Advice and frequently asked questions

Why this section matters

In pest control the result is not decided by the treatment alone. In practice most cases where insects come back are down not to the product or the method, but to what happened before and after the treatment.

The two most common reasons are incomplete preparation — furniture not moved and textiles not washed means untreated zones where the colony survives — and washing off the residual layer a couple of days after treatment, which effectively cancels the whole job.

Both are entirely avoidable if you know what to do. That is why the advice here is specific and practical rather than general.

What you'll find here

• Before treatment: how to prepare your property — a room-by-room list, and why each step matters.
• After treatment: what to do afterwards — how long to stay out, what you may and may not wash, what to expect over the coming weeks.
• Safety: is pest control dangerous, plus separate pages for pets and children.
• Honest answers: why pests come back and why shop products don't work — including when DIY actually is enough and you don't need us.

Three things that affect the result most

If you take three things from this whole section, make them these.

1. 1

   Preparation

   Moving furniture away from walls and washing textiles is not a formality — it decides whether the product reaches the harbourages at all. An untreated zone means a surviving part of the colony.

2. 2

   Don't wash treated areas for 2–4 weeks

   Skirting boards, gaps, furniture joints. The residual layer there is what kills the insects hatching from eggs after the treatment. Washing it off effectively cancels the job.

3. 3

   Don't spray shop aerosols before professional treatment

   They scatter the colony into other rooms and neighbouring apartments, making the later work harder and more expensive.

These three explain most cases where a treatment “didn't help”.