homes, rooms and shops properly, use locked bait boxes where children play, and explain what families can do to keep the pressure down between visits.

What makes Kliptown different

Kliptown is the oldest part of Soweto, and one of its best known: Walter Sisulu Square is where the Freedom Charter was adopted in 1955, and today it's surrounded by traders, taxi ranks and a busy railway station. The Klipspruit runs through the area. Housing ranges from older brick homes to backyard rooms and large informal settlements where many families live close together, often without enough refuse collection or drainage.

Those conditions are hard on any household, however clean it's kept. A stream with rubbish along its banks shelters rats. Uncollected refuse breeds flies. Standing water after summer storms breeds mosquitoes. And shared walls and crowded rooms let cockroaches and bed bugs move easily from one home to the next.

Rats along the spruit

Brown rats live in burrows along the stream banks, under rubble and around refuse piles, and move into homes at night looking for food. They chew through food bags, wooden doors and plastic containers, and their urine and droppings spread disease. The most effective approach is lockable bait stations around the outside of the home and along the routes the rats use, combined with closing holes at the bottom of walls and doors. Keep food in sealed tins or containers, never in plastic bags on the floor.

Flies in summer

House flies and blowflies breed in refuse, food waste and animal droppings, and in hot weather a fly can go from egg to adult in about a week. They land on food and spread germs, which is a serious risk for small children. Lidded bins, wrapping food waste, and clearing refuse quickly do the most good. For food traders and shops, targeted treatments around bins and doorways help. Our fly control in Soweto page has more detail.

Mosquitoes after the rains

Summer storms leave puddles, blocked drains, old tyres and buckets full of water, and mosquitoes breed in all of them. Tipping out standing water every few days, keeping drains clear, and using screens or nets at night reduce the bites. See our mosquito control across Johannesburg for treatment options around homes and businesses.

Cockroaches, bed bugs and fleas indoors

German cockroaches hide in kitchens and in any room used for both cooking and sleeping, and American cockroaches come up from drains. Gel bait clears them without anyone leaving the room. Bed bugs hide in mattresses, bed frames and cracks in walls and spread between rooms that share walls. They need every connected room treated together, and a follow-up visit. Fleas come from dogs, cats and rats, and bite around the ankles; treating the room, the yard and the animals at the same time is what works.

Signs to look out for

Droppings in cupboards or along the bottom of walls, holes chewed in food bags, black smudges where rats run along a wall, tiny dark spots on mattresses, itchy bites on children's ankles and cockroaches running when the light goes on. Any of these is worth a phone call, and a photo on WhatsApp is often enough for us to tell you what it is.

Shops and traders

Spaza shops, food stalls and takeaways around the square deal with rats, flies and cockroaches all year. Lockable stations around the stock area, gel bait near fridges and stoves, and clean bin areas keep it under control. We can set up regular visits with a written record for businesses that want one.

What people get wrong

Using unlabelled poison sold on the street, often called "Two-Step". It's extremely dangerous, kills pets and has poisoned children, and it's not a registered product. Registered baits in locked stations are far safer and work better.

A Kliptown tip

Lift food, mealie-meal and pet food off the floor, even if it's only onto a crate or shelf. Rats and cockroaches feed on the floor, and lifting food is one of the cheapest, most effective things a household can do.

What it costs, and why

Price follows the pest and the size of the home or yard. Cockroaches in one room are a small job. Bed bugs cost more because connected rooms must all be treated and we return for a follow-up. Rat control is priced on how many stations go out and whether a second visit is needed. A guide "from" price appears on this page, and our guide to Johannesburg pest control prices shows the starting point for each treatment. We explain the cost before we start, and we'll tell you when a small problem doesn't need us.

Kliptown is covered by our Soweto pest control service, and we also have a page for Orlando.

Combat Pest Control is owned by Jason van Heerden, with 25 years of pest control behind it, SAPCA registration and registration with the Department of Agriculture. You'll get service within 24 hours, and if a treated pest comes back inside three months, we return. Call 084 200 2700, or send us a photo on WhatsApp.